ELKINS — With the start of the 2024 school year just around the corner, shoppers in need of materials will be able to save some money this weekend during West Virginia’s Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday.

On Monday, Gov. Jim Justice announced the dates for the special weekend sale that will begin on Friday, Aug. 2 and continue through Monday, Aug. 5. The average customer will save at least 6% on every qualified purchase and 7% if they purchase the item in a municipality that has imposed a local sales tax.

“The Sales Tax Holiday will help both students and teachers save some money,” said Randolph County Board of Education Vice President Janie Newlon. “The way prices are for everything these days, it really helps when parents have an opportunity to save some money when buying school clothes and supplies. Teachers also have a lot of out-of-pocket expenses when it comes to school supplies, so the holiday will help them as well.”   

Items that are exempt from Sales and Use Tax during the holiday include:

Certain clothing with a purchase price of $125 or less; Certain laptop and tablet computers with a purchase price of $500 or less; certain school instruction material with a purchase price of $20 or less; certain school supplies with a purchase price of $50 or less; and certain sports equipment with a purchase price of $150 or less.

There is no limit on the amount of the total purchase, and the qualification is determined by each individual item.

Clothing items that qualify include:

Aprons, athletic supporters, baby receiving blankets, bathing suits and caps, beach capes and coats, belts and suspenders, blouses, boots, coats and jackets, costumes,diapers, dresses, ear muffs, footlets, formal wear, garters and garter belts, girdles, gloves and mittens, hats and caps, hosiery, insoles for shoes, lab coats, neckties, overshoes, pants, pantyhose, rainwear, rubber pants, sandals, scarves, shirts, slippers, sneakers, socks and stockings, steel-toes shoes, sweaters, underwear, uniforms (athletic and nonathletic), and wedding apparel.

School supplies that are eligible for the tax exemption include:

Binders, blackboard chalk, book bags, calculators, cellophane tape, colored paper, compasses, composition books, construction paper, copy paper, crayons, erasers, folders (expandable, pocket, plastic, and manila), glue, past, paste sticks, graph paper, highlighters, index card boxes, index cards, legal pads, loose leaf ruled notebook paper, lunch boxes, manila paper, markers, notebooks, paper, pencil boxes, school supply boxes, pencil sharpeners, pencils, pens, poster board, protractors, rulers, scissors, tracing paper, and writing tablets. 

Items that are not defined as clothing and are not eligible include briefcases, cosmetics, carrettes, hair bows, hair nets, handbags, handkerchiefs, jewelry, sunglasses, umbrellas, wallets, watches, wigs and hair pieces.

Protective equipment such as breathing masks, clean room apparel and equipment, ear and hearing protectors, face shields, hard hats, helmets, paint or dust respirators, protective gloves, safety glasses and goggles, safety belts, tool belts, and welder’s gloves are not eligible to for the tax exemption.

Sewing equipment and supplies including knitting needles, patterns, pins, scissors, sewing machines, sewing needles, tape measures, thimbles, buttons, fabric, lace, thread yarn, and zipper are not eligible. Sports recreation equipment including ballet shoes, tap shoes, cleated or spiked athletic shoes, gloves, hand and elbow guards, life preservers and vests, mouth guards, roller and ice skates, shin guards, shoulder pads, ski boots, waders, and wets suits are also not eligible.

The first day of school in Randolph County for students in kindergarten through the 12th grade will be Monday, Aug. 19.