The Alabama annual back-to-school sales tax holiday will begin Fri., Aug. 7 at 12:01 a.m. and end Sun., Aug. 9 at midnight.

Shoppers will be able to buy school supplies, clothing and certain other items free of the state sales tax. Local sales taxes will also be exempt in Hartselle, Falkville, Decatur and other parts of Morgan County. Other popular shopping areas such as Cullman, Cullman County, Madison, Madison County and Huntsville will also be participating.

Both Hartselle and Falkville have participated since 2008, and Morgan County has participated since 2006. Priceville chose not to participate.

Hartselle Mayor Don Hall said he was not in office when the council chose to pass an ordinance to participate indefinitely, but he was glad the action was taken.

“It’s a great thing for us to do,” Hall said. “We appreciate the state of Alabama for taking the lead and allowing us to do something to help parents prepare to send their kids back to school.”

This time allows many back-to-school items be bought at a discounted price, which could greatly benefit cash-strapped families.

Tax exempt items include certain clothing, computer equipment, art and school supplies and books.

Tax exempt clothing items include shirts, shoes, shorts, pants, underwear, jackets, jeans, dresses, diapers, belts, hats, school uniforms and more. Taxable clothing includes cosmetics, costumes, jewelry, sun glasses, handbags, watches, sports equipment and more.

School supplies of all kinds, including binders, backpacks, notebooks, paper, pencils, scissors, markers, crayons, folders, index cards, art supplies and more, will be tax-free.

Books under $30, computers, computer software, computer supplies, printers and ink will also be tax-free this weekend.

For a full list of tax exempt and taxable items and participating municipalities, visit  revenue.alabama.gov/salestax/SalesTaxHol.