While many around the state get ready to begin a school year like never before, the state is providing tax breaks on supplies throughout the weekend.

The 2020 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday was passed by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The holiday begins today, Aug. 7, and ends Sunday, Aug. 9.

“The schools tax holiday is hugely important every year. Many families have got to buy new clothes, new supplies, you name it,” said Dist. 77 Rep. and House Majority Leader Dane Eagle. “The school year is already expensive as it is, so this is just a way to thank parents, teachers, anyone really, even if you’re not a student you can take advantage of this as a Floridian so we encourage everyone to do so and save some of their hard-earned dollars.”

According to the Florida Department of Revenue, during this sales tax holiday period, qualifying items will be exempt from tax, including certain school supplies selling for $15 or less per item; clothing, footwear, and certain accessories selling for $60 or less per item; and the first $1,000 of the sales price of personal computers and certain computer-related accessories purchased for noncommercial home or personal use.

Parents, students and teachers, or even any Floridian looking to stock up on supplies, can save when they purchase binders, folders, pens, pencils, notebooks and don’t forget a new back-to-school-outfit, before they hit the books.

The legislature has passed similar bills since 2014 to give breaks to Floridians before the school year and also hurricane season.

“Our 2020 Tax Relief Package offers Florida families a tax savings when they purchase critical supplies in advance of the upcoming hurricane season and as they manage the costs associated with preparing children for the new school year,” said Senate President Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton), in a release. “Over the last few days, my colleagues have worked diligently to ensure that we can provide the broad-based tax relief opportunities Florida families count on, while still responsibly increasing state reserves to approximately $4 billion to account for impacts associated with the ongoing public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 virus. This legislation strikes an appropriate balance between those important goals.”

Eagle also spoke to the work of the Florida Senate when it comes to how they operate.

“We have a balanced budget in Florida, and we do our best to be fiscally responsible with people’s money — the taxpayer dollars — by balancing our budget, paying down debts … and tax cuts are always the No. 1 priority,” Eagle said. “The school sales tax holiday and the hurricane sales tax holiday are extremely popular and warranted.”

Eagle, a candidate in the upcoming election for Congressional District 19, also spoke to the current climate of the state and country with the presence of COVID-19.

“Absolutely,” Eagle said when asked if this tax break comes at a good time for those feeling the strain of COVID-19 economically. “Because we’ve been able to balance that budget we’ve had a fiscally sound state, so even with COVID-19 happening, we’re still able to do these tax cuts, which is hugely important. We’re in such good shape that we can say, ‘Hey, here’s more of your hard-earned money.’

“Obviously the unemployment system has had a very big demand because of what’s been happening, so this is just another way for residents to save, and that’s extremely important this year,” Eagle said.

The Cape Coral native said he backs the governor’s decision to open schools and said Florida is ahead of the curve when it comes to innovative ways to educate students amidst a pandemic..

“The great thing about Florida is that we’re providing options,” Eagle said. “Certainly I think the governor is right in having school reopen. Kids have been stuck in their homes all summer. It’s important for young minds to be able to be active, to be able to be in groups, to have these discussions and to learn in an active environment but also we’re providing choice. If you don’t believe that your kid should be going back to school we have virtual learning options, we have homeschooling options — Florida is at the forefront leading the country in being able to provide these options.”

For a full list of items that qualify for tax exception, visit floridarevenue.com/backtoschool.

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