Get a Break on Sales Taxes

In many states, the first weekend of August will be a great time for families to do their back-to-school shopping. That's because many items will be exempt from sales tax.

Sixteen states will have sales-tax holidays this year -- and 11 will fall on the first weekend of August, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators. Arkansas joins the list of states exempting back-to-school purchases such as clothing, computers and school supplies from sales taxes this year (Illinois drops off the list).

See the list below to find out which states will have sales-tax holidays and when. Even if your state isn't on the list, you might be able to take advantage of a sales-tax holiday by crossing state lines (as long as all your savings aren't blown on travel costs).

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JULY

Mississippi: July 29-30. Clothing and footwear $100 or less exempt. More details.

AUGUST

Alabama: August 5-7. Clothing, computers, school supplies and books exempt (up to a certain dollar amount). See a complete list of tax-exempt items.

Arkansas: August 6-7. Clothing purchases of $100 or less and school supplies are exempt. See a complete list of tax-exempt items.

Connecticut: August 21-27. Clothing and footwear less than $300 exempt. More details.

Florida: August 12-14. Clothing, books and school supplies exempt (up to certain dollar amounts). See a complete list of tax-exempt items.

Iowa: August 5-6. Clothing and footwear $100 or less exempt. See a complete list of tax-exempt items.

Louisiana: August 5-6. Most items less than $2,500 exempt. More details.

Maryland: August 14-20. Clothing and footwear $100 or less exempt.

Missouri: August 5-7. Clothing, computers and school supplies exempt (up to certain dollar amounts). More details.

New Mexico: August 5-7. Clothing, computers and school supplies exempt (up to certain dollar amounts). More details.

North Carolina: August 6-8. Clothing, computers, school supplies and sports equipment (up to certain dollar amounts). More details.

Oklahoma: August 5-7. Clothing and footwear less than $100 exempt. See a list of tax-exempt items.

South Carolina: August 5-7. Clothing, computers and school supplies exempt. See a list of tax-exempt items.

Tennessee: August 5-7. Clothing, computers and school supplies exempt (up to certain dollar amounts).See a list of tax-exempt items.

Texas: August 19-20. Clothing, footwear, backpacks and school supplies less than $100. See a list of tax-exempt items.

Virginia: August 5-7. Clothing, footwear and school supplies (up to certain dollar amounts). See a list of tax-exempt items.

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