Sale or Sales Tax Holiday? Which One Offers The Best Back-to-School Deals?

The Missouri sales tax holiday is underway and runs until midnight, Sunday. From Aug. 3 - 5, Missouri is waiving the state 4.225 percent sales tax and St. Louis County is waiving its 2.7 percent sales tax. Shoppers can save at least close to 7 percent of some purchases as a result.

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Sales tax in waived on select items this weekend. Click here for a complete list of qualified items.

Many cities opt out of the holiday and are not waiving the sales tax this weekend. The Missouri Department of Revenue lists all cities opting out on its website. 

Although the weekend offers welcome discounts, St. Louis Better Business Bureau Director Chris Thetford reminders shoppers that although the sales tax is waived this weekend, many items are being sold at full price. He tells Patch that shoppers may get a better deal during a sale and advises consumers to compare the sales tax discount they are receiving this weekend to sale prices offered at other times.

"That takes a pretty savvy shopper so you really have to watch," Thetford said. "The point is you don't necessarily get the best buys on the sales tax weekend. You can...It's just a question of what the base price is of the item that you're buying to determine what you're actually saving."

We want to know when Patch readers find their best savings, during back-to-school sales offered by many retailers or during this sales tax holiday weekend. Tell us in the Patch poll below.