More Items on 2026 Back-to-School Tax Free List

The Government of Belize is bringing back GST-free shopping for school supplies for a second consecutive year and this time with an expanded list of qualifying items. While the list of items grew, the number of shopping days was reduced. Instead of the two full weekends offered last year, families will have just two Saturdays, August fifteenth and August twenty-ninth, to purchase school items without paying General Sales Tax. Belize Tax Services says the shorter shopping period shouldn’t negatively affect consumers because Saturday is the traditional shopping day for all families. Deputy Director of Belize Tax Services Vilma Broaster is encouraging Belizean parents to take full advantage of this year’s tax-free days.

 

Vilma Broaster, Deputy Director, Belize Tax Services

“The government decided that they wanted to do this on an annual basis. And so for this year, we’re looking at two days, which is Saturday, August fifteenth and Saturday, August twenty-ninth, whereby persons will be able to buy school supplies, uniforms tax-free for their kids. The list will be there so they will know what items they can save on. We have tennis shoes, the eligible, the black tennis shoes. School tells you have to purchase black, you have to wear black shoes. So those will be GST frees. Your school uniform, whether it be you are purchasing the material or it’s ready-made, those will be GST free. So there’s a nice list. It has increased from what it was last year. So we have added additional items onto it, and so that will definitely help them.”

 

Shane Williams

“What’s the reason that the days, the number of days were decreased this year?”

 

Vilma Broaster

“There was no real reason behind it.  It’s just that we are saying that person you’ll make up your mind and you done know. Saturday, I have all day. Because you’re not really doing much with the Fridays as per se. It will work for some people. But to have that overall effect, that Saturday is the best day for – because then you have persons from out district that travel to Belize and do their shopping, so that way that was what we were looking at.”

 

Shane Williams

“How does the tax service prevent from these businesses who may try to take advantage of the tax-free tax-free day to overrate their sales?”

 

Vilma Broaster

“The good thing is that what we do at times, and so without announcing, we ask for your pert- your sales ledger for that day so that we can see what was sold. So we can go in the day after, or we can go in whenever we want, and then we get that and look at it.”

 

Consumers can purchase the listed items GST-free from any shop across the country. The next tax free weekends will be during the Christmas season.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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