Tax-Free Shopping Begins in Maryland Aug. 11

By Kirsten Petersen

If you’re looking to update your wardrobe for a new job or a new year at school, the second week of August, Maryland’s Tax-Free Week, is the time to buy.

Clothing and footwear that costs less than $100 will not be subject to Maryland’s 6 percent sales tax from August 11 to August 17.

Eligible items range from the essential to the unexpected. Employee uniforms, religious clothing, graduation robes and prom dresses are on the list, but also diapers and non-commercial laundry and dry-cleaning services. Tennis shoes, dress shoes, galoshes and even bowling shoes made the cut for footwear.

Items that will not be exempt from the sales tax include backpacks, jewelry, hair accessories and fabric. Although many shoppers choose to buy school supplies during this week, office supplies will not be tax-free.

While Maryland shoppers have enjoyed the tax-free holiday for more than 10 years, the state has experienced a multi-million dollar loss in revenue. In 2007 the Maryland General Assembly estimated that $9.5 million would be lost in sales tax revenue during the tax-free week in fiscal year 2012, according to the state's comptroller's office.

While Maryland has offered tax-free shopping periods in the past in 2001 and 2006, it was not an annual event until 2010, according to Caron Brace, a spokesperson for the Maryland comptroller's office.

According to the Department of Legislative Services' fiscal and policy note of the 2007 Special Session of the Maryland General Assembly, the Maryland General Assembly estimated that $9.5 million would be lost in sales tax revenue during the tax-free week in fiscal year 2012.

The state cannot provide exact numbers because store retailers do not always report sales that aren’t taxed, according to the Maryland comptroller's office.

Check out a list of all eligible items here. The Maryland comptroller's office released this FAQ for the public to reference as well.

Editor's Note: In an original version of this post, we stated that the tax-free week was available to residents for 10 years; however, although there was a tax-free week in 2001, it was not an annual event until 2010. Also, although the comptroller’s office has estimated a loss from the tax-free week, there is no way to actually calculate the loss. We apologize for our error.