Virginia sales tax holiday continues through Sunday night

Do you need more pencils? Do you need more books? Something to avoid showing the teacher a bad countenance?

The Commonwealth of Virginia is currently holding a sales tax holiday on certain items intended to encourage people to get ready for the school year as well as natural hazards.

“Virginia sales tax holiday helps you out with three types of purchase: school supplies, hurricane or emergency preparedness items, and certain products bearing the Energy Star or WaterSense labels,” says the narrator of a short YouTube video produced by the Virginia Department of Taxation.

That can save up to 5.3 percent and 7 percent of the total cost of a bill depending on what locality you are spending money in.

Qualifying items include clothing items and footwear, book bags, writing utensils and other school supplies. Some appliances are also eligible but only below a certain price point. See the details at the Virginia Department of Taxation’s website where you can review a 22-page set of guidelines for the sales tax holiday.

Under those guidelines, the event begins at midnight of the first Friday of the year and concludes at 11:59 p.m. on the following Sunday. Learn more on the Virginia Department of Taxation page.

One question to research: In future years, would this holiday also apply to any sales tax levied for the purposes of school construction?

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