Virginia's four-category tax weekend: caps, hurricane gear and the Norfolk port
Virginia's August sales tax holiday is unusual because one weekend covers four different kinds of purchase, each with its own price cap. In 2026 the Department of Taxation listed school supplies at 20 dollars or less per item, clothing and footwear at 100 dollars or less, hurricane and emergency preparedness items from a 60 dollar flashlight to a 1,000 dollar generator, and ENERGY STAR and WaterSense products at 2,500 dollars or less. A store can sell into all four, and each needs a different banner. There is also a caution that most tax-holiday pages skip. We could not find the Code of Virginia section that authorizes the holiday after 2026, and the one we found ends in 2022, so a store should treat 2027 as unannounced until the Department says otherwise. This page lists the caps, the Department's rules on ordering, the tax rates that apply to the rest of the year, the Port of Virginia capacity that feeds Hampton Roads and a gift plan for the weekend.
Back-to-school, ENERGY STAR and hurricane preparedness holiday
In 2026 the holiday ran from Friday, August 7 to Sunday, August 9 and covered four categories, each with a per-item cap: school supplies at 20 dollars, clothing and footwear at 100 dollars, hurricane and emergency items from 60 to 1,000 dollars, and ENERGY STAR and WaterSense products at 2,500 dollars. The 2027 dates were not announced when we checked. A holiday on the same first-Friday rule would fall on August 6 through 8, but we could not confirm the authority for it.
- School supplies, 20 dollars or less
- Clothing and footwear, 100 dollars or less
- Hurricane and emergency items, up to 1,000 dollars
- ENERGY STAR and WaterSense, 2,500 dollars or less
Watch out: Each category has its own cap, so a store that sells across them cannot use one banner. Under the Code section we read, retailer coupons and discounts count toward the price test, which means a discounted item is judged at its lower price. The Department's pages do not address shipping charges, gifts or sets. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Virginia Department of Taxation.
Questions merchants ask
- Is there a Virginia sales tax holiday in 2027?
- Not announced when we checked on October 10, 2026. The Department says the holiday starts the first Friday in August, which would be August 6, 2027, but the Code section we found for school supplies and clothing is dated to end July 1, 2022, so confirm with the Virginia Department of Taxation before you plan around it.
- Which categories does the holiday cover?
- In 2026: school supplies at 20 dollars or less per item, clothing and footwear at 100 dollars or less, specified hurricane and emergency items up to 1,000 dollars for a portable generator and 60 dollars for most others, and ENERGY STAR and WaterSense products at 2,500 dollars or less for home or personal use.
- Does a discount code change whether an item is under the cap?
- Under the Code section covering school supplies and clothing, a discount, coupon or other credit from the retailer or its vendor is counted in the selling price. For the other categories the Department's pages we read do not say, so ask the Department.
- Is shipping part of the price?
- The Department's pages we read do not address shipping charges. Ask the Department in writing before you build an offer that depends on the answer. This is not tax advice.
- What is the sales tax rate in Virginia?
- The Department lists 5.3 percent in most localities, 6 percent in the Central Virginia, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia regions, and 7 percent in James City County, Williamsburg and York County. Food for home consumption is 1 percent statewide.
- When must an out-of-state store collect Virginia tax?
- When its sales to Virginia customers exceed 100,000 dollars a year or reach 200 transactions, measured over the previous or current calendar year. Confirm with the Virginia Department of Taxation; this is not tax advice.
A free sample with a preparedness kit, timed to hurricane season
- From June 1
Start a preparedness kit offer when the Atlantic hurricane season opens, and keep it to items on the Department's list at the cap that fits, such as a flashlight, batteries and a weather radio. The season runs to November 30, so the offer has a natural reason to exist.
- When you choose the free item
Pick a small sample that is not on the Department's lists, such as a card or a travel size, and keep its price out of the price test. The Department's pages do not address gifts with purchase, so ask it in writing before you advertise the kit as tax free.
- In the weeks before the holiday
Check each item against its category cap, because the Code section we read counts coupons and discounts when it tests the price. Under that section a 110 dollar jacket sold at 15 percent off is judged at 93.50 dollars, below the 100 dollar clothing cap, and the same check applies to every school supply item at 20 dollars.
- After the Department announces the dates
Schedule the offer for the announced window only. If no 2027 holiday is announced, run the kit offer at normal tax and keep the free sample, because the sample was never tied to the holiday.
Source: Virginia Department of Taxation: Virginia Sales Tax Holiday
Build it with the Free sample with purchase template.
