Alabama’s sales tax holiday began at 12:01 a.m. today and is set to end at midnight, Sunday, Aug. 3. The state’s four-percent sales tax as well as sales taxes levied by any of the 244 cities and counties that have agreed to participate are waived for those three days on:

clothing priced at $100 or less.

school supplies valued at $50 or less.

books that cost $30 or less; textbooks of $50 or less.

computers and computer equipment with a selling price of $750 or less.

Alabama sales tax holiday facts

244 cities and counties have also waived their sales taxes, the most ever.

20 cities and counties are joining the holiday for the first time.

With the addition of Lamar and Sumter counties, 55 of Alabama’s 67 counties have joined the sales tax holiday.

189 cities also will waive their sales taxes on the selected items for the three-day weekend.

The average family with school-aged children in the South is expected to spend $611.02 on back-to-school items.

Everyone can save during the sales tax holiday, not just those going back to school

16 states, including Alabama, plus the District of Columbia have sales tax holidays.

Sales tax collections in August 2006 rose 10.4 percent over the previous August; then in August 2007 sales tax collection rose another 4.6 percent. The sales tax holiday actually has a positive effect on revenue.

For retailers, the volume of business they do this weekend can come in right behind their after Thanksgiving or after Christmas sales periods.

– from staff reports