The Tax Free Life – Rack in Halloween Savings

When most people think about taxes, they don’t think of something funny. Today, I have something funny to share with you.

In many states, the legal definition of candy is a preparation of some kind of sweetener, such as sugar or honey, combined with fruit, chocolate, nuts, or some other additive and then formed into a shape like a bar or a drop. Anything that contains flour is not technically a candy and candy bars containing flour are tax free.

Kit Kats? Not taxed.

Chocolate covered almonds? Taxed.

Milky Way bars? Not taxed.

Baker’s chocolate? Taxed.

If you want to save a little extra money when you buy candy this Halloween, consider going with a candy that contains flour because you won’t have to pay sales tax!

Here are a few other ideas.

Skip Halloween
Don’t want to or can’t afford to spend money on Halloween?

Don’t buy candy, don’t turn on your lights, and don’t participate.

It’s fun but sometimes your budget doesn’t allow for it. If that’s the case, just don’t participate and join in on the fun next year. There’s no shame in not having candy, just remember to turn off your lights.

Buy Late
You might have noticed mega-bags of candy go on sale starting in early September – that’s actually not the cheapest time to buy candy. Go to the store the afternoon of October 31st and you’ll see huge sales on bags of candy and other decoration. Retailers know that the demand for Halloween decorations and enormous bags of candy goes way down on November 1st.

Check Dollar Stores
Stores like Five Below, Family Dollar, and other dollar stores often stock a ton of candy – mostly because they sell well and they’re cheap. If you have one nearby, stop on in to see if they’re running any specials and sales.

Be a Disciplined Giver
Don’t go crazy when the kids start showing up. The last thing you want to do is run out of candy and rush to the local convenience store to pick up some. These kids will have scoured the neighborhood and their pillow cases and plastic pumpkins will be full at the end of the night whether you give them two pieces or three. Be smart!

Pick Cheaper Candy
Candy with flour might not be charged a sales tax but it’s often more expensive, since chocolate, nuts, and flour aren’t as cheap as refined sugar. Cheaper candy means lower overall costs.

Buy in November (for Next Year)
If you’re the type of person who loves to decorate their house for Halloween, make sure you scour the after holiday sales. Halloween is easy to decorate for and never changes, you can never go wrong with pumpkins, ghosts, and tombstones.

If your mall has a seasonal store that pops up just to sell products before Halloween, or some other holiday, go there first. The store is going to shut down soon and anything they don’t sell will have to get boxed up. They don’t want to box anything up, so take advantage of “going out of business” pricing.

Also, what works for decorations also works for costumes too. This works especially well for young children, before they have it set in their mind what they “want to be.” Your one year old won’t know if they’re a chicken or a pumpkin, might as well save money on the costume!

Halloween isn’t known as the more expensive of the fall holidays but that doesn’t mean you can’t save money!