Back-to-school shoppers will have an extra incentive to grab their school supplies, clothes and other items this weekend in Fairfax County and across the state.
Virginia will hold its annual three-day sales tax holiday, from Friday, Aug. 7 to Sunday, Aug. 9. Over the three days, the state and local option sales taxes are temporarily waived on qualifying clothing, footwear and school supplies, as well as emergency preparedness products and some appliances. The tax exemption applies to in-store and online shopping, according to the Virginia Department of Taxation.
Fairfax County’s sales tax is typically 6%, which includes a 4.3% state tax, 1% local tax and 0.7% regional tax for transportation funding.
Sales tax won’t be charged on qualifying school supplies priced at $20 or less each, such as binders, book bags, textbooks, notebooks, calculators and more.
Certain clothing and footwear priced at $100 or less per item — shirts, jeans, sneakers and much more — are also exempt. However, items considered accessories — like cosmetics, briefcases and handbags — will not be tax exempt. Protective equipment like face shields and helmets and sports equipment like cleated athletic shoes and mouth guards also do not qualify.
Other items with no sales tax this weekend are portable generators priced at $1,000 or less, gas-powered chainsaws priced at $350 or less, chainsaw accessories at $60 or less and other hurricane or emergency preparedness items at $60 or less each. Energy Star and WaterSense products priced at $2,500 or less for noncommercial use are also exempt.
The state’s first sales tax holiday was in August 2006. The Virginia General Assembly has to approve extensions to keep the sales tax holiday going each first Friday of August through the following Sunday. The latest extension guarantees the three-day sales tax holiday will continue through at least August 2029.
