If back-to-school shopping is on your to-do list, you’ll want to do yourself a favor: Mark Aug. 5-14 on your calendar.
That’s the period that has been designated as a sales tax holiday in Illinois by the state’s Department of Revenue. That means you can purchase many items — not everything, but the list of eligible items is long — at a reduced rate of state sales tax. During that period, the state’s portion of sales tax is reduced from 6.25 percent to 1.25 percent. Items include qualifying clothing and footwear with a retail selling price of less than $125 per item and certain school supplies used by students in the course of study. School supplies are not subject to the $125 threshold.
Illinois reportedly is one of 18 states that will hold state tax holidays in 2022.
According to the Department of Revenue, eligible items for the reduced tax include:
CLOTHING
• household and shop aprons • athletic supporters • bathing suits and caps • belts and suspenders • coats and jackets • gloves and mittens • hats, caps, and ear muffs • lab coats • neckties • rainwear • rubber pants (covers for cloth diapers) • scarves • underwear • school uniforms • shorts and pants • skirts and dresses • hosiery and pantyhose • shirts and blouses
FOOTWEAR
• shoes, sneakers, and shoe laces • sandals • slippers • socks and stockings • footlets • boots and overshoes • insoles for shoes • steel-toed shoes
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
• binders • book bags • calculators • cellophane tape • blackboard chalk • composition books • crayons • colored pencils • erasers • expandable pocket, plastic, and manila folders • glue, paste, and paste sticks • highlighters • index cards and index card boxes • legal pads • lunch boxes • markers • notebooks and notebook paper, including loose leaf notebook, copy, graph, tracing, manila, colored and construction paper, and poster board • pencils and pencil leads • pens, ink, and ink refills for pens • pencil boxes and other school supply boxes • pencil sharpeners • protractors, rulers, and compasses • scissors • writing tablets
The following items are NOT eligible:
CLOTHING
Any clothing item with a retail selling price of $125 or more, and • briefcases • cosmetics • hair notions including, but not limited to barrettes, hair bows, and hair nets • handbags and wallets • handkerchiefs • jewelry and watches • non-prescription sunglasses • umbrellas • wigs and hair pieces
SPORTS OR RECREATIONAL EQUIPMENT
• gloves, including but not limited to baseball, bowling, boxing, hockey, and golf gloves • goggles • hand and elbow guards • life preservers and vests • mouth guards • shin guards • shoulder pads • wetsuits
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
• breathing masks • clean room apparel and equipment • ear and hearing protectors • face shields • hard hats and helmets • paint or dust respirators • protective gloves • safety glasses and goggles • safety and tool belts • welder’s gloves and masks
FOOTWEAR
• ballet, tap, cleated or spiked athletic shoes • roller and ice skates • ski boots • waders and fins
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Art supplies • clay and glazes • acrylic, tempera, and oil paints • paintbrushes for artwork • sketch and drawing pads • watercolors
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL
• reference books • reference maps and globes • textbooks and workbooks
COMPUTER AND COMPUTER SUPPLIES
• computers and related supplies • flashdrives and other computer data storage devices • data storage media such as diskettes, and compact disks • boxes and cases for disk storage • external ports or drives • computer cases • computer cables • computer printers • printer cartridges, toner, and ink
ELECTRONICS
• cameras and related supplies such as film and memory cards, video cameras, tapes and videotapes • cell phones • Personal Digital Assistants (PDA’s) and handheld electronic schedulers