If you’re looking for your child’s first-day-of-class outfit or pair of shoes to round out the summer, Oklahoma’s tax-free weekend is this weekend from Friday, Aug. 7 to Sunday, Aug. 9. That means you can shop without paying sales tax on certain items.
Tax-free weekend happens every year, but if it nearly slipped by you this summer, here’s everything you need to know about your sole weekend without sales tax.
What is tax-free weekend?
Shop three days without paying sales tax on certain retail items. It’s open to all Oklahomans and applies to purchases made online, in-person or through catalogs, even if delivery is made after the exemption period. Tax-free weekend always falls on the first Friday through Sunday of August each year.
Senate Bill 861 created the back-to-school sales tax holiday in 2007 to help families save money and boost business for retailers.
What can and can’t I buy?
You can purchase any article of clothing or footwear that costs less than $100 per item with no sales tax.
However, several items don’t qualify for the sales tax exemption. You can’t buy accessories, like jewelry, handbags, luggage, umbrellas, wallets or watches. Special clothing or footwear designed for athletic activity also does not qualify. Rental clothes and shoes do not qualify.
For more information, check out the Oklahoma Tax Commission website.
What if the item is already discounted or doesn’t fit?
Even if the item is discounted below $100, it still counts. It must fit the qualifications outlined above though. One caveat: Coupons that require a third-party reimbursement, like a manufacturer’s coupon, don’t count toward the item’s sales price for exemption.
You can make exchanges of any eligible item after tax-free weekend if it’s the same but in a different size or color. Purchases of new items using credit from your return, however, will be taxed. You won’t be taxed if you use credit to buy an item during tax-free weekend.
What can you expect in Tulsa?
“It’s like our Super Bowl of the year,” said Katie Vassaur, a manager at Uptown Cheapskate, just north of Woodland Hills Mall.
She says tax-free weekend is the thrift store’s busiest weekend of the entire year. Almost all 23 staff members will work to help lines move fast. They’ve got it down to a science now — all the registers will be open, plus people will be out to help take off hangers and remove sensors in line.
There will likely be a wait for fitting rooms, so Vassaur says customers can wear tight-fitting clothes and try things on over them. The earlier you get there, the better.
Running out of stock isn’t an issue. Usually, employees only make one or maybe two trips to their storage units if it’s a busy Saturday. During tax-free weekend, they’ll make multiple trips per day, she said.
“We’re as prepared as we can be, and our goal is to make it as easy and as stress-free on them as we possibly can,” Vassaur said.
If you’re a retailer, you still have to file an Oklahoma Sales Tax report — including the items sold during tax-free weekend. Those sales go on line 3g, “Other Legal Sales Tax Exemptions,” of the report.
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