August 1-3 back-to-school tax-free days for shopping

Getting students prepared for another school year will again be a bit less costly in South Carolina, as the state Department of Revenue has declared a sales tax holiday for Aug. 1-3 for purchases of traditional school supplies.

The holiday period extends from midnight Aug. 1 to midnight Aug. 3. It is the ninth consecutive year the three-day event has been observed.

During the weekend, shoppers receive a tax break on popular school items such as clothes, shoes, school supplies, book bags and computers.

According to Danny Brazell of the S.C. Department of Revenue, the sales tax holiday has become a popular weekend for consumers.

"It has definitely become quite an event in the nine years since we began having a tax holiday," Brazell said. "Customers statewide have come out in droves and as a result have saved on school supplies."

Since its inception in 2000, the "no-tax" weekend has become the third busiest shopping period of the year in the Palmetto State, exceeded only by the weekend after Thanksgiving and the weekend before Christmas.

As a result, customers have saved approximately $2.8 million in sales tax during the event. Computer products are usually popular choices with consumers saving big on the high-dollar items.

South Carolina was the first state to adopt a sales tax holiday in the region, being followed recently by Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

For more information, log on to: www.sctax.org.