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Alabama parents will be taking advantage of the savings associated with Alabama’s back-to-school sales tax holiday.

Alabama’s 18th annual back-to-school sales tax holiday is July 21-23. This marks the seventh time the annual tax holiday will take place during the third weekend of July.

Covington County, Andalusia, Florala, Opp and Red Level are all waiving its sales taxes during the sales tax holiday.

From 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 21, until midnight, Sunday, July 23, the state waives its four percent sales tax on school-related supplies and clothing. More than 325 cities and counties throughout Alabama also waive their local taxes. In some areas, the savings reach 10 percent. A full list of participating cities and counties participating can be found at www.revenue.alabama.gov/sales-use/alabama-back-to-school-sales-tax-holiday-participating-localities/.

According to the National Retail Federation, parents of kindergarten through high school students plan to spend almost $900, while families with children in college plan to spend almost $1,400 for back-to-school needs this year.

Exempt items include:

• Clothing priced at $100 or less per article;
• School supplies valued at $50 or less per item;
• Books that cost $30 or less per book; and
• Tablets, laptops, computers and printers with a selling price of $750 or less.

A full list of items can be found at revenue.alababama.gov.

The sales tax holiday provides shoppers a way to save money and support their local economies, especially those local businesses that sell the covered items exclusively, like shoe, children’s apparel, school supply, book and computer stores.

“The sales tax holiday offers parents a way to save on back-to-school needs,” said Alabama Retail Association President Rick Brown. “Saving money for consumers while stimulating sales for stores is what this weekend is all about.”

Although the sales tax holiday targets back-to-school shoppers, any consumer can benefit from the savings offered during the weekend. A wide range of items are exempt during the holiday, so there is a reason for everyone to shop.

Some of the widely needed items include diapers, printer ink, thumb or flash drives, printer paper and art supplies.