Can you believe it’s already August? The summer has flown by, and that means it’s time to get our kiddos ready for school again… and that means back-to-school shopping is upon us. And unfortunately, getting school supplies isn’t always easy.
First, it’s pricy; according to a CNET survey, parents will spend over $650 this year on school supplies. Second, it can be a pain to manage — between figuring out what supplies are actually needed, to juggling different stores to get the best sales, coupons, and discounts, and then carefully marking each individual supply… ugh! It’s just a lot. But hopefully, this guide will make life a little bit easier.
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Does Pennsylvania have a tax-free holiday?
Unfortunately, Pennsylvania does not have a tax-free holiday for school supplies. Not familiar with what this is? A tax holiday is a temporary period of time, usually a couple of times to a week, where sales taxes are lowered or altogether eliminated on certain items. These are often put into places during back-to-school shopping peaks in states that have them, so you’ll see various states have these holidays in place in August or September. Qualifying items are things like clothes and shoes, art and school supplies, sports equipment, computer equipment, and so on.
However, this doesn’t mean it’s all bad here in PA — there’s no tax holiday for these items because many of them are already tax-free. Most clothing is tax-free, for example, as are supplies like textbooks, computer services, and more.
If you’re really wanting to participate in a tax-free weekend, though, you’re not completely out of luck; both Maryland and Connecticut have tax holidays. In Maryland, you can get clothing and shoes tax-free, as well as the first $40 of a backpack, between August 11th and 17th, while in Connecticut, you can get tax-free clothing and shoes between August 18th through the 24th. If you’re already planning a holiday there, or feel like taking a road trip (say, to check out the Baltimore Aquarium), you could get a little bit of shopping done while you’re there.
Where are the best back-to-school coupons?
There are a lot of little ways to either save money or get money back while you’re doing your school shopping.
First, you can get cash back using apps and extensions like Rakuten, RetailMeNot, Fetch, Honey, and Ibotta.
Second, bookmark sites like DealNews, Coupon Cabin, and the Krazy Coupon Lady to keep track of sales and the best deals, so you know if you’re buying your supplies at the best time.
Finally, you can always do things the old-fashioned way… by stalking your favorite stores’ websites, checking out the coupons in the mail, and checking local magazines.
Take advantage of retailer apps
Don’t do any back-to-school shopping without downloading all the retailer apps first. The Target Circle app is full of deals, not to mention you can earn cash back when you use it. Other popular back-to-school retailers like Office Depot, Michaels, Old Navy, and Staples often have great deals to offset the high cost of school clothing and supplies.
And of course, if you’re a member, there are typically extra savings to be found using programs like Amazon Prime and Walmart+.
Back-to-School giveaways in Pennsylvania
There are community giveaways to help families get the school supplies they need without breaking the bank. We’ve listed some local events below; you can find more resources at PA211.
- Lancaster County 13th Annual Back-to-School Event, August 18th. Registration is open until August 12th.
- Back-to-School Festival in Lebanon County, with backpack and school supply giveaways, on August 3rd.
- Harrisburg backpack and school supply giveaway on August 10th.
- The Cumberland County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division is organizing a school supply drive for school-aged kids at Safe Harbour.
- The Leesport Farmers Market is hosting a back-to-school giveaway on August 8th.
