Now through Aug. 11, you can avoid paying sales taxes on select items during Florida’s Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday. You can add to your savings and pay yourself a bonus by making smart moves when you shop and pay, especially if you are a Tropical Financial Credit Union member.
You don’t have to be a parent or college student to be exempt from paying Florida sales tax on:
- Clothes, shoes, and book bags that cost $100 or less
- School supplies that cost $50 or less
- Learning aids that cost $30 or less
- Personal computers that cost $1,500 or less
You can increase your savings by shopping around for the best price. Start your journey online using your favorite search engine and enter “back-to-school sale near me”. The results will show local retailers and what they are offering.
Price-comparison apps work particularly well for commodities like pens, pencils, and printer paper. They are easier to compare than personal items like clothes and shoes. They also save you time because you can check—with some degree of certainty—whether the item is in stock at a store.
Want to save more? Try coupon websites like Coupon Cabin for their online and printable coupons to use whether you are ordering for home delivery or shopping in person. The Cently web browser extension not only searches for coupons but also tests them and adds them at checkout for your online shopping cart.
Don’t forget the rebates. One of the most popular is Rakuten, another web browser extension. Its blog has checklists for school supplies and tech gadgets including computers.
As a Tropical Financial member, you can add that third layer of savings by using the debit card on your Daily Rewards Debit checking account. You earn 2 cents on every retail purchase. The money goes into your account the next business day.
The Daily Rewards account has several other benefits: a minimum of only $25 to open an account; no monthly service fee regardless of the balance; and no ATM fees at Tropical Financial machines. Several large ATM networks such as Publix do not charge credit union members for withdrawing cash.
Keep your Daily Rewards card handy when you go online and into stores. With no sales tax on the lowest-priced item, a coupon, or a rebate, your debit card purchase will further stretch your dollars.