Stock up! Emergency preparation supplies are tax free this weekend
NORTH TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) – If a natural disaster strikes, is your home prepared? This weekend is Emergency Preparation Supplies Sales Tax Holiday - where you can save money while stocking up.
The time to prepare for an emergency is now, especially given the unpredictability of spring in Texas.
"It's Texas, and you don't know what you're ever going to get. I can't say that enough," said Clay Hunt, a general manager at Elliott's Hardware. "In Texas, some years we won't see a single thing, and some years we'll see all we can see, and that's a lot.
At Elliott's, staff are working on a display of emergency supplies, all of which will be free of the 8.25% sales tax, starting Saturday.
"It's great, because what it does, it kinds of puts an emphasis on making sure you can protect yourself, you know, if the electricity goes out. What are you going to do to protect yourself when that happens?" said Larry Traylor, also a general manager at Elliott's Hardware.
He said one of the most important items on the tax-free list is generators. They qualify if their sale price is less than $3,000, which means you could save hundreds of dollars with the exemption.
Other qualifying items include hurricane shutters and emergency ladders priced less than $300, and household batteries, fuel containers, flashlights, and carbon monoxide detectors less than $75.
The sales tax holiday ends at midnight on Monday. Traylor recommended thinking ahead, because disasters and procrastinators don't blend well.
"Be prepared. Get it now, because you don't know what's going to be open, what's going to be closed, and it might be too late at that point," he said.
