Ohio 2016 Sales Tax Holiday Announced

Kudos to the Ohio Department of Taxation. As soon as the House and Senate both approved a 2016 sales tax holiday, the department updated its website.

The 2016 sales tax holiday will begin at 12:00 a.m. Friday, August 5 and conclude at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, August 7. During that time, the following items will be exempt from Ohio sales and use tax when purchased for personal use:

• Clothing priced at $75 or less
• School supplies priced at $20 or less per item
• School instructional materials priced at $20 or less

This tax-free period is billed as a “one-time” event, as indeed it is according to law. However, a similar “one-time” sales tax holiday, held in August 2015, was so popular it triggered a repeat in 2016.

Sales tax holidays cause additional work for businesses selling qualifying items. Point-of-sale systems must be reprogrammed to account for the lack of tax, and then reprogrammed again. Additional staff may be required due to the volume of shoppers. And retailers must ensure they have all the facts straight: Are charges for delivery exempt? Do layaway sales qualify? What about coupons?

The more time a business has to prepare for the tax-free period, the better. That’s why the Ohio Department of Taxation deserves a call-out for disseminating news of the 2016 holiday so quickly. Some states, like Massachusetts, often decide to have a sales tax holiday mere weeks or days before the start-date, causing businesses to scramble.

For additional information about the 2016 sales tax holiday, including examples of qualifying and non-qualifying products and how to handle discounts, layaway sales and Internet orders, please click here.

Learn more about the 2016 sales tax holidays.