The beginning of summer often means cookouts, trips to the shore, and camping. For many (including my parents), it also means the beginning of hurricane season.
Hurricane season begins June 1 and lasts through the end of October. Thankfully, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) forecasters predict a nearly normal Atlantic hurricane season for 2009. They still caution, however, that it is important to be prepared.
Many states and localities offer sales tax holidays on hurricane preparedness supplies. The first one to make the announcement this year is Virginia: Virginia’s sales tax holiday for hurricane preparedness begins tomorrow (Memorial Day) and continues through next Sunday.
Virginia retailers will not charge sales tax on items that can be used to prepare homes to withstand hurricanes and floods and to fill emergency supply kits. In general, this includes generators costing $1,000 or less, and other supplies costing $60 or less. Bottled water (including flavored water) and water storage containers also qualify for the sales tax exemption.
For a complete list of exempt items, check out this bulletin from the state of Virginia (it downloads as a pdf).
The following week, beginning on Saturday, May 30, and lasting through Sunday, May 31, marks Louisiana’s hurricane preparedness sales tax holidays. On these two days, shoppers can purchase specified emergency supplies sales tax-free.
During the two-day holiday, tax-free purchases are allowed for the first $1,500 of the sales price of items such as self-powered light sources (including flashlights and candles – note that candles are not exempt in Virginia), portable self-powered radios, two-way radios, and weather-band radios and batteries.
The 2009 Louisiana Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday does not extend to items or supplies purchased at airports, public lodging establishments, hotels, convenience stores, or entertainment complexes.
For a complete list of exempt items, check out this flyer from the state of Louisiana (it downloads as a pdf).
As more states make announcements, I’ll post them here. Expect a shortlist this year. Last year, Florida announced that it would not have a hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday due to budget constraints – I haven’t heard word yet on whether it will change for this year. Other states hard hit by budget woes in hurricane-prone areas include North and South Carolina, and Georgia – I’ll post announcements from those states once I receive them.
