The grandkids are going back to school so check out our tips on getting the best deals for everything they need.

Back-to-school shopping is one of the most difficult times financially for families with school-aged children. 

Now would be a perfect time for you to lend a hand and help out with some of the back to school shopping if you have grandkids back home that are still in school.

Luckily, the great state of Florida has a program in place to help out with this a bit! 

This is the perfect opportunity for you to pick up some of the items your grandkids may need this school year for less than their out-of-state parents would have to pay, and ship it to them in time for the start of school. 

Florida’s Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday 

In order to help out back-to-school shoppers, the Florida Department of Revenue has created a holiday from charging sales tax for one special week in early August.

From the morning of Friday, August 7 through the end of the day on Sunday, August 16, residents will not have to pay sales tax on many of the clothing, school supplies, computers and accessories that they purchase for students. 

There are some exceptions though. In order to qualify, clothing items must cost less than $100 and school supplies must cost less than $15. And only the first $750 qualifies for most computer purchases. 

So those new basketball shoes, football jerseys, and MacBook might not qualify, but you can still get plenty of great stuff that does and save yourself quite a bit in sales tax! 

Where to Start? Wal-Mart & Office Max!

If you are going to take advantage of the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday, you might as well start close to home. The Villages of Citrus Hills is surrounded by three different Wal-Mart stores and two Office Max stores. 

These are great places to start your search for basic school supplies that will often have great deals on things like notebooks, pencils, and other fun school supplies just to get people in the door.

Outlet Shopping: Finding the Coolest Clothes

No matter where the students you are buying for happen to be from, finding the clothes they’ll want to wear is always the goal.

 One of the best ways to do this is to check out some of the great shopping we have talked about in Tampa and Orlando! Both areas contain great outlet shopping less than two hours from the Villages of Citrus Hills. 

Pro Tip: Stick to whatever stores their parents recommend so that they can return things for store credit to get the perfect fit and style! 

Shipping Your “Caring” Package

Once you get together a great collection of clothes and school supplies, the next step is getting it delivered to your favorite students.

 To get this done, you can start by stopping at any of the local post offices surrounding the Villages of Citrus Hills. There are also UPS Stores in both Inverness and Crystal River. 

All you have to do is pack everything up neatly in one big box and take it to the post office or UPS Store with the destination address in hand. They’ll take care of the rest. 

The Easiest Route: Amazon

In case you’re pressed for time, there is also the option of doing all of your back-to-school shopping right on Amazon! 

Amazon actually makes back-to-school shopping easy by having lists of recommended products for each grade level. You can also use their zip code search feature to see if there are any specific recommendations right from the school. 

If you are an Amazon Prime member, you will also get free two-day shipping on anything you purchase! 

No matter how much you want to spend for back-to-school shopping, any amount will likely be appreciated by both the students and parents in your life. 

And with Florida’s sales tax holiday coming up, you might want to take advantage of this being a great time to lend a hand in getting those kids ready for the new school year.