By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

As summer draws to an end, it’s time for most parents or guardians to turn attention to the upcoming school year and the purchase of new school supplies.

Thankfully, many shoppers needing to purchase school supplies will have an opportunity to save thanks to the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday that begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 20, and lasts through midnight on Sunday, July 22.

The holiday will allow shoppers the opportunity to purchase certain school supplies, computers, books and clothing free of the states 4 percent sales or use tax.

Tax exempt items include several articles of clothing suitable for general use that costs less than $100 per article, computers, computer software and school computer supplies with a single purchase sales price of $750 or less, a wide range of school supplies or instructional material that costs $50 or less per item and books with a sales price of $30 or less per book.

Local municipalities participating in the sales tax holiday include Alabaster, Calera, Chelsea, Columbiana, Harpersville, Helena, Hoover, Leeds, Montevallo, Pelham, Vincent, Westover, Wilsonville and Wilton.

For more information such as a full list of tax exempt items, visit Alabamaretail.org/resources/salestaxholidays/back-to-school/.