When shopping, sometimes knowing when to buy can be just as important as knowing what to buy. After falling too close to the start of school for a few years, Alabama finally updated the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday. Now on the third weekend in July, the Alabama Department of Revenue allows parents and students to reap some savings by shopping free of sales tax on clothing, computers, supplies, and more. This year, Alabama's Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday is July 20-22, 2018.

Alabama has the 8th highest average sales tax in the nation. Skipping the sales tax while preparing to start the new school year can save parents an average of $50. Also, many retailers have additional specials for even more saving opportunities.

If you're curious which items qualify for exemption from local (see participants) and state sales taxes, the full list can be found on Alabama's website, but here are some popular items:

Clothing ($100 or less per item) – such as shirts, pants, coats, and shoes

Computers, software & accessories ($750 or less per item) – such as computers, printers, tablets

Supplies ($50 or less per item) – such as binders, backpacks, crayons, folders, notebooks, paper, pencils, pens, scissors, maps/globes, textbooks

Books ($30 or less per item) – includes all bound books

Between the savings on income tax from the new 2018 law and on sales tax from the holiday, parents could be in line for a tax-smart year!