These clothes and school supplies are tax-free in Missouri for this one weekend
It’s back-to-school season, and many department stores have set out displays featuring essential items like pens, pencils, notebooks, folders and backpacks. The displays are intentional since the first weekend of the month is also when many of these items are tax-free in Missouri.
Missouri’s tax-free weekend this year starts at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Aug. 1 and runs through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3. The sales tax holiday always begins on the first Friday in August and continues through the following Sunday, according to state law.
Along with school supplies, clothes and electronics are also tax-free — but there are price limits on how much they can cost and still be tax-free. Here’s what to know before you shop in August.
Anyone can shop without paying any state or local sales taxes on included items, even if you’re not shopping specifically to go back to school or if you don’t live in the state.
Where does the tax-free weekend apply?
Every store in Missouri participates in the tax-free weekend, according to the Missouri Department of Revenue. Municipalities within the state can no longer opt out of the sales tax after Senate Bill 153 was passed in 2021.
Tax-exempt items bought online also count toward the tax-free weekend, the department said. The items can be delivered after the weekend, but the transaction has to be completed Aug. 1-3 and shipped to a Missouri address.
Who can participate in Missouri’s tax-free weekend?
Anyone can buy tax-free items during the weekend in Missouri stores, even if they aren’t Missouri residents.
Since Kansas does not have a tax-free weekend, people living there can shop at Missouri stores and get their items tax-free — as can residents in bordering states like Iowa, Illinois and Kentucky.
If you’re not shopping specifically to go back to school, you can still purchase any of the qualifying items without taxes during the weekend.
What are all of the qualifying tax-free items?
These clothing items for all ages will be tax-free:
- Belts
- Cloth and other materials for making uniforms and other clothing
- Coats
- Diapers, both cloth and disposable
- Dresses
- Gloves
- Hats
- Housecoats and slippers
- Jackets
- Leggings
- Pants
- Shirts
- Shorts
- Shoelaces
- Shoes or boots
- Socks
- Tights
- Undergarments
Computer items that will have taxes suspended include:
- Compact disk drives
- Daughterboards
- Digitizers
- Disk drives
- Desktop and laptop computers
- Display monitors
- Keyboards
- Memory modules
- Microphones
- Modems
- Motherboards
- Mouse
- Multimedia speakers
- Printers that must be connected to a computer
- Random access memory
- Scanners
- Single-user hardware
- Single-user operating systems
- Soundcards
- Storage drives
- Tablet computers or iPads
- Tower computer systems
- Video cards
You will not have to pay sales taxes on these school and office supplies:
- Art supplies
- Art razor knives and replacement blades
- Backpacks
- Binder clips
- Blank computer disks
- Book bags
- Card stock
- Chalk
- Crayons
- Dry-erase markers
- File folders
- Graphing calculators
- Globes
- Glue
- Handheld calculators
- Hole punches
- Index divider tabs
- Index dividers
- Inkjet refills
- Journals
- Lunch boxes
- Magnetic note pads
- Maps
- Mini pocket packs with paper
- Musical instruments
- Note cards
- Notebooks
- Padlocks
- Paper
- Poster mounting putty
- Pushpins
- Rubber bands
- Rulers
- Scissors
- Staplers
- Staples
- Stencils
- Tape
- Textbooks
- Thumbtacks
- USB flash drives
- Writing instruments
- Writing tablets
Are there items that don’t qualify for Missouri’s tax-free weekend?
While these items may be used in school, they are not included in the tax-free weekend:
- Adding machine tape
- Batteries
- Belt buckles
- Blackboards
- Briefcases
- Bulletin boards
- CD players
- Copiers
- Desktop telephones
- Digital cameras
- Envelopes
- Facial tissues
- Film processing
- Furniture or fixtures
- Handbags
- Handkerchiefs
- Headbands
- Headphones
- Halloween costumes
- Handheld media devices, like iPods
- Jewelry
- Keepsake boxes with paper
- Locker mirrors
- Mailing tapes
- MP3 players and accessories
- Non-digital cameras
- Paper trimmer and blade refills
- Portable telephones
- Power strips
- Pre-recorded compact discs and DVDs
- Radios
- Scarves
- Single-use cameras
- Sporting equipment
- Standalone printers
- Storage bags
- Sunglasses
- Tablecloths
- Thank-you notes
- Ties
- Umbrellas
- VHS tapes
- Watches
- Watchbands
Are there limits to how much items can cost to be tax-free?
Yes, some items have price caps to qualify for tax exemption. According to the Missouri Department of Revenue:
- A piece of clothing must cost no more than $100.
- School supplies can’t exceed $50 per purchase.
- Graphing calculators need to cost no more than $150.
- Computer software must cost no more than $350.
- Computers, laptops and peripheral devices, like keyboards or a mouse, can cost no more than $1,500.
For example, a pair of jeans that costs $50 is tax-free, but a Chiefs jersey that costs $130 will be taxed.
