Shop till you drop

Don't forget about the sales tax holiday this weekend. From 12:01 a.m. on Friday until midnight on Sunday, certain "eligible items" will be exempt from the 4% state sales tax. Many counties and municipalities are also participating, providing exemptions from county and city sales taxes, as well. (To find out if your city or county is participating, see here.)

"Eligible items" include school supplies costing $50 or less, items of clothing costing $100 or less, computer-related items costing $750 or less, and books priced at $30 or less. For the complete details of the tax holiday rules, see here.

Here are a few important things to keep in mind, from the Mobile Press-Register:

Before heading to the stores, shoppers should be aware of a few of the guidelines of the holiday. The exemption cannot be applied to a portion of an item's cost. For instance, if a customer buys a pair of pants that cost $120, he must pay tax on the entire $120, not just the $20 over the eligible limit.

The tax exemption will apply to items that meet the threshold after a discount is applied. For example, if a computer costs $850, but its sales price is reduced to $750 through a discount, then the computer qualifies as a tax-free sale.

No additional tax is due for covered items exchanged after the tax exemption period, the guidelines state. For a 60-day period after the holiday ends, when a customer returns an item that qualified for the exemption, no sales tax refund will be granted unless the customer provides a receipt proving he paid sales tax.