Tax Free Weekend Is Here!

Iowa’s sales-tax holiday is this weekend, Friday, August. 5th through Saturday, August 6th. During that time, you can avoid paying the state sales tax of 6%, as well as any local tax, when you buy qualified clothing items. That drops 7% off your back to school shopping bill. Iowa’s tax-free holiday includes clothing only. Unlike other states, it does not include computers and school supplies.

The tax holiday encompasses clothing items priced at less than $100 each. If an item is more than $100, sales tax will be charged on the entire amount. The waived sales tax applies to any items under $100 that you purchase, with no limit on the number of items you can buy, only on the individual items price point. Clothing is defined as any article of apparel and typical footwear intended to be worn on or about the human body.

That being said, the tax holiday does NOT include watches, watchbands, jewelry, umbrellas, handkerchiefs, sporting equipment, skis, swim fins, roller blades, skates, or any special clothing or footwear designed primarily for athletic activity, protective use, or not considered appropriate for everyday wear.

By the way, this tax free holiday also applies to online purchases, as long as you place your order during the tax-free holiday. There are also a few other tips and tricks to know for the tax holiday. For example, manufacturer coupons (from the brand) do not reduce the price of the item for the purpose of waived sales tax. For example, if something costs $101 and the coupon would reduce it by $10, you still have to pay sales tax on that item despite it now being "under" $100. That being said, in-store discounts or coupons can be used to drop your item under $100 and then it would qualify for the tax-free break. And did you know that you can avoid taxes on layaway items as long as you put the merchandise on layaway during that tax-free period (maybe get some birthday/Christmas shopping done too). Any and all other information can be found here through the State of Iowa website.