GA Sales Tax Holiday: What You Need to Know for Back to School Shopping

Back to school in Georgia unofficially begins this weekend 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. July 31 and running until midnight Aug. 1, consumers can make qualifying purchases without paying sales tax, according to the Georgia Department of Revenue.

Qualifying items include:

• Clothing and footwear of $100 or less
• Computers, computer components, and computer software of $1,000 or less
• School supplies, school art supplies, school computer supplies, and school instructional materials of $20 or less.

There are many items that are not exempt from sale tax, including jewelry, watches, eyewear, video games, cell phones, TVs, briefcases and more.

• Click here to see what is taxable and what is not (or see the list below)

Georgia is one of 16 states offering a tax-free holiday for back-to-school purchases, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators, which said Georgia began offering the holiday in 2004.

The Georgia Credit Union Affiliates says nearly half of Georgia consumers schedule their back-to-school shopping around the holiday. The group said a 2015 survey showed 46 percent of respondents intend to take advantage of the tax savings.

The GCUA survey also showed 51 percent of respondents prefer to buy school supplies as needed while 42 percent stock up when they run across a bargain.

The next scheduled Georgia tax exempt holiday is Oct. 2-4 and will apply to Energy Star and WaterSense products of $1,500 or less.

2015 Sales Tax Holiday Back to School