TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida’s sales tax-free holidays will be bigger and better this year.
Under legislation expected to be approved Wednesday, hurricane supplies will be sold without sale tax from May 28 through June 3. Generators under $750, coolers, batteries and weather radios and dozens of other items will be tax-exempt.
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“I think it’s very important that the government do everything we can to incentivize people being prepared and increasing their resiliency for hurricane season,” said Jared Moskowitz, Florida’s emergency management director.
In July there will be a new tax-free holiday called Freedom Week. It includes camping and fishing gear, including tents, sleeping bags, camp stoves and more.
During the week you can also buy tax-free tickets to sporting events or movies for use before the end of 2021.
“We have an opportunity to turn some taxes back to consumers who have been shut in for a year, or six months, or whatever,” state Rep. Bobby Payne, R-Palatka. “They want to get outside and enjoy the outdoors.”
The following month there will be a tax-free week to buy school supplies. It includes clothing, shoes and backpacks up to $60. Computers costing up to $1,000 will also be tax-free Aug. 6-12
“It’s a shot in the arm that’s needed very much by the retail industry,” said Scott Shalley of the Florida Retail Federation.
Amid a host of other technical changes, the legislation also permanently removes the sales tax from independent-living items including bed rails, grab bars and shower seats.
A Florida House analysis estimated that all the exemptions will cost the state at least $100 million in tax revenue this year.