Connecticut Sales Tax Free Week: Schedule, What Qualifies, Shopping Statistics

Back to school in Connecticut unofficially begins with the Fall 2015 Sales Tax Holiday, giving parents and students a break at the cash register for certain school-related purchases.

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 16 and running until midnight Aug. 22, consumers can make qualifying purchases without paying sales tax, according to the Connecticut Department of Revenue.

Qualifying items include clothing and footwear that costs $100 or less. This is a change from previous years where clothing and footwear that cost $300 or less was subject to the exemption.

“The exclusion applies to each item of clothing or footwear sold, regardless of how many items are sold to a customer on the same invoice. However, for any item that costs $100 or more, sales tax applies to the entire price of that item,” according to DRS.

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For items that are on sale, the reduced sales price is used to determine whether the item is taxable.

Connecticut is one of 16 states offering a tax-free holiday for back-to-school purchases, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators, which said Connecticut began offering the holiday in 2001.

According to the National Retail Association, the average family with children in grades K-12 plans to spend $630 on back-to-school shopping while the average college student or college family will spend $899 on back-to-college shopping.