S 2026

SENATE, No. 2026
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator VINCENT J. POLISTINA
District 2 (Atlantic)
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
���� Exempts from "Sales and Use Tax Act"
certain retail sales of computers and school supplies; allows $500 gross income
tax deduction to teachers purchasing school supplies for classroom use.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act providing certain State tax benefits for certain
taxpayers for purchases of certain retail sales of school supplies, amending
P.L.2022, c.21 (C.54:32B-8.21 et seq.), supplementing Title 54A of the New
Jersey Statutes, and repealing section 2 of P.L.2022, c.21.
���� Be It
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� Section 1 of P.L.2022,
c.21 (C.54:32B-8.21a) is amended to read as follows:
���� 1.� a.� Receipts from retail
sales of the following products are exempt from the tax imposed under the
"Sales and Use Tax Act," P.L.1966, c.30 (C.54:32B-1 et seq.) if the
products are sold to an individual purchaser for non-business use [during the
exemption period]:
���� (1) computers with a sales
price of less than $3,000 per item;
���� (2) school computer supplies
with a sales price of less than $1,000 per item;
���� (3) school supplies;
���� (4) school art supplies; and
���� (5) school instructional
materials[;
and
���� (6) sport or recreational
equipment].
���� b.��� As used in this section:
���� ["Annual exclusion
period" means the period of time between 12:01 a.m. on the ninth day
preceding the first Monday in September of each year and 11:59 p.m. on the
first Monday in September of each year;]
���� "Computers" means
electronic devices that accept information in digital or similar form and
manipulate it for a result based on a sequence of instructions;
���� "Electronic" means
relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical,
electromagnetic, or similar capabilities;
���� "School art
supplies" means items commonly used by a student in a course of study for
artwork, and shall include: clay and glazes; paints, including acrylic,
tempera, and oil; paintbrushes used for artwork; sketch and drawing pads; and
watercolors;
���� "School computer
supplies" means items commonly used by a student in a course of study in
which a computer is used, and shall include: computer storage media, diskettes,
and compact disks; handheld electronic schedulers, except devices that are
cellular phones; personal digital assistants, except devices that are cellular
phones; computer printers; and printer supplies for computers, printer paper,
and printer ink;
���� "School instructional
materials" means written materials commonly used by a student in a course
of study as a reference and to learn the subject being taught, and shall
include: reference books; reference maps and globes; textbooks; and workbooks;
���� "School supplies"
means items commonly used by a student in a course of study, and shall include:
binders; book bags; calculators; cellophane tape; blackboard chalk; compasses;
composition books; crayons; erasers; folders, including expandable folders,
pocket folders, plastic folders, and manila folders; glue, paste, and paste
sticks; highlighters; index cards; index card boxes; legal pads; lunch boxes;
markers; notebooks; paper, including loose leaf ruled notebook paper, copy
paper, graph paper, tracing paper, manila paper, colored paper, poster board,
and construction paper; pencil boxes and other school supply boxes; pencil
sharpeners; pencils; pens; protractors; rulers; scissors; and writing tablets;
and
���� ["Sport or recreational
equipment" means items designed for human use and worn in conjunction with
an athletic or recreational activity that are not suitable for general use, and
shall include, but not be limited to: ballet and tap shoes; cleated or spiked
athletic shoes; gloves, including baseball gloves, bowling gloves, boxing
gloves, hockey gloves, and golf gloves; goggles; hand and elbow guards; life
preservers and vests; mouth guards; roller and ice skates; shin guards;
shoulder pads; ski boots; waders; and wetsuits and fins.]
(cf: P.L.2022, c.21, s.1)
���� 2. (New Section) a.� A
taxpayer who is an eligible educator shall be allowed a deduction, not to
exceed $500, from the taxpayer�s gross income for unreimbursed expenses
incurred by the taxpayer for the purchase of classroom supplies during the
taxable year.
���� b.� As used in this section:
���� �Classroom supplies� means
books, pencils, and other drawing supplies, computers and related equipment,
laboratory equipment, and any other equipment and supplementary materials
needed for day-to-day classroom activities.
���� �Eligible educator� means an
individual who is employed as a teacher in a public or nonpublic elementary or
secondary school in this State.
���� 3.� Section 2 of P.L.2022,
c.21 (C.54:32B-8.21b) is repealed.
���� 4.� Section 1 of this act
shall take effect immediately and shall apply to receipts received from all
sales made on or after the first day of the fourth month next following the
date of enactment. Section 2 of this act shall take effect immediately and shall
apply to taxable years commencing on or after January 1 next following the date
of enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes two new
tax benefits for consumers and educators who purchase school supplies.
���� Sales and Use Tax
Exemption.� The bill exempts the retail sale of the following products from
the sales and use tax if they are sold to an individual purchaser for
non-business use: (1) school supplies, such as pens and pencils, notebooks, and
binders; (2) school art supplies, such as paints and paintbrushes, clay, and
glazers; (3) school instructional materials, such as maps, globes, reference
books, and workbooks; (4) computers with a sales price of less than $3,000 per
item; and (5) school computer supplies, such as computer storage equipment,
printers, and personal digital assistants, with a sales price of less than
$1,000.�� Under current law, retail sales of these products are exempt from
sales tax only during the annual �back-to-school� sales tax holiday that begins
in late August and ends on Labor Day.�
���� Certain retail sales of sport
or recreational equipment is also exempt from sales and use tax during the
�back-to-school� sales tax holiday.� Purchases of these items are not include
in the list of goods that would be exempt from sales tax under the bill.� All
retail sales of items would be subject to sales and use tax.� Retail sales of
computers with a sales price greater than or equal to $1,000 remain subject to
tax.�
���� The bill provides that the
sales tax exemption takes effect immediately but applies to receipts received
from all sales made on or after the first day of the fourth month next
following enactment.
���� Deduction from Gross
Income.� The also allows a gross income tax deduction, not to exceed $500
of unreimbursed expenses incurred by eligible educators for the purchase of
classroom supplies.�
���� Under the bill, an �eligible
educator� is a teacher who is employed in a public or nonpublic elementary or
secondary school in the State.� The bill defines �classroom supplies� as books,
pencils, and other drawing supplies, computers and related equipment,
laboratory equipment, and any other equipment and supplementary materials
needed for day-to-day classroom activities.
���� This portion of the bill takes
effect immediately, but applies to taxable years commencing on or after the
January 1 next following the date of enactment.