Georgia Sales Tax-Free Weekend 2014 Under Way

By Deb Belt

Georgia’s sales tax holiday is here -- it began at one minute after midnight Friday, Aug. 1. Are you ready to hit the stores with the kids?

For those not in the know, the tax-free weekend means no sales tax on all the essential clothing and footwear you might need for back-to-school, plus computers and school supplies.

Georgia’s tax-free weekend begins at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 1 and concludes Saturday, Aug. 2 at midnight, reports WTVM.

State law says these items are sold tax free on the special weekend:

Clothing and footwear with a sales price of $100 or less per item.Computers, computer components, and prewritten computer software purchased for personal use with a sales price of $1,000 or less per item.School supplies, school art supplies, school computer supplies, and school instructional materials purchased for noncommercial use with a sales price of $20 or less per item.

The sales tax exemption does not include: Belt buckles; costume masks; patches and emblems; sewing equipment and supplies, including but not limited to knitting needles, patterns, pins, scissors, sewing machines, sewing needles, tape measures, and thimbles; sewing materials used to make clothing, including buttons, fabric, lace, thread, yarn, and zippers; clothing accessories or equipment; or cellular telephones.

The state will hold a second tax-free weekend starting at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 3 and ending at midnight on Sunday, Oct. 5. On that tax holiday, appliances that are Energy Star qualified and Water Sense products are sold without state and local taxes.

For more information on the tax-free weekend call the Taxpayer Services Division at 1-877-423-6711 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.