JULY 30, 2009 ISSUE
N.C. Sales Tax Holiday August 7 to 9
Clothing, School Supplies and Computers Exempt from Sales Tax
With all this talk of economic stimulus, isn’t it time you benefited from some directly?
Your chance is coming on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, August 7, 8 and 9, during North Carolina’s sales tax holiday.
During the holiday, clothing, footwear and school supplies of $100 or less per item; school instructional materials of $300 or less per item; sports and recreational equipment of $50 or less per item; computers of $3,500 or less per item; and computer supplies of $250 or less per item are exempt from sales tax. The holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 7, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, August 9.
Participation in the sales tax holiday is required of all retailers in the state, meaning retailers cannot opt out of the exemptions.
As an added bonus, discounts from retailers’ coupons are deducted from the price of an item before customers determine if the item is eligible for the sales tax exemption. For example, if a customer buys a dress priced at $105 and uses a retailer’s coupon for a 10 percent discount, that makes the sales price $94.50 ($105 - $10.50 = $94.50) and exempt from sales tax during the holiday. Manufacturers’ coupons, however, are treated the opposite way—they are not deducted from the sales price before determining eligibility for sales tax exemption.
Rebates do not affect the sales price of an item for the sales tax holiday. For example, a computer priced at $4,000 with a $600 rebate is not exempt from sales taxes because the amount of the rebate is not considered when determining whether the computer is more than the $3,500 limit for computers.
Clothing accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, protective equipment, wallets, furniture, items used in trade or business and rentals are not covered by the exemption and will be subject to the applicable tax.
For more information and/or questions about the sales tax holiday, call the N.C. Taxpayer Assistance and Collections Center at 1-877-252-3052.
For a complete list of specific items that are exempt from sales tax during the holiday, click to www.dornc.com/taxes/sales/salestax_holiday.html.
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