Photos by Jared Soares | The Roanoke Times

Stephanie Cox shops for school supplies with her daughters Taylor (center) and Logan (left), and niece Kristine Taylor last week at the Bonsack Wal-Mart. Cox has five children attending schools in the Bonsack area.

Shoppers look at school supplies at the Bonsack Wal-Mart last week before the tax-free shopping period.

This back-to-school season, the price wars are on. There are 50-cent composition books and 10-cent packs of college-ruled paper, buy-two-get-one-free deals on binders and $14.99 kids jeans.

Stores are slashing prices more aggressively than ever to lure penny-pinching parents and lift recession-heavy sales.

For the fourth year, Virginia's sales tax holiday arrives just in time for the back-to-school ramp-up.

Friday through Sunday, select clothing and shoes under $100 and certain school supplies under $20 will be free of the state's 5 percent sales tax at all stores.

But the best back-to-school deals already are out. A 5 percent tax write-off won't rival existing sales during this three-day, tax-free extravaganza, though the weekend could deliver a much-needed economic boost to retailers and families.

Take a $7.99 book bag at Staples. The bag would cost $7.59, minus the 5 percent sales tax. But this satchel is on sale for $5.99. Slash the tax from the sale price, and you'll save about 29 cents.

The idea of no sales tax often sends shoppers scurrying to stores, even if the savings are not that significant.

Consumers would laugh if a retailer decided to have a 5 percent-off sale, said Craig Shearman, vice president for government affairs at the National Retail Federation.

But there's "a psychological appeal" surrounding the idea of not having to pay sales tax, he said.

"Americans have hated paying taxes all the way back to the Boston Tea Party," he said. "It's getting one over on the government."

Still, no matter how little the savings, many people consider this year's sales tax holiday more important to frugal living than ever before. Retailers count on the weekend to build business. Valley View Mall and some other regional big-box stores have extended hours for the three days.

"Our experience has been that sales tax holidays are tremendously successful at drawing customers to stores and getting them to spend," Shearman said.

In the midst of a crimping national recession and overwhelming economic pressures, the average family with children in kindergarten through 12th grade is expected to spend 7.7 percent less this year than in 2008, according to the NRF. That's $548.72, compared with $594.24 last year.

The Virginia Department of Taxation estimates that consumers will save about $4 million during the sales tax holiday this year, but that's only an estimate. The state cannot track sales during the weekend, because it's difficult to break down retailers' individual results for three days out of the month, said Joel Davison, a spokesman for the Department of Taxation.

The tax break accounts for both local and state retail sales taxes. The 5 percent tax includes 1 percent for local taxes and 4 percent for the state.

Larie Thompson, a Bonsack mother, is taking the tax-free savings seriously. Last week, she decided to get a head start on the sales tax holiday. She took her two daughters to the Bonsack Wal-Mart to scout out school deals, but she planned to wait until the tax-free weekend to buy them.

To save money, she's encouraging her daughters, who will be in the fifth and eighth grades, to use one large binder for two or three classes. Also, they are reusing supplies from last year, including pencils and scissors.

Thompson's not sure how much money she will spend this year, but she said she's "trying to keep it as less as possible."

Karen Tagle, who lives in Bedford County, is trimming her budget. In past years, she has spent about $40 for each of her granddaughters for school supplies. But with money much tighter this year, Tagle told her daughter that she couldn't afford to buy for the grandchildren.

Tagle still is responsible for buying school items for her 14-year-old son, who's taking an advanced math class this year. She's not sure how much more that will cost her, but she's bracing for the list that he will bring home with him after the first day of school.

She has shopped during Virginia's sales tax holiday weekend, and "it's worth it," Tagle said.

Wal-Mart is one of the retailers that makes significant preparations for tax-holiday shoppers. The back-to-school shopping season is second to the Christmas holiday for sales and traffic, said Rob Mueller, who manages the Bonsack Wal-Mart.

The Roanoke County Wal-Mart will increase the hours for its part-time employees, who make up about 60 percent of the store's work force, to cover additional crowds this weekend, Mueller said.

All electronics at Wal-Mart are tax-exempt, including computers, televisions and wireless products. Retailers can choose to absorb the sales tax for some merchandise that doesn't make the state's list.

And because Wal-Mart expects a major run on its computers, the store stocked up on Compaq 15.6-inch laptops that sell for $298, a special deal, Mueller said.

The 5 percent tax savings on the Compaq notebook equals $14.90.

The sales tax weekend typically is a busy one at Alligator Alley, a clothing boutique in Southwest Roanoke County, though it doesn't rival other high-traffic shopping times, such as the Christmas season. The store prepares by resetting its computer system to eliminate the 5 percent tax on relevant purchases, owner Kim Reynolds said.

But Alligator Alley already has rolled out large back-to-school discounts.

Prices on summer clothing are marked as much as 70 percent off, while select shades of men and women's short-sleeve Lacoste polo shirts are discounted 50 percent.

For one of these shirts, originally priced at $79.50, eliminating the 5 percent sales tax would leave the garment at $75.53.

The 50-percent discount offers a much better deal for one of these popular polos, traditionally a must-have for college-bound students, Reynolds said.

Consumers would pay approximately $39.75. With the sales tax savings, the same shirt would cost about $37.77.