The MA Tax Holiday / Tax-Free Weekend Survival Guide

Tax-Free Weekend is a good time for you to save money. You save 6.25% in tax. Retailers know you want to save the tax and have to compete, so you should see some pretty good sales on top of the tax savings.

In this article, you will learn the legalities of Tax-Free Weekend. It's limited in dollar amount at $2499, but unlimited in quantity of products you can buy.

Then I will show you how to save the most money, avoid the crowds, and spend most of the weekend on the beach (weather permitting).

Everything You Need To Know About Tax-Free Weekend 

MA Tax-Free Weekend Dates and Regulations

The Tax-Free Holiday is August 17th and 18th, 2019.

Any items under $2,500 are tax exempt. Any items $2,500 and above are taxable for the full amount.

The tax exemption does not start at $2,500, where you pay 6.2 cents for $2,501.

At $2499, you pay zero tax. At $2,500, you pay the full tax of $156.25.

So cars, yachts, and other items over $2,499 should be scratched from your list.

A couple other Tax-Free Weekend regulations to be aware of:

• Items must be paid in full.
• Builder sales do not qualify. Unfortunately, you cannot buy a building full of appliances and save the tax. However, the homeowners in that building can buy the merchandise to save the tax.
• There is no limit to the singular items under $2,500, so you can buy an infinite number of non-taxable items at $2,499.

The following are a few tips on how to survive the crowds and aggravation to save the most money.

MA Tax-Free Weekend Survival Guide

• Shop Now: Do your shopping now before the weekend by phone or in person. Most stores will have the promotions available early.
  Commodities (basic stuff like diapers, tissue paper, etc.) can be purchased by phone/online while decorative purchases you should shop for in person. You do not need to see commodities whereas you should always try to look at decorative products to see how it would look in your home.
• Generate a Quote Or List Early:  Getting a quote on the items you wish to purchase can save you a ton of time. You cannot buy the products until the weekend itself to save the tax. Either tell the salesperson to process the order on Tax Holiday or call/ email that weekend. This will save an incredible amount of time. You also want to avoid the lines to save time as much as possible. On a beautiful summer day, do you want to wait in line for three hours?
• During Tax-Free Weekend, Head Out Early: If you want to shop that weekend, head out early to your prime destinations. By prime, I refer to the big-ticket items. If you're waiting in line for three hours for a few $20 items, you may find that your time is worth more.
• Buy Online: You can also save time by buying online as long as the store processes the  order before Midnight on Sunday. Web orders are great for commodities like dishwashers or laundry, but you still want to speak to someone for more detailed purchases. 
• Shop Smart To Avoid Exchanges: You lose the tax advantage if the refrigerator or sofa does not fit and has to be exchanged after Tax-Free Weekend, so be careful about bigger items or if you are unsure of the product or style. Exchanges are taxable for the full amount.
• Check Store Hours: This may seem baffling, but smaller stores rarely change their hours for this weekend. Larger stores and chains will be open for extended hours. Take advantage either early or late.
• Beware Credit Card Fraud: This may seem obvious, but never provide your credit card information online unless the site is secure. One way you can check is by looking your URL link at the top of the page. It should have a green lock or say "secure."
  
• Ask About The Delivery Process: You want to be very specific about your delivery requirements, but at the same time leave yourself some flexibility. Typically a store will sell two months of business in two days, so specific dates may be tough.
  Delivery is the toughest part of Tax-Free Weekend from my perspective. We will pre-buy a few million dollars of products and add trucks, routes, and personnel to ship on time, so there should be minimal issues.
• Be Careful Where You Purchase: You don't want to save money and lose more of that in aggravation and missed delivery appointments later. Anyone can take an order. Shipping is another matter completely.

Our Final Advice For Tax-Free Weekend

In summary, our best advice is to plan your weekend a couple of weeks before. Zero in on the big $2499 and under ticket purchases first.

Develop your list early and competitively shop. Do your research first.

On Tax-Free Weekend, call to convert your quote or shop the big tickets first. Commodities can be purchased online.

Be very careful. You want to be sure of your purchases. Exchanges after the fact are taxable. Also, be careful where you shop. Check reviews of the stores beforehand to understand what will happen after the sale.

Ask tons of questions and get all promises and details in writing. Call me a skeptic, but the written word always trumps the spoken promise.