Reminder: Clothing Sales Tax Relief Underway

The following is message from Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz’s office:

With a new school year just starting, in these difficult economic times, the burden of having to purchase new school attire along with supplies can be daunting for New Yorkers. Just a reminder, families purchasing clothing from retailers have some needed relief: Clothing, footwear and related items with price tags under $55 each will be exempt from the State’s 4% sales tax, as well as the 0.375% sales tax for the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. Please remember that this tax exemption is per item, so a clothing purchase of $200 would, for example, be tax-free if it was comprised of four items of $50 each.

The tax-free status applies to all relevant items purchased whether they’re paid for in person, over the internet, by phone or by mail. The savings will increase in April of 2012 to include apparel costing less than $110. The exemption will hopefully re-energize our economy and keep more dollars in taxpayers’ pockets at a time when it’s most critical.

For more information on the sales tax exemption, visit the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance’s website at  www.tax.ny.gov.

As always, if you have any questions about this, or any other issue, call my office at 718 743-4078.