4 Back-to-school tax-free holiday shopping tips

Ideas from this post were featured on ABC Action News, the ABC affiliate in Tampa. Scroll to the bottom of this post to watch the video.

Many states have a tax-free holiday shopping period each year. This year, Florida’s is August 7 to 16, so I thought I’d share my favorite back-to-school, tax-free holiday shopping tips.

1. Stock your gift cupboard. From sweats for the hubby for Father’s Day to a new coat for my sister’s birthday, you can stock up on a slew of gifts if you take advantage of the tax-free shopping holiday. I even love buying Christmas stocking stuffers, like crayons and calculators. Oh, and I loooooove buying a bunch of children’s books. Because they are the perfect kid birthday gift for the zillion birthday parties we’ll be going to this year.

2. Only buy if sales tax discount is greater than future markdowns. Depending on your state, tax-free shopping can yield about a 7-percent savings. That means you should only be buying items that won’t be discounted more than 7 percent during the rest of the year. For instance, if you’re looking to buy your hubby a tie, and you know ties go on sale at Beall’s for 40-percent off later in the year, it doesn’t make sense to buy one now at regular price, even with the 7-percent, tax-free discount.

3. Stock up on non-back-to-school supplies. Since you’re not paying sales tax, it’s a great time to stock up on supplies you’ll need through the year, like tape for wrapping Christmas gifts. And diapers. (‘Cause you know I’ll be spending a fortune on those this year.)

4. Buy in bulk. The tax-free holiday is a great time to stock up on items you know you’ll be buying mass quantities of later on, like socks and underwear. (And if you’re potty-training like us, undies of the Spiderman or Ninja Turtle variety come in very handy for bribery purposes.)