OHIO — It’s almost time for students and teachers to head back to school, which means school supplies shopping.

What You Need To Know

  • Ohio’s tax free weekend is the first Friday, Saturday and Sunday of August each year

  • The goal is to help families with back to school shopping 

  • A school teacher said besides the weekend, there are other ways to save money

Ohio’s tax free weekend, which runs Aug. 4 to  Aug. 7, is a great way for families to save some money on essential back to school items.

According to Ohio.gov, the following items are exempt from sales and use tax during the weekend:

  • An item of clothing priced at $75 or less
  • An item of school supplies priced at $20 or less
  • An item of school instructional material priced at $20 or less

As a teacher and a mother of three, Kim Stuckey knows a thing or two about back to school shopping.

“First thing I did was went to our schools districts website and printed off their back to school list,” Stuckey said. “So I typically like to shop a little bit earlier to make sure that my kids get the choices that they want.”

Stuckey said that back to school shopping prices can add up. She said buying for just one student can cost nearly $100.

“Probably anywhere from $70-90 (per child),” Stuckey said. “You know depending on your school district, depending on your grade level.”

Ohio’s tax free weekend attempts to help bring the cost down on some of those purchases, like supplies and clothes for back to school, but Stuckey says the tax holiday doesn’t make a significant difference in her bills.

“So I have my receipt here. My total was around $242,” she explained. “My tax looks like it was about $13, so I don’t know if it would have been that much of a savings if I would have waited for the tax free days.”

Throughout her years as a teacher and a parent, Stuckey has learned some tricks to save money, like having her kids label all of their supplies. She said this way the kids don’t lose track of their items, leaving their parents to spend even more money on replacement supplies.

"But I just think, you know, having the kids pick out their school supplies, label them, you know, take a little ownership, build that excitement, get them ready for school," she said.

She also added that there are several organizations aimed at helping families who might be financially struggling during this expensive time of year.

“I know depending on the city that you are from, there are a lot of churches that have things where you can pick up book bags and some extra supplies there,” she said. “The school district that I teach in we actually have the Kids in Need Foundation that we can go to and pick up extra supplies.”

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