Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday Set for August

Virginia is hosting its annual back-to-school sales tax holiday in August.

During the event, which begins Aug. 3 and runs through Aug. 5, most school supplies with a price tag of $20 or less and clothing items and footwear priced at $100 or less will be exempt from Virginia’s 5 percent state and local sales tax.

An all-inclusive list of school supplies, a list of exempt clothing and footwear items, holiday guidelines for shoppers and retailers, and answers to frequently asked questions are available on the department’s Sales Tax Holiday Information Center.

As long as each item purchased qualifies for the exemption, there is no limit on the number of items you can buy. During this sales tax holiday, retailers may also choose to save taxpayers even more by absorbing the sales tax, or paying it themselves, on items that are not eligible for exemption. The retailers must then pay the sales tax themselves on such sales.

The list of tax-exempt items is the same as last year and includes such products as pens, pencils, loose leaf ruled notebook paper, scissors, binders, backpacks, construction paper, sneakers, dresses, jeans and T-shirts.