A sign celebrates the sales tax holiday in 2018. This year’s event expands from three days to 10 days of not paying sales taxes on many items valued under $500.
File photo | The Lima News
LIMA — Ohioans will have 10 days to shop without paying sales tax when Ohio’s sales tax holiday returns next Tuesday.
The tax holiday will be in effect from midnight Tuesday, July 30 through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, just in time for back-to-school shopping.
This year’s sales tax holiday is the biggest yet, as lawmakers extended the holiday from three to 10 days and lifted the threshold of tax-exempt items to $500.
“This expanded sales tax break will help Ohio’s families with back-to-school necessities as well as other substantial purchases during a time when so many household budgets are being strained,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in a prepared statement in May.
No sales tax will be applied to items valued at $500 or less purchased online or in Ohio stores and restaurants during the tax holiday.
That includes food and non-alcoholic drinks purchased in restaurants, as well as shipping and handling charges for online orders, so long as each item meets the $500 limit and is delivered to an Ohio address.
Online shoppers should look closely when their payments are applied though, as payments made outside the official tax holiday period will be fully taxed.
Alcoholic beverages, tobacco, marijuana and vaping products are excluded from the tax holiday, as are motor vehicles, boats and taxable services like oil changes.
There is no limit to how much Ohioans can spend on each purchase, as the $500 limit applies to each item individually rather than the total bill.
Stores may mark down prices on items that typically cost more than $500 to entice customers to shop during the sales tax holiday. Customers who use third-party coupons, rebates or buy-one, get-one-free sales to purchase items priced above that limit, however, will pay the full sales tax.
Lawmakers started the tax holiday in 2015 to help alleviate the financial burden for families at the start of a new school year by lifting sales taxes on certain school supplies and clothes for three days each summer.
The General Assembly extended this year’s sales tax holiday to 10 days and removed previous restrictions on which items qualified, so more Ohioans can make tax-free purchases at a time when prices remain elevated from inflation.
