The deadline to complete your child’s “back to school” shopping is growing ever closer. With so many families in a financial crunch, we felt it is important to send out another reminder about all the sales tax holidays throughout the country. Most sales tax holidays equal out to be a six to eight percent discount. The National Retail Federation predicts that the average family will spend $548.72 on “back to school” supplies this year, so a family could save over $40.

The economic recession has not only impacted American families, states’ bottom lines have suffered as well. Some state governments eliminated their traditional sales tax holiday this year, due to an overall decrease in sales tax revenue. However, other states are still holding their sales tax holiday. They believe the sales tax holiday will benefit the local economy in the long run. Consumers will be able to purchase necessary school supplies for less, and retailers will receive a revenue boost during their second busiest shopping season of the year.

States that have posted information on their sales tax holidays are listed below. If you don’t see your state listed, check to see if a neighboring state has scheduled a sales tax holiday. Traveling to another state for some sightseeing and “back to school” shopping could be a nice family day trip.

• Alabama – August 7-9; clothing, computers, school supplies and books
• Connecticut – August 16-22; clothing and footwear
• District of Columbia – August 1-9; clothing and school supplies
• Georgia - July 30 - August 2; school supplies, clothing and computers and October 1 – 4; energy and water efficient products
• Iowa – August 7-8; clothing
• Louisiana – August 7-8; tangible personal property
• Mississippi - July 31 - August 1; clothing and footwear
• Missouri – August 7-9; clothing, computers, and school supplies
• New Mexico – August 7-9; clothing, computers, and school supplies
• North Carolina – August 7-9; clothing, school supplies, instructional materials, computers, other computer equipment, and sports equipment and November 6- 8; Energy Star products
• Oklahoma – August 7-9; clothing
• South Carolina – August 7-9; clothing, school supplies, computers, and other educational supplies
• Tennessee – August 7-9; clothing, school supplies, and computers
• Texas – August 21-23; clothing and backpacks
• Virginia – August 7-9; clothing and school supplies and October 9-12; Energy Star products
• West Virginia – September 1 – November 30; Energy Star products

Be aware that there may be a minimum or maximum purchase requirement in order to qualify for the sales tax holiday. In addition, some tax holidays include both state and city sales taxes, while other holidays just eliminate the state sales tax. For more information on your state’s tax break holiday, visit their Department of Revenue’s web site.

By taking advantage of the tax break holidays, the beginning of the school year will be better for everyone.