Thursday, Jul. 29 2010 6:29PM

Back to school sales tax holiday set for next weekend

Emily Jarrett, Journal Staff

Shoppers looking for bargains on clothing, computers, school supplies and other back to school items will receive big savings during Missouri’s annual back to school sales tax holiday, set for Aug. 6-8. According to the Department of Revenue, by state law, during the sales tax holiday, the state’s 4.225 percent sales tax will not be assessed on certain purchases made in Missouri. Lee’s Summit has chosen to participate in the holiday.

Sales tax exemptions include:

* Clothing less than $100, including shoes, material to make school uniforms or other school clothing. It does not include accessories such as watches, handbags, umbrellas, ties or belt buckles.

* School supplies less than $50 per purchase. School supplies include notebooks, paper, pens, pencils, art supplies, backpacks, calculators and crayons, among other things.

* Personal computers less than $3,500. Laptops or desktops that cost less than $3,500 will be included in the tax holiday. Disk drives, modems, motherboards, a mouse, speakers and printers are also included, if less than $3,500.

According to Alana Berragan-Scott, director of the Missouri Department of Revenue, shoppers may be able to receive even higher sales tax breaks.

“In many areas the savings will be more than 4 percent because the local sales taxes will also be eliminated on qualified purchases,” she said. “If a city, county or special district hasn’t opted out of participating, the total sales taxes not applied could be as high as 8 or 9 percent.”

To learn more about the sales tax holiday or a full list of items available to buy without sales tax, go to www.dor.mo.gov

To reach Journal reporter Emily Jarrett, call 816-282-7018 or e-mail ejarrett@lsjournal.com.