Florida’s second Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday kicks off Saturday and runs through Sept. 6.
It comes as the halfway point in hurricane season nears, which is Sept. 10.
The next two weeks are a chance to re-stock or grab items people might have missed during the first sales tax holiday.
Florida already experienced impacts from Hurricane Debby earlier this month, and hurricane seasons historically pick up in mid-August with the climatological peak around Sept. 10.
Meteorological experts have forecast an above-average hurricane season this year, which could mean more than 20 named storms before the end of November.
So far, the season has produced five named storms, including Hurricane Debby, which made landfall near Steinhatchee on Aug. 5 as a Category 1 storm before dumping heavy rain across North Florida and parts of Georgia and the Carolinas.
Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie this week advised people not to be fooled by the current calm in the Atlantic and to use the tax holiday that starts Saturday to “go out and restock or stock for disaster items.”
“We’re entering the peak weeks of hurricane season,” Guthrie said Wednesday while in Sarasota. “They’re upon us. Tropical cyclones may develop over the next four to six or even eight weeks.”
The private meteorology company AccuWeather on Thursday predicted six to 10 named storms in September, citing factors such as water temperatures that remain near or at record highs across much of the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Warm water helps fuel hurricanes.
“There’s a possibility that we could see multiple tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic basin on the same day, similar to the frequency of storms that we’ve seen during other supercharged hurricane seasons like 2020,” Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather lead hurricane expert, said in a prepared statement.
The tax holiday starting Saturday and the similar period around the start of hurricane season are projected to trim $80.2 million from state and local tax revenues.
Among other things, shoppers will not have to pay sales taxes on reusable ice packs that cost $20 or less; portable radios, fuel tanks and packages of batteries that cost $50 or less; coolers that cost $60 or less; tarps that cost $100 or less; and portable generators that cost $3,000 or less.
Also, tax exemptions apply to such things as wet dog or cat food that costs $10 or less; cat litter that costs $25 or less; pet beds that cost $40 or less; and over-the-counter pet medications, pet carriers and bags of dry dog or cat food that costs $100 or less.
It is recommended to stock enough food and water to last at least three days for each person in a household.
For a printable, complete list of eligible items, click here.