Tax

Jul 31, 2023

Missouri is once again suspending sales taxes on back-to-school items for a weekend to help families prepare for a return to the classroom without breaking the bank.

Missouri’s tax-free weekend this year started just after midnight today and lasts until midnight Sunday.

Anyone can shop without paying any state or local sales taxes on included items, even if you’re not shopping specifically to go back to school or if you don’t live in the state.

Here’s what to know when planning your shopping.

According to the Missouri Department of Revenue, every store in the state will be part of Missouri’s tax-free weekend. Municipalities within the state can no longer opt out of the sales tax after Senate Bill 153 was passed in 2021.

The Department of Revenue said tax-exempt items bought online also count toward the tax-free weekend. The items can be delivered after the weekend, but the transaction has to be completed Aug 4-6 and shipped to a Missouri address.

Yes, some items have price caps to qualify for tax exemption.

According to the Missouri Department of Revenue:

A piece of clothing must cost no more than $100.

School supplies can’t exceed $50 per purchase.

Graphing calculators need to cost no more than $150.

Computer software must cost no more than $350.

Computers, laptops and peripheral devices, like keyboards or a mouse, can cost no more than $1,500.

For example, a pair of jeans that costs $50 is tax-free, but a Chiefs jersey that costs $130 will be taxed.

These clothing items will be tax-free:

Belts

Cloth and other materials for making uniforms and other clothing

Coats

Diapers, both cloth and disposable

Dresses

Gloves

Hats

Housecoats and slippers

Jackets

Leggings

Pants

Shirts

Shorts

Shoelaces

Shoes or boots

Socks

Tights

Undergarments

Computer items that will have taxes suspended include:

Compact disk drives

Daughterboards

Digitizers

Disk drives

Desktop and laptop computers

Display monitors

Keyboards

Memory modules

Microphones

Modems

Motherboards

Mouse

Multimedia speakers

Printers that must be connected to a computer

Random access memory

Scanners

Single-user hardware

Single-user operating systems

Soundcards

Storage drives

Tablet computers or iPads

Tower computer systems

Video cards

You will not have to pay sales taxes on these school supplies:

Art supplies

Art razor knives and replacement blades

Backpacks

Binder clips

Blank computer disks

Book bags

Card stock

Chalk

Crayons

Dry-erase markers

File folders

Graphing calculators

Globes

Glue

Handheld calculators

Hole punches

Index divider tabs

Index dividers

Inkjet refills

Journals

Lunch boxes

Magnetic note pads

Maps

Mini pocket packs with paper

Musical instruments

Note cards

Notebooks

Padlocks

Paper

Poster mounting putty

Pushpins

Rubber bands

Rulers

Scissors

Staplers

Staples

Stencils

Tape

Textbooks

Thumbtacks

USB flash drives

Writing instruments

Writing tablets

While these items may be used in school, these are not included in the tax-free weekend:

Adding machine tape

Batteries

Belt buckles

Blackboards

Briefcases

Bulletin boards

CD players

Copiers

Desktop telephones

Digital cameras

Envelopes

Facial tissues

Film

Film processing

Furniture or fixtures

Handbags

Handkerchiefs

Headbands

Headphones

Halloween costumes

Handheld media devices, like iPods

Jewelry

Keepsake boxes with paper

Locker mirrors

Mailing tapes

MP3 players and accessories

Non-digital cameras

Paper trimmer and blade refills

Portable telephones

Power strips

Pre-recorded compact discs and DVDs

Radios

Scarves

Single-use cameras

Sporting equipment

Standalone printers

Storage bags

Sunglasses

Tablecloths

Thank-you notes

Ties

Umbrellas

VHS tapes

Watches

Watchbands

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