Sales Tax Free Week Aug. 16

Rep. Mary Ann Carson reminds consumers to take advantage when buying back-to-school clothing.   

Rep. Carson said that Connecticut’s “sales tax-free holiday” will take place this year from Sunday, August 16 through Saturday, August 22.   

As a help to families preparing to send their children back to school, all clothing and footwear items under $300 will be exempt from the state’s six percent sales tax.   

Examples of clothing exempted during the sales tax-free holiday are jeans, dresses, blouses, shirts, shoes, sneakers, scarves, gloves, and belts. Non-apparel items, such as jewelry, wallets, and luggage are not included in the exemption.   

Rep. Carson said the Connecticut House Republicans first introduced the concept in August 1999 – modeled after a successful New York program – as a way of providing some relief to Connecticut families while boosting the state’s economic competitiveness among neighboring states.    

The sales tax free week is established by state statute in Sec. 12-407e. Tax suspended for one week in August for sales of clothing or footwear of less than three hundred dollars.