How Houston parents can save on school shopping

With back-to-school season quick approaching, Houston dad and mom are searching for methods to chop prices on college provides and clothes. From Texas’ annual tax-free weekend to thrifting secondhand finds and making the most of native provide giveaways, there are a number of methods households can stretch their budgets and get college students prepared for the brand new college yr with out overspending.

The state’s annual tax-free weekend runs from August 8 via August 10, giving customers an opportunity to skip gross sales tax on many back-to-school necessities.

MORE DETAILS: What to know if you’re planning on back-to-school shopping during Texas’ tax-free weekend

What qualifies as tax-free?

Buyers can count on tax exemptions on:

• Clothes and footwear (shirts, denims, athletic socks, cowboy boots)

• Backpacks designed for pupil use (as much as $100)

• Faculty provides (notebooks, pens, calculators, artwork provides)

• Material and disposable face masks

Gadgets that don’t qualify

Sure gadgets are excluded, together with:

• Gadgets priced at $100 or extra

• Particular-purpose clothes (soccer pads, golf cleats)

• Equipment (jewellery, purses, wallets, watches, baggage)

• Computer systems, software program, and textbooks

• Stitching provides like cloth, buttons, and thread

For on-line purchases, the entire value together with delivery should stay below $100 for the merchandise to qualify. The merchandise should even be paid for or ordered through the tax-free weekend.

Along with the tax-free weekend, households can discover much more methods to save lots of by purchasing secondhand. Many thrift shops throughout Houston are stocked with gently-used and even brand-new clothes gadgets, usually nonetheless with tags. Backpacks, college uniforms, and on a regular basis necessities like denims and t-shirts might be discovered at a fraction of retail costs. On-line resale platforms like Poshmark additionally provide a big selection of children’ clothes and accessories, making it attainable to attain high-quality gadgets with out paying full value.

For households searching for additional help, a number of organizations all through Houston are internet hosting back-to-school giveaways that present free or closely discounted college provides. Group teams, native nonprofits, and college districts usually arrange distribution occasions the place college students can obtain necessities like backpacks, notebooks, and writing provides for gratis.

Many of those occasions additionally embrace health fairs that supply free vaccinations, imaginative and prescient screenings, and different sources to assist youngsters begin the college yr prepared and ready.

READ MORE: Health fairs, giveaways, and vaccines: Houston preps for back-to-school season

Buyers can maximize financial savings by stacking tax-free reductions with back-to-school gross sales and storewide promotions on provides, lunchboxes, and sneakers.