Florida Tax Free Weekend 2020: Dates, Times & What Qualifies

Florida’s Tax-Free Weekend is Friday, August 7-Sunday, August 9, 2020. It began at 12:01 a.m. on Friday and will end Sunday at 11:59 p.m. This means tax-free weekend is going on right now. Here is everything you need to know about the tax-free weekend and what qualifies and what does not.

The Following Items Are Exempt from Taxes in Florida This Holiday

Tax-free weekend is shorter this year in Florida than it was last year, and certain exemptions have been reduced.

The following items are tax-free this weekend. Learn more on Florida’s website here.

• Certain school supplies that are $15 or less per item
• Clothing, accessories, and shoes that are $60 or less per item
• The first $1,000 of the sales price of personal computers or computer-related accessories (only when used for noncommercial home or personal use)

The clothing and accessories part of the exemption can get a little confusing. Qualified clothing includes apparel, footwear, and some accessories. But qualified accessories do not include watches, jewelry, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, any gloves for sports, and more. Qualified accessories do include items such as hairbands and ponytail holders, belt buckles, bow ties, barrettes and bobby pins, hair clips, hairnets and bows, scarves, ties, purses, fanny packs, and wallets.

Qualified clothing (that costs $60 or less per item) includes items such as:

• Accessories (Barrettes and bobby pins, belt buckles, bow tie, hairnets, bows, clips, and hairbands, handbags, neckwear, ponytail holders, scarves, ties, wallets)
• Aerobic and fitness clothing
• Aprons and clothing shields
• Athletic supporters
• Baby clothes
• Backpacks and book bags
• Bandanas
• Baseball cleats
• Bathing suits, caps, and cover-ups
• Belts
• Bibs
• Bicycle helmets marked for use by youth
• Blouses
• Boots (except ski or fishing boots)
• Bowling shoes (purchased)
• Braces and supports worn to correct or alleviate a physical incapacity or injury
• Bras
• Choir and altar clothing
• Cleated and spiked shoes
• Clerical vestments
• Coats
• Coin purses
• Costumes
• Coveralls
• Diaper bags, diapers, diaper inserts (adult and baby, cloth or disposable)
• Dresses
• Fanny packs
• Fishing vests (non-flotation)
• Formal clothing (purchased)
• Glove (dress, garden, work, etc.)
• Graduation caps and gowns
• Gym suits and uniforms
• Hats and caps
• Hosiery and panty hose (including support hosiery)
• Hunting vests
• Jackets
• Jeans
• Lab coats
• Leggings, tights, and leg warmers, leotards
• Lingerie
• Martial arts attire
• Overshoes and rubber shoes
• Pants
• Purses
• Raincoats, rain hats, and ponchos
• Receiving blankets
• Religious clothing
• Robes
• Safety clothing and safety shoes
• Scout uniforms
• Shawls and wraps
• Shirts
• Shoe inserts and insoles
• Shoes (including athletic)
• Shoulder pads (e.g., dresses or jackets)
• Shorts
• Ski suits (snow)
• Skirts
• Sleepwear (nightgowns and pajamas)
• Slippers
• Slips
• Socks
• Suits, slacks, and jackets
• Suspenders
• Sweatbands
• Sweaters
• Swimsuits and trunks
• Ties (neckties and bow ties)
• Tuxedos (purchased only, not rented)
• Underclothes
• Uniforms (work, school, and athletic – excluding pads)
• Vests

Qualified school supplies, according to the Florida government, cost $15 or less per item and must not be sold in a theme park, entertainment complex, public lodging, or airport. Examples include:

• Binders
• Calculators, compasses, protractors, rulers
• CDs (blank only)
• Composition books, legal pads, notebooks
• Crayons, markers
• Erasers
• Folders
• Glue (stick and liquid), paste
• Legal pads
• Lunch boxes
• Markers
• Paper such as construction paper, notebook filler paper
• Pencils, colored pencils, mechanical pencils & refills
• Pens (felt, ballpoint, fountain), highlighters, refills
• Poster board & poster paper
• Rulers
• Scissors
• Staplers and staples

The Following Items Are Not Exempt from Taxes in Florida This Holiday

• Any item of clothing that costs more than $60
• Any school supply that costs more than $15
• Any rentals or leases, even if the items are eligible if purchased

The details are listed here.

In addition, some computers and computer accessories are tax-free this year. Computers ARE tax-free only if they are purchased for personal use. If purchased for commercial use they are NOT tax-free.

If you buy an item during tax-free weekend and later exchange it for the same item (just a different size or color), you won’t have to pay taxes, even if you make the exchange after tax-free weekend.

Note: Tax-free exemptions are based on the price per item. There’s no limit on how many of a particular exempt item you can buy. But if a clothing item costs more than the $60 allowed, for example, you’ll be paying tax on the entire cost of the item, not just $60 on up.

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