A Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday will run Aug. 26 through Sept. 4 in New Jersey for certain retail sales of computers, school supplies, and sports or recreational equipment when sold to an individual purchaser for non-business use.
Sellers should not charge 6.625% sales tax on eligible items when purchased during the Sales Tax Holiday.
A list of items eligible for the Sales Tax Holiday, according to the New Jersey Treasury’s Division of Taxation, can be found below.
SCHOOL ART SUPPLIES
“School art supplies” means items commonly used by a student in a course of study for artwork. School art supplies include:
Clay and Glazes
Paints (Including Acrylic, Tempera, and Oil)
Paintbrushes for Artwork
Watercolors
Sketch and Drawing Pads
SCHOOL INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
“School instructional materials” means written materials commonly used by a student in a course of study as a reference to learn the subject being taught. School instructional materials include:
Reference Books
Workbooks
Reference Maps and Globes
Textbooks
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
“School supplies” means items commonly used by a student in a course of study. School supplies includes the following:
Binders
Cellophane Tape
Composition Books
Folders (expandable, pocket, plastic, and manila)
Index Cards
Pencil Boxes and Other School Supply Boxes
Pens
Protractors
Book Bags
Blackboard Chalk
Crayons
Glue, Paste, and Paste Sticks
Index Card Boxes
Markers
Lunch Boxes
Legal Pads
Notebooks
Pencil Sharpeners
Pencils
Calculators
Compasses
Erasers
Highlighters
Paper (loose leaf ruled notebook, copy, graph, tracing, manila, colored, construction, and poster board)
Writing Tablets
Rulers
Scissors
SPORTS OR RECREATIONAL EQUIPMENT
“Sports or recreational equipment” means items designed for human use and worn in conjunction with an athletic or recreational activity that are not suitable for general use. Sport or recreational equipment includes, but is not limited to:
Ballet and Tap Shoes
Goggles
Mouth Guards
Skates (roller and ice)
Shin Guards
Shoulder Pads
Ski Boots
Athletic Shoes (cleated or spiked)
Guards (hand or elbow)
Life Preservers and Vests
Waders
Gloves (baseball, bowling, boxing, hockey, and golf)
Wetsuits and Fins
Helmets (bike, sport)
SCHOOL COMPUTER SUPPLIES
“School computer supplies” with a sales price less than $1,000. “School computer supplies” means items commonly used by a student in a course of study in which a computer is used. Retail sales of school computer supplies with a sales price greater than or equal to $1,000 remain subject to tax during the Sales Tax Holiday. School computer supplies include:
Computer Storage Media, Diskettes, and Compact Disks
Handheld Electronic Schedulers (except devices that are cellular phones)
Personal Digital Assistants (except devices that are cellular phones)
Computer Printers
Printer Supplies for Computers, Printer Paper, and Printer Ink
CERTAIN COMPUTERS
Computers with a sales price less than $3,000. “Computers” means electronic devices that accept information in digital or similar form and manipulate it for a result based on a sequence of instructions. “Electronic” means related to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. Computers with a sales price greater than or equal to $3,000 remain subject to tax during the Sales Tax Holiday.
For more information, please visit the New Jersey Division of Taxation Sales Tax Holiday Frequently Asked Questions page.
Senator Patrick Diegnan 