Sales Tax Holiday Begins

Shoppers seek savings on school supplies.

The markers, the folders, the uniforms - it all adds up. 

Today shoppers at the Walmart Supercenter in Hialeah were stocking up on bargains and taking advantage of an additional 7 percent savings.

Gevel Ortiz is buying school supplies for her 11-year-old daughter Kimani. How much of an incentive is tax free? 

“Oh it's a very big incentive. I work hard and I want to save money wherever I can," she said.

Trina Malloy is shopping for her two children. She waited for the tax free holiday to buy their uniforms. She says saving on taxes makes a big difference to her because she’s unemployed and on a very tight budget.
 
But you only get the tax break on certain items. Figuring out which items are tax exempt can be tricky. 
 
For example, athletic clothes are exempt but athletic gloves are not. Wallets are exempt but watches are not. Bicycle helmets are also still taxed. 
 
The Florida Department of Revenue has an extensive list which is available when you walk into some stores.
 
This year, there's a new price cap for each school supply item and clothing.
 
No tax applies for school supplies that cost less than 15 dollars each. Clothing must have a sale price of 75 dollars or less.
 
It's never to soon for a consumer training. 11-year-old Jennifer Bermudez is well aware of why she and her mom are shopping today.
 
“There's not taxes in school supplies so it comes out cheaper than it normally would,” Bermudez said. 
 
The tax saving holiday ends at at 11:59 pm on Sunday. Here’s a direct link to the list from the Florida Department of Revenue.
 
http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/tips/pdf/tip11a01-03.pdf
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