The 4^th of July seems a distant memory, Labor Day looms on the horizon, and August promises the end of our summer vacation and the beginning of another school year.

That’s right; its back-to-school season again and with the return of open houses and micro-fridges comes the frenzy of back-to-school shopping.

Don’t worry! NC tax-free weekend is the perfect occasion to turn the burden into bliss! The tax-free holiday kicks off this Friday and lasts until Sunday night.

From binders, clothing, and even computers it’s the perfect time to take advantage of back-to-school savings.

Now, before you hit the stores please note that not everything is exempt from sales tax.

Check out the list below to get the rundown on what is included in this weekend’s tax-free festivities.

The following lists are not all-inclusive.

1. Clothing with a sales price of one hundred dollars ($100.00) or less per item.

•  Aprons, household and shop
• Athletic supporters
• Baby receiving blankets
• Bandannas
• Bathing suits and caps; beach capes and coats
• Belts and suspenders
• Boots; overshoes
• Coats, jackets, capes, and wraps
• Costumes (does not include masks sold separately)
• Diapers (children and adults, including disposables)
• Earmuffs; gloves and mittens for general use
• Formal wear (does not include rentals)
• Garters and garter belts; girdles; leotards and tights; panty hose; socks; stockings and footlets; underwear
• Insoles for shoes
• Jogging suits
• Lab coats
• Neckties
• Pants
• Rain wear
• Sandals; shoes and shoelaces; slippers; sneakers; Shirts; sweaters
• Uniforms (athletic and non-athletic uniforms when purchased for non-business use)
• Wedding apparel (does not include rentals)

 2. Sport or recreational equipment with a sales price of fifty dollars ($50.00) or less per item.

•  Ballet and tap shoes
• Cleated or spiked athletic shoes
• Gloves (baseball, bowling, boxing, hockey, golf, and other sports)
• Goggles
• Hand and elbow guards
• Helmets (bicycle, skating, baseball, etc.)
• Life preservers and vests
• Mouth guards
• Roller and ice skates
• Shin guards
• Shoulder pads
• Ski boots
• Waders, wetsuits, and fins

3. Computers, including tablet computers and netbooks, with a sales price of three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500) or less per item.

• central processing unit
• monitor
• keyboard,
• mouse
• speakers

Note: The separate sale of a monitor, keyboard, mouse, or speakers is subject to the applicable tax when the item is not sold in conjunction with a central processing unit. An eReader is not a computer and is, therefore, taxable.

4. Computer supplies with a sales price of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) or less per item.

• Computer storage media (including diskettes, compact disks, USB flash drives)
• Handheld electronic schedulers (not including cellular phones)
• Personal digital assistants (not including cellular phones)
• Computer printers
• Printer supplies for computers (including printer paper and printer ink)

5. School supplies with a sales price of one hundred dollars ($100.00) or less per item.

• Binders
• Blackboard chalk
• Book bags
• Calculators
• Cellophane tape
• Clay and glazes
• Compasses
• Composition books
• Crayons
• Erasers
• Folders (expandable, pocket, plastic, and
• manila)
• Glue, paste, and paste sticks
• Highlighters
• Index card boxes
• Index cards
• July 12, 2012 Page 3
• Legal pads
• Lunch boxes
• Markers
• Notebooks
• Paintbrushes for artwork
• Paints (acrylic, tempora, and oil)
• Paper (loose leaf ruled notebook paper, copy paper, graph paper, tracing paper, manila paper, colored paper, poster board, and construction paper)
• Pencil boxes and other school supply boxes
• Pencil sharpeners
• Pencils (includes pencil leads)
• Pens (includes pen refills)
• Protractors
• Rulers
• Scissors
• Sketch and drawing pads
• Watercolors
• Writing tablets