Sale Tax Holiday Helps Back-To-School Shoppers

You might be saved by the bell. Tax- free weekend is here, and some local families are taking advantage of the "too cool for school" savings.

Columbia, S.C. (WOLO)– Tax-free weekend means “back to school shopping” is upon us. Students are looking forward to picking out their favorite item: their backpack.

“The book bag!” Ava Diegel said, a soon-to-be 8th grader. 

“Yeah, she wants to get her initials on it,” Ginger Diegel said, Ava’s mother. 

“One thing that’s really personalized is the backpack and lunchbox and stuff. So we probably will come back and let him do that himself. I think those are the big, exciting things,” Hannah Black said, who will be sending off her first child to kindergarten this year. 

At Walmart, tax-free weekend allows students to unleash their super powers– the power of knowledge. And for parents– the power of being a super savvy shopper.

“It helps a little bit, because it is a big list, so it helps to not have the tax on there. So I tried to get out here a little bit early before everyone else,” Black said. 

“Well we have notebooks, and rulers, and markers, and folders, and binders,” Ava said, reading off her classroom list. 

“That can rack up a pretty large bill, so having a tax-free weekend kind of helps temper the effect on the wallet,” Juliana Harris said, with the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Tax-free weekend even allows parents to grab a couple of items not on the official school list, but are just as important for their book worms.

“Hand sanitizer! Make sure he has some of that, make sure we keep the cold and flu at bay for as long as we can,” Black said.

You can cash in on the savings all through Sunday. From basic school supplies to even electronics.

For a full list of what qualifies under the Sales Tax Holiday, you can head to the Department of Consumer Affairs website here.