Trending
PARKERSBURG -- Shoppers in West Virginia and Ohio will have opportunities to purchase certain clothing, school supplies and instructional materials without paying sales tax during separate back-to-school tax holidays.
West Virginia's four-day holiday begins Friday, July 31, while Ohio's three-day holiday begins Friday, Aug. 7. The price limits and eligible products differ between the two states.
West Virginia
West Virginia's sales tax holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 31, and continues through 11:59 p.m. Monday, Aug. 3.
The holiday covers certain clothing costing $125 or less per item, school supplies costing $50 or less per item and school instructional materials costing $20 or less per item.
Certain laptop and tablet computers priced at $500 or less also qualify, along with certain sports equipment costing $150 or less.
Eligibility is determined by the price of each individual item rather than the total cost of the transaction. A shopper may purchase multiple qualifying items in one transaction without losing the exemption.
The exemption is not partial. If a piece of clothing costs more than $125, for example, sales tax applies to the item's entire price rather than only the amount above the limit.
Qualifying clothing includes shirts, pants, dresses, coats, jackets, shoes, socks, underwear, uniforms, diapers, bathing suits and other apparel intended for general use.
Accessories such as handbags, jewelry, wallets, watches, nonprescription sunglasses and umbrellas do not qualify as clothing. Protective equipment is also excluded.
Some athletic products that do not qualify under the clothing exemption may be eligible under the separate $150 sports equipment exemption.
Qualifying school supplies include binders, book bags, calculators, crayons, notebooks, paper, pencils, pens, folders, glue, markers, rulers and scissors.
School instructional materials are limited to reference books, maps and globes, textbooks and workbooks.
Items purchased for use in a trade or business are not eligible for the holiday.
Store discounts and retailer coupons may reduce an item's price enough for it to qualify. Manufacturer's coupons, which are reimbursed by a third party, do not reduce the sales price for purposes of determining eligibility.
Online, telephone and mail orders may qualify when an order is accepted and payment is made during the holiday period, even if the item is delivered later. The seller's time zone determines whether a remote purchase falls within the holiday period.
Qualifying items placed on or picked up from layaway during the holiday also may be exempt. Repairs, alterations and rental charges remain taxable.
Ohio
Ohio's sales tax holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Aug. 7, and ends at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9.
The holiday applies to clothing costing $75 or less per item, school supplies costing $20 or less per item and school instructional materials costing $20 or less per item.
Megan Miller, principal of Beverly-Center Elementary School, said some families plan their back-to-school shopping around the holiday.
"I do have parents that will comment on how they'll wait to get school supplies and clothes during the tax-free weekend," Miller said.
Miller said she hears more about the holiday from parents than from teachers.
"Usually, I hear it more from parents than anything," she said. "They utilize the tax-free holiday for clothes, shoes and school supplies."
Lisa Blavos, general manager of Marietta Office Supply, said the store also sees some additional business during the holiday, although the increase is not substantial.
"We do see some increase," Blavos said. "I wouldn't say it's a major increase because I think our business is more business-to-business, and a lot of individuals who are buying things like that don't think to shop with us first. but we do see some families come in."
Blavos said the business has not formally tracked how much sales increase during the holiday.
"I really can't tell you how much," she said. "We've never gauged it or tracked it, but there is some increase."
Ohio will not hold the expanded sales tax holiday offered in some previous years that covered a wider variety of items costing $500 or less. The 2026 holiday is limited to qualifying back-to-school purchases.
As in West Virginia, eligibility is based on the price of each individual item rather than the total transaction. Several shirts, pairs of pants or pairs of shoes may be purchased tax-free as long as each item costs $75 or less.
An item costing more than the limit is fully taxable. A clothing item priced at $75.01 or more does not receive a partial exemption on the first $75.
Qualifying clothing includes bathing suits, belts, boots, coats, jackets, costumes, diapers, formal wear, gloves, hats, rainwear, sandals, scarves, shoes, sneakers, socks, underwear and uniforms.
Clothing accessories, protective equipment and sports or recreational equipment do not qualify. Excluded products include handbags, jewelry, wallets, watches, sunglasses, helmets, sports gloves, skates and protective pads.
Qualifying school supplies include binders, book bags, calculators, crayons, folders, glue, highlighters, lunch boxes, notebooks, paper, pencils, pens, rulers and scissors.
Reference books, reference maps and globes, textbooks and workbooks qualify as school instructional materials.
Items purchased for use in a trade or business are not eligible.
Retailers may not divide products that are normally sold together to bring the price below the limit. Prices from buy-one-get-one-free promotions also cannot be averaged between two items to make both qualify.
Store discounts, loyalty programs and retailer coupons may lower an item's price enough to qualify, but manufacturer's coupons do not reduce the price used to determine eligibility.
Eligible online, mail and telephone purchases qualify when they are ordered and paid for during the holiday, even if they are delivered afterward. Orders placed or paid for before the holiday generally do not qualify.
Qualifying items placed on or picked up from layaway during the holiday also may be exempt.
Retailers in both states are required to participate. Shoppers who believe they were improperly charged sales tax on an eligible purchase should keep their receipt and request a refund from the retailer.
Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com