by Nicole Dow
Senior Writer
Back-to-school shopping may be exciting for the kids who get new gear, but less so for the parents who have to pay for it all.
A survey from the National Retail Federation found that parents with kids in elementary through high school planned to spend an average of $848.90 on clothing, electronics and school supplies in 2021, the most recent year available.
Some shoppers will get a little relief as 18 states have tax-free holidays coming up in July and August, saving consumers from paying sales tax on certain school-related items.
Now, you may not save a ton of money by shopping during tax-free holidays. For example, if you bought $500 worth of clothes, shoes and school supplies during Florida’s tax-free weekend in a county where the sales tax is 6%, you would save about $30. But what parent wouldn’t want to save 30 bucks?
And if you use the tax-free holidays in conjunction with smart budgeting strategies and comparison shopping, you’ll save even more on your back-to-school supplies.
Some states’ tax-free holidays are held over a weekend, while others are a week long. Each state has different criteria for what merchandise won’t be taxed, and many states require the purchases to be under a certain price threshold.
And if you live in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire or Oregon, every day is a holiday — those states don’t have a sales tax.
The 18 states that have back-to-school tax-free holidays this year are Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
When: July 15-17
What is tax-free:
When: August 6-7
What is tax-free:
When: August 21-27
What is tax-free:
When: July 25-August 7
What is tax-free:
When: August 5-14
What is tax-free
When: August 5-6
What is tax-free:
When: August 14-20
What is tax-free:
When: August 13-14
What is tax-free:
When: July 29-30
What is tax-free:
When: August 5-7
What is tax-free:
When: August 5-7
What is tax-free:
When: August 5-7
What is tax-free:
When: August 5-7
What is tax-free:
When: August 5-7
What is tax-free:
When: July 29-31
What is tax-free:
When: August 5-7
What is tax-free:
When: August 5-7
What is tax-free:
When: August 5-8
What is tax-free:
Nicole Dow is a former senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. Senior writer Robert Bruce contributed to this article. 
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