House Bill 396 Summary

• Exempts retail sales of school supplies from Mississippi sales tax if the item costs less than $100 and is purchased during a period starting at 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August and ending at 12:00 midnight the following Saturday.

• Defines "school supplies" as 42 specific items commonly used by students, including backpacks, binders, calculators, crayons, erasers, markers, notebooks, pencils, pens, folders, paper, textbooks, and writing tablets.

• Allows municipalities to suspend this exemption within their corporate limits by adopting a resolution and notifying the Department of Revenue at least 90 days in advance, effective January 1, 2019 or later.

• Takes effect July 1, 2018.