Florida's back-to-school sales tax holiday weekend gets underway

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Bells will soon ring in classes at schools all over the Tampa Bay area, marking the start of another school year. But before all those little minds are hard at work, parents can get them prepared to prosper and save a few bucks, too.

“It’s truly like a holiday,” said Joe Follick of Florida Tax Watch. “It’s something people mark on their calendars. They get excited about it.”

The 2016 back-to-school sales tax holiday gets underway Friday morning at 12:01 a.m. and runs until Sunday night.

Florida waives sales tax on certain clothes, footwear, and accessories selling for $60 or less. Most school supplies, like pens, markers, and paper, are tax-free up to $15.

Here are the details about what items are tax-free.

Last year’s event lasted ten days; this year it’s only three.

Eight On Your Side turned to the experts at Florida Tax Watch in Tallahassee to find out if the state takes a big hit when a tax isn’t collected.

“The impact on the state coffers is actually very small. We have a $82 billion budget. This will be about $28 million in tax savings,” Follick said.

Families in Tampa Bay are taking advantage of the savings, despite the sales tax holiday being a lot shorter than last year.

“Personally, I think he could have extended it a little bit more and I don’t like the fact that the amounts were lowered,” said Valerie Fletcher, who was out shopping Saturday morning with her grandson.

“Middle-school girls tend to be a little more picky, on the things that they are choosing. This is not our first and it won’t be our last shopping outing!” said Penny Coraggio, the mother of one 13-year-old girl.

If you are on the hunt for savings this weekend, make sure to plan ahead.

“It’s going to be very crowded. We suggest people do a little research ahead of time, identify the items you want to buy…importantly identify the stores you want to buy them at,” said James Miller of the Florida Retail Federation.

If you don’t feel like leaving your home to shop in busy stores, Walmart offers tax-free savings on its website. And, stores like Best Buy, J.C. Penny, and Office Depot allow in-store pick-up options.

Sales tax in Florida is 6 percent.

We put together the information you need to send your children back to school this year. We organized it county by county to help you have it all in one place.