What to Buy Tax-Free During Ohio's 2023 Tax-Free Weekend

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During the first weekend of August, several states are holding tax-free weekends for back-to-school shoppers this year. Ohio is one of them. Here’s what you need to know to save money during Ohio’s sales tax holiday.

When is Ohio’s tax-free weekend?

In 2022, the Ohio sales tax holiday runs Friday, Aug. 4 (12 a.m.) to Sunday Aug. 6.

During that time, the state sales and use tax of 5.75% will be waived on certain purchases, as well as a local tax (max 2.25%) if it exists in your region.

What’s included in Ohio’s sales tax holiday?

Pay no sales tax on the following items from Aug. 4 to 6:

• Clothing priced at $75 per item or less: Includes shirts, blouses, sweaters, shoes, rainwear, mittens, lab coats, diapers and even formal wear and wedding apparel.
• School supplies priced at $20 per item or less: Includes binders, book bags, calculators, notebooks, pens and more.
• School instructional materials priced at $20 per item or less: Includes ONLY reference books, reference maps and globes, textbooks and workbooks.

What’s not included in Ohio’s sales tax holiday?

• Items purchased for trade or business.
• Clothing accessories: cosmetics, jewelry, watches, wallets.
• Safety equipment: gloves, goggles, tool belts.
• Sewing essentials.
• Sports equipment and apparel. Ie. soccer cleats and ballet shoes.

Can I use coupons during Ohio’s tax-free weekend?

The waived taxes are on top of any additional discounts, so bring in coupons for even bigger back-to-school discounts.

Whether a coupon will help you qualify for waived taxes, however, depends on what kind of coupon you use.

Retailer coupon: If an item was originally too expensive for waived taxes – but you have a retailer coupon that would bring down the price to below the threshold – the item will be tax-free. Not all states allow this during their tax holidays.

Manufacturer coupon: This type of coupon requires the retailer to ask for a third-party reimbursement. It will NOT reduce the item’s sale price for the purposes of determining whether taxes will be waived.

Does Ohio tax-free weekend include online shopping?

Yes. Online orders qualify for waived sales taxes. The order must be placed and paid for (and accepted by the retailer during the tax holiday period, determined by the seller’s location). So, if you have an online promo code you want to use or just prefer to shop online, you can take advantage of the savings on offer during tax-free weekend.

Other tips for tax-free weekend

• Research store discounts: Retailers know consumers will be shopping during tax-free weekends and will offer their own sales to entice customers. So look ahead to see which retailers are offering the best back-to-school deals.

• Layaway items are included in tax-free weekend: However, you must place the items on layaway or pick them up during the sales tax holiday.

To learn more about tax-free shopping weekends, check out our list of nationwide, state-by-state tax-free holidays.