SC back-to-school tax savings holiday set for Aug. 7-9

South Carolina shoppers can again take advantage of 72 hours of savings on school supplies, clothing, computers and more during the state’s annual sales tax holiday next month.

Tax Free Weekend falls a little later this year: Aug. 7-9. That’s just how days set by law fall on the calendar.

Per the law passed in 2000, the savings start at 12:01 a.m. the first Friday in August and continue until midnight Sunday.

Online sales of eligible items are included.

“So, you don’t have to get out in the heat. You don’t have to brave the crowds to take advantage of tax-free weekend,” Rob Walden, a manager for the Department of Revenue, said in an online video. “If you want to stay home and you still want to save, all of your eligible purchases that are made online are also exempt from sales tax.”

The tax holiday waives the state’s 6%​​ sales tax as well as applicable local taxes, according to the state’s tax collection agency.

Sales taxes are 6% in only three of South Carolina’s 46 counties: Beaufort, Greenville and Oconee. The other 43 counties charge their own additional sales taxes for local projects.

At 9% total, sales taxes are highest in Charleston, Berkeley and Jasper counties and the city of Myrtle Beach. Williamsburg County also added a 1% sales tax in May, taking its rate up to 8%, according to the tax collection agency.

“You really can save very quickly,” Walden said, especially on big-ticket items such as computers.

The tax break applies to all shoppers, but the law was intended to help parents buy back-to-school items ahead of each new school year. This year, all but seven of the state’s 72 public school districts will have already resumed classed before the tax holiday.

Non-taxable items include calculators, headphones, printers, computers and software and all types of clothing, as well as certain bed and bath items, including bed spreads, sheets, pillows, towels and shower curtains​​, the department lists as examples on its website. Items that are still taxed as normal include cellphones, digital cameras and video game consoles.

Walden also highlighted some tax-free items that may not immediately come to mind, such as sports uniforms and musical instruments.

“We know how much those can be sometimes,” he said.

And parents of infants can find savings stocking up on diapers, Walden added.

Last year, shoppers bought more than $25 million in tax-free items and saved more than $1.5 million in taxes, according to the state tax agency.

“It’s a great opportunity for all South Carolinians,” Walden said.