Hurricane Coming

For several years now, Florida has had a 12-day sales tax “holiday” for hurricane preparedness. The tax holiday occurs in May before the start of Hurricane Season, which is June 1st at midnight. This means that by law, no sales tax or discretionary sales surtax will be collected on certain items related to hurricane preparedness. Hopefully this yearly holiday will continue. What ‘certain’ items qualify for the tax relief? The following information was provided by the Florida Department of Revenue’s Tax Information Publication (TIP 06A01-03):

Items Selling for $10, or less:

Items sold as artificial ice

Items selling for $20, or less:

Battery operated flashlights or lanterns, Self powered light sources, gas powered lanterns, tiki torches, or candles.

Items selling for $25, or less:

Any gas, or diesel fuel containers (including LP, or kerosene).

Items selling for $30, or less:

Batteries (including rechargable), sizes AAA, AA, C and D cells. 6-volt & 9-volt (but not boat or car batteries) Coolers/ice chests.

Items selling for $40, or less:

Any cell phone charger

Items selling for $50, or less:

Self-powered or battery-powered, radios, two-way radios and weather band radios. Tarps, plastic sheeting, anchor systems, tie-down kits, bungee cords and ratchet straps.

Items selling for $60, or less:

Any cell phone battery

Items selling for $70, or less:

Carbon monoxide detectors and any package containing 2 or more of the above mentioned items, sold for $75 or less.

Items selling for $200, or less:

Storm shutter devices. This means products and materials specifically produced for window protection from storms.

Items selling for $1000, or less:

Portable generators for providing light, preserving food in the event of power outages.

For complete details, please visit http://www.floridadisaster.org/ the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s very helpful site, which contains the link to the Department of Revenue’s TIP sheet for your printable copy of the Tip Sheet for Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday.