Alabama tax-free weekend to be held this weekend

Alabama’s annual Back-to-School tax-free weekend will take place from 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 7 to midnight on Sunday, Aug. 9. The city of Homewood will be participating in the tax exemption, as well as Mountain Brook, Hoover, Vestavia and Shelby County.

In addition to the sales tax exemption, many stores will feature special sales over the weekend. At Sikes and Jack n’ Jill in Homewood, items that are not exempt under the law such as hair bows and ribbons will receive a 10 percent discount so that all items in the store will be discounted by 10 percent. 

Sikes employee Stephanie Dustin said that the tax-free weekend is always a busy time for the children’s shoe store that has been open in Homewood since 1954. 

“By that time we usually have all of our fall tennis shoes and athletic shoes, so we have a really big selection,” she said. “Parents are trying to get in and get the first pick of back-to-school shoes for their kids.” 

General-use apparel such as dresses, jackets, pants, shirts, shoes and underwear will be exempt from Alabama’s sales tax over the weekend. All clothing items must be under $100. Clothing accessories such as cosmetics, jewelry, wallets and watches, protective equipment such as tool belts and hard hats, and sport or recreational equipment such as goggles and shoulder pads will not be exempt from sales tax. 

The exemption also applies to computers and other electronics under $750, school supplies under $50, educational books under $30 and required textbooks between $30 and $50. Furniture, video games, magazines and newspapers will 

For more information and a complete list of exemptions, visit revenue.alabama.gov/salestax/salestaxhol.cfm.