Time To Stock Up On Hurricane Items And Get Tax Break

Hurricane season starts next Saturday, June 1, and the state of Louisiana's 2013 Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday will happen this weekend.

The sales tax holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 25 and ends at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, May 26.

By Louisiana law, anyone shopping for hurricane-related items are exempt from paying the state's 4 percent sales tax on the first $1,500 that they buy.  Items that qualify include things like:

• portable generators
• storm shutter devices
• portable light sources
• cell phone batteries
• food storage coolers

For a complete list of what IS and IS NOT eligible, click here.

Louisiana Department of Revenue spokesman Byron Henderson says the sales tax holiday was created by the legislature in 2007 as a way to help citizens prepare for hurricane season.