Florida's back-to-school tax holiday saves SWFL shoppers money July 20

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WINK)—Florida's 2026 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday runs from July 20 through August 20, offering shoppers a chance to save on qualifying items.

According to an official document from the Florida Department of Revenue, the annual sales tax holiday exempts clothing, footwear, wallets, bags, handbags, backpacks, fanny packs, and diaper bags with a sales price of $100 or less per item. School supplies priced at $50 or less per item, learning aids and jigsaw puzzles priced at $30 or less, and personal computers with certain computer-related accessories priced at $1,500 or less when purchased for noncommercial home or personal use are also exempt.

The exemption does not apply to briefcases, suitcases, garment bags, watches, watchbands, jewelry, umbrellas, or handkerchiefs. 

Skis, swim fins, roller blades, and skates are also excluded from the tax holiday.

Clothing items priced at more than $100, school supplies priced at more than $50, and computers or computer-related accessories priced at more than $1,500 remain taxable. Books that are not otherwise exempt, cellular telephones, video game consoles, digital media receivers, and devices not primarily designed to process data are also excluded.

The exemption does not apply to rentals or repairs of eligible items. Sales within a theme park, entertainment complex, public lodging establishment, or airport are also excluded from the tax holiday.

Learning aids include flashcards, learning cards, matching or memory games, puzzle books, search-and-find books, interactive or electronic books and toys intended to teach reading or math skills, and stacking or nesting blocks or sets. School supplies include pens, pencils, erasers, crayons, notebooks, notebook filler paper, legal pads, binders, lunch boxes, construction paper, markers, folders, poster board, composition books, poster paper, scissors, cellophane tape, glue, paste, rulers, computer disks, staplers and staples, protractors, and compasses.

Personal computers include electronic book readers, calculators, laptops, desktops, handheld devices, tablets, and tower computers. Personal computer-related accessories include keyboards, mice, personal digital assistants, monitors without a television tuner, other peripheral devices, modems, routers, and nonrecreational software.

Dealers do not have the option to opt out of the annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday.