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You can shop tax-free this weekend in Virginia

Posted at 9:35 AM, Aug 05, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-05 09:35:22-04

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia’s Back-to-School/Hurricane Preparedness Tax Free Weekend begins Friday, August 5 and extends through the Sunday, August 7.

During the sales tax holiday weekend, shoppers are encouraged to buy back-to-school items and take necessary precautions during hurricane season without paying state and local sales tax.

All retailers who sell the exempt products are required to participate in the sales tax holiday.

Tax exempt items include:

Most school and office supplies, such as pens, loose-leaf paper, scissors, binders, backpacks, and construction paper, priced at $20 or less.

Clothing and footwear, priced at $100 or less per item or pair.

Batteries, flashlights, bottled water, tarps, duct tape, fire extinguishers, cell-phone chargers, smoke detectors, buckets, rope, and first aid kits, priced at $60 or less.

Gas-powered chainsaws, priced at $350 or less, and chainsaw accessories, priced at $60 or less.

Portable generators, priced at $1,000 or less.

Energy Star-labeled dishwashers, washing machines, air conditioners, ceiling fans, light bulbs, dehumidifiers, and refrigerators, priced at $2,500 or less

WaterSense-labeled sink faucets, faucet accessories, aerators, shower heads, toilets, urinals, and landscape irrigation controllers, priced at $2,500 or less.

From the Virginia Department of Taxation:

Online purchases of qualifying products are exempt from the sales tax as long as orders are placed and paid for during the August 5-7 exemption period and the sellers have the items available for immediate shipment.

List of School Supplies Eligible for Exemption

“School supply,” means an item that is commonly used by a student in a course of study. For purposes of the sales tax holiday, the term does not include computers and
such items may not be purchased exempt of the tax. The following is an all-inclusive list of items that are included in the term “school supply” and are therefore exempt from tax during the sales tax holiday period, provided their sales price is $20 or less per item. Only the following items are exempt as school
supplies. Items need not be intended for use in school or in connection with a school activity to be eligible for the exemption.
Binder pockets

Binders

Blackboard chalk

Book bags, messenger bags, and totes

Calculators

Cellophane tape

Clay and glazes

Compasses

Composition books

Computer storage media; diskettes; recordable compact discs; and flash drives

Crayons

Dictionaries and thesauruses

Disinfectant wipes

Dividers

Erasers (including dry erase marker erasers and dry erase marker cleaning solution)

Folders: expandable, pocket, plastic, and manila

Glue, paste, and paste sticks

Hand sanitizer soap

Highlighters

Index card boxes

Index cards

Legal pads

Lunch boxes and lunch bags (including disposable lunch bags)

Markers (including dry erase markers and dry erase marker kits)

Musical instruments, musical instrument accessories, and replacement items for musical instruments

Notebooks

Paintbrushes for artwork

Paints (acrylic, tempera, and oil)

Paper: loose leaf ruled notebook paper, copy and printer paper, graph paper, tracing paper, manila paper, colored paper, poster board, and construction paper

Pencil boxes and other school supply boxes

Pencil sharpeners

Pencils

Pens

Protractors

Reference books

Reference maps and globes

Rulers

Scissors

Sheet music

Sketch and drawing pads

Textbooks

Tissues

Watercolors

Workbooks

Writing tablets

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