Across the country, there are several natural disasters that each region is subject to, from earthquakes out west, to hurricanes and storm surges along the southeast. Many ways to prepare for a natural disaster are fairly similar, such as investing in a generator, ample water, and plenty of gasoline should the power go out.
For Florida residents, the threat of Category 5 hurricanes rolls around each summer and lasts through the middle of fall. But hurricanes are not the only threat. Several additional natural disasters can lead up to or result from hurricanes, such as tornadoes, storm surges, and severe flooding.
The damages can be endless which is why it is important to be prepared for a natural disaster that may wreak havoc multiple times throughout the season.
Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday
Preparing for a natural disaster can quickly become overwhelming and quasi-costly. To best help Florida residents prepare for upcoming hurricane seasons, the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, signed a sales tax holiday into law. This holiday allows individuals to buy eligible disaster preparedness supplies tax-free.
Florida’s Disaster Preparedness Checklist
The disaster preparedness sales tax holiday includes an array of qualified goods for your home, family, and pets. Below is a sampling of qualified items from FloridaRevenue.com.
Eligible Disaster Preparedness Items for Your Pets
- Wet food in cans or pouches selling for $2 or less
- Travel water and food bowls selling for $15 or less
- Leashes, collars, and muzzles selling for $20 or less
- Up to 15-pound bags of dry food selling for $30 or less
Eligible Disaster Preparedness Items for Your Home & Family
- Manual can openers selling for $15 or less
- Reusable ice selling for $20 or less
- Portable self-powered light sources selling for $40 or less
- Portable self-powered radios, two-way radios, or weather-band radios selling for $50 or less
- Gas or diesel fuel tanks $50 or less
- A variety of select battery sizes selling for $50 or less
- Non-electric food storage coolers selling for $50 or less
- Smoke detectors or smoke alarms selling for $70 or less
- Fire extinguishers selling for $70 or less
- Carbon monoxide detectors selling for $70 or less
- Tarpaulins or other flexible waterproof sheeting selling for $100 or less
- Ground anchor systems selling for $100 or less
- Portable generators (used to provide light, communications, or preserve food in a power outage) selling for $1,000 or less
Click here to learn more about Florida’s Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax holiday and eligible items.
Helping You Prepare for Disasters in Florida
Hurricane season and accompanying threats of natural disasters (storm surges, tornadoes, flooding, etc.) occur each year. There are several ways you can prepare your home and family for them, such as purchasing goods and planning evacuation routes.
You may even choose to ditch the traditional nail and plywood purchases used to board up your home’s vulnerable spots, such as your windows and doors, and replace them with high-performance installations.
At Eastern Architectural Systems, we manufacture a complete line of custom-made, aluminum and vinyl, impact and insulated impact windows and doors. Each of our installations is tested for strength and integrity, and built with style in mind.
Our solutions exceed the requirements and challenges of today’s discerning buyers and can help better insulate your home from an array of environmental factors, such as hurricanes.
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