The sales tax holiday allows tax-free purchases of eligible items made in-person or online.  This year the tax holiday is extended from 3 days to 10 days. The tax-free period will run from 12:00 am on July 30 to 11:59 pm on August 8, 2024.

Qualifying Purchases

• The qualifying items must be tangible personal property priced at $500 or less per item. No restriction on the total purchase amount, eligibility is assessed per item.
  • Excluded: All taxable services are excluded as well as alcoholic beverages, tobacco, marijuana products and certain vapor products.
• Dine-In Food sales at restaurants are included this year.
  • Alcohol is still taxable and should be rung up separately,
  • Restaurants should update their POS systems to reflect the tax exemptions for eligible menu items.
  • Staff should be trained on the new rules and proper treatment of alcoholic purchases.

Other Considerations

• Items normally sold together cannot be separated to meet the sales price threshold.
• If an individual item exceeds $500, the entire item is taxable. Retailers cannot exempt the first $500 and tax the remainder.
• The same rules apply for “Buy one, get one free” and the price of the items cannot be averaged to qualify.

Reporting and Compliance

All sales, taxable and exempt, must be reported when filing your sales tax return. Qualifying tax holiday sales should be reported on the exempt sales line (line 2) of the UST-1 form.

Important to remember that participation is mandatory, and non-compliance could result in penalties. If a customer pays sales tax on a qualifying item, they can request a refund after the holiday ends from your business or through the state of Ohio.

The holiday is a great opportunity to increase sales for your business while offering savings to your customers. For more detailed information, you can reference Ohio’s Department of Taxation website here: Department of Taxation | Ohio.gov