Starting today, Wisconsin shoppers will have a five-day sales tax holiday through Sunday.

During the five-day sales tax holiday period, shoppers will not be charged state and local sales tax on a variety of items including clothing, computers and school supplies.

"Due to sound fiscal management and a strong economy, the state had almost a $400 million budget surplus," said Department of Revenue Secretary Richard Chandler. "Gov. [Scott] Walker and the Wisconsin State Legislature have determined that some of that surplus should be returned to taxpayers in the form of a sales tax holiday."

The sales tax holiday was the second child-related tax break, added to the $100-per-child tax rebate for children who were 17 as of Dec. 31. Eligibility for the tax credit ended July 2. State officials expected 671,000 families to apply for the rebate, but have not released numbers of how many families applied.

During the sales tax holiday, purchases of these items are not taxable:

•         Clothing items that cost $75 or less each.

•         Computers purchased by a consumer for their personal use, up to $750 each.

•         School computer supplies purchased by the consumer for their personal use that cost up to $250 each.

•         School supplies that cost up to $75 each.

The complete list of items for which sales tax won’t be charged is at www.revenue.wi.gov/taxholiday.

Items not eligible for the sales tax holiday include athletic equipment, athletic shoes with cleats or spikes, cellphones and accessories, copy machines, cosmetics, digital cameras, digital media players, game consoles, health and fitness equipment, home appliances, jewelry, navigation equipment, nonprescription sunglasses, school art supplies, school instructional materials including textbooks and workbooks, sewing equipment and supplies, TVs, watches, and items for business use, including workplace protective equipment.

The sales tax holiday will be particularly beneficial to families doing back-to-school shopping, state officials said, but all taxpayers will be able to make purchases of eligible items without paying sales tax. 

Iowa’s sales tax holiday, which covers clothing and footwear of up to $100, is Friday and Saturday.