Sales tax holiday this weekend

This is your annual reminder that if you're looking to buy back-to-school items for the coming school year, this is the weekend to save a few bucks.

Beginning Friday, the state of Missouri will waive its regular sales tax, saving consumers 4.2% of their out-of-pocket expense.

This marks the 15th year of the sales tax holiday, intended to boost consumer spending and give parents' wallets a bit of a break in getting their kids ready for school.

Many local governments also waive their sales tax as well. For example locally, Jackson and Cape Girardeau County governments don't collect sales taxes on certain items this weekend, but the city of Cape Girardeau does. Roughly speaking, consumers can save an additional 2% or so if their local governments also participate.

The break on sales tax only applies to school-related items, such as clothing, school supplies, computers, software and calculators.

We encourage you to take advantage of the tax free weekend.