By John Schwing

Sale away.

For the first time, the state plans to suspend its sales tax on most clothing and footwear under $100 for a second “Sales Tax-Free Week” in a single year, beginning Sunday, Aug. 21.

The state’s sales tax currently is 6.35 percent. The exemption applies to each eligible item costing under $100, regardless of how many are sold to a customer on the same invoice.

The tax-free promotion will run through Saturday, Aug. 27, at retail outlets throughout the state. Earlier this year, the tax was suspended on similar merchandise for a week in April.

A range of clothes and shoes, costing up to $100, will not be subject to the sales tax during the week. Examples of merchandise that qualify for the exemption include:

Blouses and dresses, shirts and jeans, sneakers and hats, socks and underwear. Also, work clothes, diapers, sleepwear, belts, foul weather gear and employee uniforms such as those for police, firefighters, nurses and chefs.

And, somewhat surprisingly, items like wedding gowns and veils, clerical vestments, sashes and formalwear rentals also qualify for the exemption.

A few examples of items that are not tax-exempt include:

Jewelry, sports uniforms, athletic supporters, handbags and purses, party costumes, shower caps, potholders and lobster bibs (although “children’s” bids do qualify).

Here is the complete list of clothing and footwear, costing up to $100, qualifying for the sales-tax exemption and those items that are excluded.

Gov. Ned Lamont, in a statement announcing the promotion, said it was scheduled to help families save money during the back-to-school shopping season. 

“This is also an excellent opportunity to shop at some of our state’s locally owned retailers and support the many great small businesses we have in Connecticut,” Lamont said. 

John Schwing, the Westport Journal consulting editor, has held senior editorial and writing posts at southwestern Connecticut media outlets for four decades. Learn more about us here.