SPRINGFIELD – Working families and teachers will see lower back-to-school shopping costs ahead of the start of the school year, thanks to an initiative led by the Senate Democratic Caucus.

“As a nod to our working parents, guardians and teachers in Illinois, lowering the tax rate on school supplies removes a burden when preparing for the academic year,” said State Senator Michael E. Hastings (D-Frankfort), lead sponsor of the initiative. “It’s my hope that by instituting a tax holiday, we can help relieve families and educators of some financial costs in order to prepare students for the upcoming school year.”

The law lowers the state tax rate on school supplies and eligible clothes and footwear from 6.25% down to 1.25% for 10 days from Aug. 5 to Aug. 14, 2022.

“By lowering the tax rate to be competitive with neighboring states, we can give residents one more reason to shop local,” said State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Swansea). “We need to be doing all we can to support small businesses in our communities.”

Public Act 102-0700 was effective with the governor’s signature on April 19, 2022 and was fully implemented with the Fiscal Year 2023 state budget on July 1, 2022.

For more information on the tax holiday watch the informative video below.