Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay families can buy school supplies, uniforms and laptops without paying sales tax through Thursday, Aug. 20, one week after Miami-Dade County Public Schools opens its doors for the 2026-2027 school year on Aug. 13.
Florida's 2026 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday, which began July 20, waives the full 7% combined state and county sales tax on qualifying purchases. For a family buying two school uniforms at $45 each, a $35 backpack, a $25 calculator and a box of colored pencils at $8, that's $10.99 back in their pocket. Add a $799 laptop and the savings jump to roughly $67.
What qualifies
The Florida Department of Revenue lists four categories with price caps:
- Clothing, footwear, wallets and backpacks: $100 or less per item
- School supplies: $50 or less per item (calculators, notebooks, pens, crayons, colored pencils, construction paper, lunch boxes, glue, staplers, markers, rulers and scissors)
- Learning aids and jigsaw puzzles: $30 or less (flashcards, interactive books, educational toys, stacking blocks)
- Personal computers and accessories: $1,500 or less, for noncommercial home or personal use
Online orders count, too. As long as the purchase is accepted and paid for by Aug. 20, delivery can arrive later, according to Florida Today.
Holiday runs one week past school start
The tax-free window does not close when school begins. Miami-Dade's first day is Thursday, Aug. 13, and families can shop tax-free for seven additional days after classes start.
Other deadlines families should know
As we reported Aug. 5, meal charges return to seven non-CEP campuses in Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay on Aug. 13, with lunches at $4.20 and breakfasts at $2.50. The free and reduced-price meal application opens Monday, Aug. 10, at mdcpsnutrition.net. All students eat free for the first 30 days while applications are processed.
The sales tax holiday ends Thursday, Aug. 20. The full list of qualifying items is available at floridarevenue.com/backtoschool.
