Shoppers enjoy saving extra as tax free weekend kicks off

JACKSON, Tenn. — Shoppers are out and about gathering some needed resources as school is approaching fast!

Tax free, for approved items, began at 12:01 this Friday morning, and shoppers are already taking advantage of the discount of 9.75%.

“You know, that takes off a lot,” said shopper Rebecca Neely. “So let’s just call it 10%, right, so to me $20, $30 of tax, right, that’s a tank of gas for me or about a tank of gas. So we’ve done this for a couple years now ever since tax free weekend has been out, and it’s been great. It saves money and then that way, I can budget for other things or put that gas in my tank.”

The sales tax holiday is broken up into three major categories: clothing, school supplies, and computers. And some of the many stores welcoming customers locally include Kohl’s and Academy Sports + Outdoors.

“Already, people are already looking for the backpacks, and we have all the brands: North Face, Nike, Adidas, Jansport. They’re looking for the shoes. Again, we have all the brands: Brooks, Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, and then the all the apparel,” said Academy’s Store Director Steve Johnson.

When it comes to clothing, it is important to look for general apparel that costs $100 or less per item. And school supplies have the same rule of keeping the individual items under $100.

“Clothes is definitely a big thing,” Neely said. “We got the backpacks already, again trying to be on a budget, right, so handed down a few backpacks here and there and things, and reusing, you know, what we have to try to save money, but definitely the clothes, they have a fun time with that and then I have a fun time saving.”

And with the high temperatures outside, some clothing may not seem relevant now, but will come in handy soon.

“You know, they are already buying fleece, believe it or not,” Johnson said. “But you know, it’s a great time to buy that stuff even though you may not want it right now. Tax free is a great time to take advantage of the price.”

And if you are shopping for a computer, it would need to be for personal use, and $1,500 or less.

Plus, a last reminder before getting ready to shop.

“Really important before you come here, just to look at the tennessee.gov tax page and see what is acceptable and not acceptable to be tax free,” said Johnson. “Because there’s some confusion from time to time, some things just aren’t tax exempt. So just look at that page before you come so you have a good idea.”

The sales tax holiday ends Sunday, July 30 at 11:59 p.m. Tennessee’s three-month grocery tax holiday will then run from August 1 to October 31.

For more information on clothing, school supplies, or computers that do or do not qualify, click here or here.

For more news in the Jackson area, click here.