Tax-free school supplies? Not this year

If you were counting on some tax-free shopping this back-to-school season, you’re out of luck.

Pennsylvania still doesn’t have a school supplies tax holiday and now New Jersey is calling it quits on the two-year-old program.

What is a tax holiday?

A tax holiday is a temporary period — typically a week or so — during which sales taxes are trimmed or eliminated to encourage buying and help taxpayers spend less.

Tax holidays generally are scheduled around big buying times, like winter holidays or back-to-school.

Most tax holiday programs restrict the breaks to specific items and have price caps on big-ticket items like computers and laptops.

Does NJ have a tax holiday?

New Jersey introduced a tax holiday in 2022 in time for back-to-school shopping.

The program dropped taxes on art and school supplies, sports and recreational equipment, computer equipment and computers and laptops.

The program was brought back for the 2023 back-to-school shopping period.

But, in a bill signed in late July, the tax relief was stripped out of tax regulations.

Tax-free back-to-school shopping

There are 19 states that offer at least one tax-holiday this year.

Connecticut’s holiday in mid-August offers a tax break on clothes and shoes up to $100 each.

Maryland is running a tax holiday a week earlier and cutting taxes on clothes and shoes up to $100 and the first $40 of backpacks.

New Jersey’s tax break on computers up to $3,000 — a popular buy in previous years — would have been the most aggressive break on essential technology.