CHICAGO, IL — The school year is kicking into gear all across the country and back-to-school shoppers are busy trying to make sure students have what they need to succeed. Illinois shoppers will be able to take advantage of a 10-day sales-tax holiday on certain back-to-school items starting on August 5, bringing some relief to folks already struggling to keep up with inflation and rising costs. 

The holiday begins on Aug 5. and ends on Aug. 14. Sales tax on eligible back-to-school items during the holiday will be reduced by 5%. 

The retail selling price of eligible clothing must be less than $125 per item. Eligible items include:

• hats, caps, and ear muffs

• rubber pants (covers for cloth diapers)

The retail selling price of eligible footwear must be less than $125 per item. Eligible footwear includes:

• shoes, sneakers, and shoe laces

School supplies don't have the same $125/item restriction that clothing and footwear do. They do, however, have to be used in the course of study.

• expandable pocket, plastic, and manila folders

• glue, paste, and paste sticks

• index cards and index card boxes

• notebooks and notebook paper, including loose leaf notebook, copy, graph, tracing, manila, colored and construction paper, and poster board

• pens, ink, and ink refills for pens

• pencil boxes and other school supply boxes

Many items are not eligible for reduced sales tax during the holiday, including: clothing accessories, sports and recreational equipment, protective equipment, some footwear, art supplies, instructional material, computers, computer supplies, and electronics. For more information and a full list of ineligible items, refer to the PDF document below or visit this website here.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Submit a News Tip Request a News Story Dub Send Us Your Birthday