Hello South Charlotte Newcomers! It’s Maureen again…
Already I’ve noticed a lot of serious back-to-school shopping on my few ventures out into “the stores” (as you may remember, I’m the one who hates to shop!). Well, you new North Carolina (and South Carolina!) residents – do yourselves a big favor and save some of those hard-earned dollars to spend on Tax-Free Weekend, just two weeks from today, August 5-7, 2011.
See www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/sales_holiday.html for details regarding state specifics!
You are lucky to have landed in one of 17 states that offers some sort of tax-free shopping opportunity for various goods. North Carolina offers two important tax-free times, including a weekend in November to save sales tax with appliance purchases, but for those of you getting your little people ready for a new school year, those of you shipping your darling teen off to college, or any of you looking to make a purchase of a new computer, computer supplies, sports equipment, or even clothes and footwear, it may be worth holding off for a couple of weeks!
http://singleparents.about.com/od/taxfreeholidays/qt/NC.htm
And yes, I know what you’re thinking – “they just eliminate the up to 8% tax instead of having sales of 15-40% off on items – what fun is that?” Not so! Fortunately, it’s been my experience, as a consummate bargain diva, that both sales and no tax offers are in place all around town! Believe me when I say it takes A LOT to get me out to a store with a smile on my face!! My favorite back-to-school shopping experiences on tax-free weekend have been at the Apple Store in Southpark Mall www.apple.com/retail/southpark/map/ – yes, three times now I have waited in the (long!) line in early August with other parents of soon-to-be college freshmen, just to save the $100+ on tax for their nice but pricey laptops – and they used to throw in a free iPod to sweeten the deal – now they have a $100 gift card offer:
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/campaigns/back_to_school?cid=AOS-US-KWG-BTS11
(p.s., have your student bring their school i.d. for all the best deals!).
In NC, in addition to the items noted above, all school supplies and “instructional materials” will also be tax-exempt during the weekend of August 5-7. South Carolina’s exemption includes clothes, school supplies, and computers, and some miscellaneous items including linens – GREAT to pop over the border and head to the stores (both left and right) on Dave Lyle Blvd. in Rock Hill (Exit 79 off I-77 S) for all your dorm supplies! TJMaxx, Target, Ross, Belk, JCPenney, and more!
So, stay cool, have fun, and shop away in those air-conditioned stores the first weekend this August!
South Charlotte Newcomers! 