Parents and families planning their back-to-school shopping will have a chance to save this weekend as the state celebrates its annual Sales Tax Holiday. The annual event waives the state’s 7% sales tax on clothing, shoes and school supplies to ease the financial burden back-to-school costs can have on families.

This year, the Sales Tax Holiday will begin at 12:01 a.m. Friday and end at midnight Saturday. During the holiday, no sales tax will be due on items of clothing, footwear or school supplies that sell for less than $100 per item.

Dawn McVea, State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business, said this year’s tax holiday will be extra helpful for families, who are already dealing with record inflation.

“The back-to-school tax holiday has been a late summer tradition in Mississippi for 13 years, but this year’s holiday couldn’t come at a better time,” McVea said. “People everywhere are struggling with higher prices on just about everything, so temporarily suspending the sales tax is going to help families stretch a dollar, and it could make a big difference on Main Street.”

The holiday applies to eligible items purchased both in store and online, giving residents the chance to take advantage of the savings without leaving the house. Store discounts and coupons that reduce the price under the $100 threshold can be used during the holiday, but manufacturer’s coupons or rebates cannot.

McVea urged residents to consider shopping local during the tax holiday as the state’s small, independent businesses struggle with higher prices, supply chain issues and worker shortages.

“Small businesses throughout the state are dealing with higher prices on top of supply chain issues and a lack of workers,” McVea said. “By shopping local during the sales tax holiday, we can repay these independent businesses for persevering and providing us with the goods and services we need despite the many challenges.”

Eligible items for the Sales Tax Holiday include clothing items such as boots, shirts and pants as well as school supplies such as binders, backpacks, paper and pencils.

Non-eligible items include accessories, such as watches and belt buckles, sports pads and helmets and hair accessories such as elastic ties, clips and barrettes.

A full list of eligible and non-eligible items can be found at the Mississippi Department of Revenue website, dor.ms.gov.