Iowa’s Sales Tax Holiday is Coming Up Next Month

Lots of annual events here in Iowa have been canceled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, but, thankfully, the Sales Tax Holiday is not one of them!

According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Iowa's Annual Sales Tax Holiday will still be happening the first Friday and Saturday in August. It will kick off at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 7th and run through 12 a.m. on Saturday, August 8th (Sunday is NOT included). For those two days, "clothing and footwear that costs less than $100 are exempt from sales tax." And that includes all clothing and footwear items under $100, regardless of the total of all items in the transaction.

The official website for the state of Iowa defines "clothing" as "any article of wearing apparel and typical footwear intended to be worn on or about the human body." Items that do NOT fall under this category include:

• Watches/watchbands
• Jewelry
• Umbrellas
• Handkerchiefs
• Sporting equipment
• Skis
• Swim fins
• Roller blades/skates
• Any special clothing or footwear designed primarily for athletic activity or protective use and not usually considered appropriate for everyday wear

The Iowa government website goes into greater detail about how the lack of sales tax impacts other potential shopping situations, like BOGO deals, online purchases, exchanges/returns, coupons, layaway, and more. You can get that information HERE.

The majority of retail businesses and malls here in Iowa have reopened after the temporary shut-down because of the coronavirus pandemic, but many of them have different hours of operation. The websites for Lindale Mall in Cedar Rapids and Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville say that they are open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Be sure to check out the possible new hours of the businesses you're planning to shop at before you head out on August 7th and 8th.