Florida back-to-school tax holiday kicks off this week

Back-to-school sales tax holiday begins

The first day of school is less than three weeks away for many districts in Central Florida. Now is the perfect time to start shopping for back-to-school needs because of the state's sales tax holiday.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. - July 24 starts Florida’s annual tax holiday, when shoppers can buy certain back-to-school items tax-free.

"I just found out yesterday actually, so I'm excited about that. Go ahead and save me a few dollars. I'm super excited to get that back-to-school shopping started," said shopper Lakeisha Peace.

Shoppers won't have to pay sales taxes on clothes, shoes, school supplies and personal computers that are $1,500 or less. Florida's tax holiday comes as national chains like Target, Office Depot, Best Buy, and Kohl’s have already announced back-to-school sales. Some of these included ongoing discount programs for students and teachers.

"Most of our retailers offer extra sales, on top of the tax breaks. So, it’s a great time to take advantage, save a few dollars on tax and hopefully see sales from our local retailers as well," said Scott Shalley, president of the Florida Retail Federation.

MORE: What you need to know about the back-to-school sales tax holiday

Lawmakers have also approved a second, similar holiday that will happen during the first two weeks of January. The aim is to give families a chance to save on more supplies at the start of the spring semester. "This is a tremendous opportunity for parents to save and refresh their kids' wardrobe," said marketing expert Tom Jelneck.

The tax holiday runs from July 24 through August 6. Shoppers said they'd be happy to buy what they needed, while saving some cash. "It's going to help a lot," said Peace, "I always look forward to back-to-school shopping when it's tax-free, I try and wait till that time, so I'm excited about that for tomorrow."