Back-to-school shopping is in full swing across Philadelphia and South Jersey. For many families, traveling over state borders to Delaware allows moms and dads to rein in spending.
While Pennsylvania and New Jersey exempt clothing and footwear from state sales taxes year-round, most other back-to-school items, including laptops and calculators, have higher taxes on them in these states — Philadelphia at about 8% and New Jersey at 6.625%.
Delaware’s year-round no-sales-tax policy can yield savings on electronics, graphing calculators, and bulk supplies when purchased there, according to a FOX29 News report.
To maximize overall savings, experts recommend splitting shopping lists to minimize fuel and toll costs. A practical strategy is to make a single trip to Delaware — such as to Christiana Mall in Newark — for electronics and bulk items. According to FOX29, this strategy could allow a family to save approximately $100 to $150 in taxes and potentially offset travel costs.
WWL-TV observed that, overall, the average “school supply list costs about 34% more than it did 10 years ago.“ That increase “works out to roughly 3% to 4% per year over the last decade.”