Tax-free holiday begins just in time for school

Local residents are reminded that Georgia's sales tax holiday begins at 12:01 Friday, August 2, and continues until midnight Sunday, August 5.

For the fifth consecutive year, shoppers will have the opportunity to purchase school supplies, clothing, computers, and computer accessories tax free, courtesy of Governor Sonny Perdue and the General Assembly.

Also, teachers will be able to use their $100 gift cards during the holiday period.

A few of the guidelines governing the sales tax holiday are as follows:

.. School supplies purchased for classroom use or classroom-related activities are exempt from sales tax up to $20 per item.

This category includes backpacks; calculators; CD/DVD/floppy discs (blank); composition books; construction paper; dictionaries; lunch boxes; notebooks; paper (notebook, printer or pads); pencils; pens; and Whiteout.

.. Clothing and footwear will be tax exempt up to $100 per item, with no limit as to how many pairs of shoes and items of clothing an individual can purchase. Nevertheless, if the price of an article of clothing or a pair of shoes exceeds $100, the item will be taxed at its full retail price.

Among the items in this category are belts; blouses; cleated and spiked footwear; coats; diapers, cloth and disposable (adult and baby); dresses; employee uniforms; gym suits; helmets; jackets; jeans; pants; shirts; shoes; shorts; sleepwear; and sweaters.

.. Personal computers and related accessories will be tax exempt up to $1,500 per transaction. If a single purchase exceeds $1,500, the entire transaction is taxable.

Items found in this category are software (antivirus, educational, word-processing, etc.); central processing units; computers; keyboards; modems; monitors; motherboards; printers and cartridges; scanners; speakers; storage devices; and zip drives.

The sales tax exemption is intended only for individuals and their personal use. It does not apply to purchases made for resale, purchases by businesses, items leased or rented, or items sold at sports facilities, theme parks, restaurants, public lodging establishments or airports.

A comprehensive list of tax-exempt items may be obtained by visiting the Georgia Department of Revenue's website at www.dor.ga.gov. Individuals may also call 1-404-417-6601 for additional information.

A separate tax-free holiday for energy efficient merchandise with a sales price of $1,500 or less is being planned for October 4-7. Information concerning this holiday will be available at a later date.