Alabama’s third severe weather sales tax holiday runs from 12:01 a.m. Friday, February 21, until midnight, Sunday, February 23. During that time, Alabama will waive sales taxes on certain items needed to prepare for severe weather emergencies. In mid-November, the Alabama Retail Association mailed documents to help its members prepare for this potentially revenue-boosting event, including:

• a poster to help promote the three-day holiday. Even businesses that do not sell the tax-free items can benefit. Stimulating sales and boosting the statewide economy is what sales tax holiday weekends are all about. Place this poster in the front of your store or near the items that qualify for the tax exemptions. If you need more posters, you can download and print the pdf version from the sales tax holiday page of this website:

alabamaretail.org/alabamasalestaxholidays/

At the link above, you will find all of the information
you need to know about both of Alabama’s sales tax holidays,
including links to Alabama Department of Revenue information.

• a  Quick Reference Sheet of Exempt Items for the tax holiday. This is a perfect piece to place beside your cash registers. You might also want to make copies to provide to your customers or post them throughout your store to help your customers understand what is and isn’t sales tax free. Remind customers that tornado season is from March to August in Alabama and hurricane season is from June to November. Having the tax holiday in February comes at an ideal time to stock up on emergency supplies.

During the February holiday weekend, shoppers don’t pay the state’s four percent sales or use tax on purchases of qualifying items: common disaster supplies that cost less than $60 that every home and business needs to prepare for an emergency; and generators costing $1,000 or less. Alabama retailers are required to participate in the state’s sales tax holidays and cannot charge any waived sales taxes on the items that are legally tax-exempt during the tax holiday.

Local governments can exempt their sales taxes as well, making the savings even greater and more enticing for the consumer. Be sure your local communities participate. To find out if your area plans to add its tax savings to the holiday, go to 2014 Participating Cities and Counties. If your local government isn’t listed as a “Yes,” call your city council or county commission today and urge them to join the state in the tax holidays and approve the necessary ordinance or resolution by the Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014, deadline for the severe weather sales tax holiday. Local governments have limited time left to notify the state that they will participate.

Retailers worked hard for passage of Alabama’s sales tax holiday laws. The popularity of tax holidays continues to grow. In the current economic climate, consumers still need savings and an incentive to spend. Alabama’s sales tax holidays give them both. Alabama Retail hopes the severe weather sales tax holiday stimulates spending and, as the back-to-school sales tax holiday has shown, increases sales on taxed as well as untaxed items.