Virginia's sales tax holiday
Tax year 2026
Normally you pay
5.77%
state plus local
The holiday removes
5.77%
the whole rate, local included
Saved on five hundred
$29
Days a year
3
What it means in Virginia
- Virginia switches the tax off completely for a few days. Five hundred dollars of qualifying goods usually carries $29 in tax. During the holiday that becomes nothing, a saving of $29, because the county gives up its share as well as the state.
- Watch the price ceilings in Virginia. There are 5 groups of qualifying goods, and every one of them stops at a set price. Going a dollar over usually means tax on the whole item, not just on the excess. It is the most common way people lose a saving they were counting on.
- One holiday a year in Virginia: Sales Tax Holiday, running August 1st to August 3rd. That makes the timing the main thing to get right — the categories are worth nothing to you if the dates have already passed.
- Both layers are suspended in Virginia: the exemption runs to the full combined rate of about 5.77%, not merely the state's about 5.3%. A five-hundred-dollar qualifying purchase therefore saves $29 rather than the state-only figure. ⚠️ This is the majority arrangement but not the universal one — four holidays in this dataset suspend the state levy alone, so the distinction is a property of the holiday rather than of holidays generally.
- Per-item caps define the boundary of Virginia's exemption. ⚠️ The cap is generally a cliff rather than a threshold — exceeding it makes the whole item taxable, not merely the amount above the cap — so the effective subsidy is concentrated in goods priced just beneath each ceiling. The ceilings below are the operative figures; the category names alone do not tell you what qualifies.
- A single annual holiday applies in Virginia. Research on these programs consistently finds the dominant effect is intertemporal shifting rather than net consumption change: households move planned purchases into the window, which is why the timing is the operative variable and the category list is secondary.
Tax-free days in Virginia
A $75,000 salary
| Sales Tax Holiday | 2026-08-01 to 2026-08-03 |
|---|
Dates come from statute, so they move with the legislature rather than with a data refresh.
At the register
A $75,000 salary
| Tax added | $5.77 |
|---|---|
| You hand over | $105.77 |
| Rate here | 5.77% |
Uses this location’s stored combined rate and category rule. Clothing is one item; address-level coverage varies.
Sales Tax Holiday
Runs August 1st to August 3rd.
Set by rule: First weekend of August, annually
Local sales tax is suspended too, so the whole rate comes off.
Check this holiday at Virginia's own source
| What qualifies | Up to | Saved at that price |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing and footwear | $100 | $5.77 |
| School supplies | $20 | $1.15 |
| ENERGY STAR and WaterSense products | $2,500 | $144 |
| Portable generators | $1,000 | $58 |
| Hurricane preparedness items | $60 | $3.46 |
What it saves on a real purchase
Reference amounts, not a claim about what anyone spends. What comes off depends on whether the locality suspends its own tax as well, which is recorded per holiday and applied here — not assumed.
| You spend | Tax normally | The holiday removes |
|---|---|---|
| $100 | $5.77 | $5.77 |
| $250 | $14 | $14 |
| $500 | $29 | $29 |
| $1,000 | $58 | $58 |
What this page cannot tell you
- ⚠️ These dates are worked out from Virginia's law, not copied from an announcement. Confirm them with the state before making a special trip.
- Which layers of tax come off is recorded per holiday here, not guessed. Individual towns can still differ from the state's general rule.
- And the category names here are summaries. Virginia publishes a much longer list of exactly what counts, with exclusions that surprise people.
- ⚠️ The dates shown are DERIVED from the statutory recurrence rule reproduced beside them, not from a published calendar. Where a legislature moves or suspends a holiday by special act, that change reaches this page only when the rule itself is re-read — so the state revenue department's own announcement is authoritative over this page for Virginia.
- Whether the local levy is suspended alongside the state's is recorded per holiday in the underlying delivery and applied to every figure on this page; it is not assumed. ⚠️ Residual variation remains possible at the municipal level in Virginia, since a small number of jurisdictions elect independently of the general state position, so a specific town's treatment is authoritative over this page.
- Category descriptions are condensed. Each state's implementing guidance enumerates qualifying and excluded items in far greater detail — commonly excluding rentals, items for business use, and specific product classes within an otherwise exempt category — so Virginia's own guidance governs any individual purchase.
Questions people ask
Does the whole tax come off during the holiday?
Not necessarily all of it. The state's own share of about 5.3% comes off, but Virginia also has local layers taking the combined rate to about 5.77% — and in several states local participation is optional, so a county can keep charging its part while the state's is suspended.
What actually qualifies?
A relatively wide list: 5 categories. Each carries its own statutory definition and usually its own price ceiling.
How long does this last?
Briefly — 3 days in total, which is the usual pattern. A short window is deliberate: it concentrates the purchasing rather than spreading the revenue loss, and it means missing it means waiting a year.
Is this the only one this year?
Just the one. Simpler than the states that run several with different lists, but it also means a single chance.
Is local participation in the holiday mandatory here?
The state component of about 5.3% is suspended; the representative combined rate is about 5.77%. Local participation is mandatory in some states and optional in others, so residual local liability during a holiday is jurisdiction-specific and cannot be inferred from the state rule.
How is the exempt class defined during the holiday?
5 categories are enumerated. Exemption is defined by statutory category rather than by general rule, and per-item price ceilings commonly apply within each, so items above the ceiling remain fully taxable even inside a covered category.
What is the duration of the exemption window?
Total exemption duration is 3 days. Short windows concentrate qualifying purchases into a defined period, which is the standard design; forecasts generally treat much of the effect as timing shift rather than as incremental consumption.
Does this state run additional exemption periods?
A single exemption period operates in this state, with one set of qualifying categories and ceilings. States operating multiple periods define each independently; that complexity does not apply here.