2nd IVU exemption for school supplies to be in effect Friday & Saturday

“Sales of school materials and uniforms without the IVU relieve parents and guardians and boost economic activity,” Gov. Jenniffer González Colón said.

By The Star Staff

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón announced Tuesday that the second period of sales and use tax (IVU by its acronym in Spanish) exemption for the purchase of school materials and uniforms, for the second semester of the current school year, will be this Friday and Saturday.

“In keeping with our commitment to benefit families with their back-to-school purchases, we inform all parents and guardians of students that the second sales period without the IVU on materials and uniforms will begin at 12 [a.m.] midnight on Friday, January 10 and will end at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, January 11, 2025,” the governor said. “During these two days, they will be able to purchase everything they need to begin the second semester of the 2024-2025 school year.”

The governor recommended checking the list of exempt materials and uniforms detailed in Internal Revenue Memo No. 24-12, available at the link https://hacienda.pr.gov/publicaciones/carta-circular-de-rentas-internas-num-24-12-cc-ri-24-12. The review is recommended so that the various relevant businesses are informed.

“The sales of school materials and uniforms without the IVU relieve parents and guardians and boost economic activity,” the governor added.

Memo 24-12 states that IVU-exempt items are school materials, art school materials, music school materials, instructional school materials purchased at retail and computer storage media, including disks, compact discs and flash drives.

The materials include, but are not limited to: folders; school bags; calculators; chalk; compasses; crayons; erasers; binders and accordion-type, expandable, plastic and manila folders; glue and adhesive; markers; index cards and storage boxes; lunch boxes; paper products including loose-leaf paper, lined paper for ring binders, copy and graph paper, tracing paper, colored manila, construction paper and poster board; pencils and pencil boxes, as well as other school supply boxes; pencil sharpeners; pens; protractors; rulers; and scissors.

Art or music school supplies and instructional school supplies are items typically used by students in art or music courses or in a course of study as a reference for learning the subject being taught. They include clay and glazes, paints (watercolors, acrylic, tempera and oil), brushes for art work, drawing and sketch books, musical instruments, maps and globes for reference.

The school uniform is the clothing that is specifically required by the educational institution to be worn by students and that cannot be used generally or continuously outside of school to replace ordinary clothing. Also considered part of the school uniform are items of clothing and footwear that complement the uniform, as required by the educational entity.