Related reading
Shipping into the state
Virginia has 39,490 square miles of land and four general tax rates, from 5.3 percent in most localities to 7 percent in James City County, Williamsburg and York County, so a single flat tax line in your checkout will be wrong somewhere. Hampton Roads is the state's container gateway, where Norfolk International Terminals is expected to reach an annual capacity of 3.6 million TEUs after its ongoing expansion, and food for home consumption is taxed at 1 percent statewide, which matters if you sell pantry goods inside an emergency kit.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010)
Source: Virginia Department of Taxation: Retail Sales and Use Tax
The year at a glance
Facts and sources
The Department of Taxation says the 2026 sales tax holiday started Friday, August 7 at 12:01 a.m. and ended Sunday, August 9 at 11:59 p.m., and describes it as starting the first Friday in August.
Virginia Department of Taxation: Virginia Sales Tax Holiday Runs August 7-9, 2026 (published July 28, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The first Friday of August 2027 is August 6, which would put a holiday built on the same first-Friday rule on August 6 through 8, 2027, but the Department's pages we read list only the 2026 dates and no 2027 announcement.
Virginia Department of Taxation: Virginia Sales Tax Holiday (accessed October 10, 2026)
Section 58.1-611.2 of the Code of Virginia, as published on the legislature's site, covers school supplies, clothing and footwear for a three-day period starting the first Friday in August and opens with the words beginning in 2015, and ending July 1, 2022, so it does not by itself show authority for a holiday in 2027.
Code of Virginia: section 58.1-611.2, limited exemption for certain school supplies, clothing and footwear (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department lists qualified school supplies at 20 dollars or less per item and qualified clothing and footwear at 100 dollars or less per item for the 2026 holiday.
Virginia Department of Taxation: Virginia Sales Tax Holiday Runs August 7-9, 2026 (published July 28, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department lists portable generators at 1,000 dollars or less per item, gas-powered chainsaws at 350 dollars or less, and chainsaw accessories and other specified hurricane preparedness products at 60 dollars or less per item.
Virginia Department of Taxation: Virginia Sales Tax Holiday Runs August 7-9, 2026 (published July 28, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department's list of hurricane preparedness items at 60 dollars or less includes batteries, flashlights and lanterns, weather band and NOAA radios, tarpaulins, duct tape, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, bottled water, water storage containers and first aid kits, and the 1,000 dollar tier includes portable generators, inverters and photovoltaic devices that generate electricity.
Virginia Department of Taxation: List of Qualifying Hurricane Preparedness Items (document dated 2017) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Qualifying ENERGY STAR and WaterSense products purchased for noncommercial home or personal use are covered at 2,500 dollars or less per item.
Virginia Department of Taxation: Virginia Sales Tax Holiday Runs August 7-9, 2026 (published July 28, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department's announcement says shoppers can use the holiday whether they shop online, in store, or by mail or phone, and its pages we read do not address shipping charges, gifts or sets.
Virginia Department of Taxation: Virginia Sales Tax Holiday Runs August 7-9, 2026 (published July 28, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Code section for school supplies and clothing counts any discount, coupon or other credit from the retailer or its vendor when it determines the selling price used for the cap, and the Department must issue guidelines on qualifying items by July 15 each year.
Code of Virginia: section 58.1-611.2 (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department's general sales tax rate is 5.3 percent in most of Virginia, 6 percent in the Central Virginia, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia regions, 7 percent in James City County, Williamsburg and York County, and 6.3 percent in a short list of localities including Charlotte, Danville and Halifax.
Virginia Department of Taxation: Retail Sales and Use Tax (accessed October 10, 2026)
Food for home consumption and certain essential personal hygiene products are taxed at a reduced rate of 1 percent throughout Virginia.
Virginia Department of Taxation: Grocery Tax (accessed October 10, 2026)
A remote seller must register to collect Virginia sales tax on direct sales when its Virginia customers' purchases exceed 100,000 dollars in annual gross retail sales or reach 200 or more transactions, tested over the previous or current calendar year, and physical presence is not required.
Virginia Department of Taxation: Remote Sellers and Marketplace Facilitators (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Port of Virginia lists an annual terminal capacity of 3.6 million TEUs at Norfolk International Terminals following ongoing expansion and 2.2 million TEUs at Virginia International Gateway, and says Portsmouth Marine Terminal will offer an additional 1.6 million TEUs of container capacity once the offshore wind projects come to their conclusion.
Port of Virginia: Our Capabilities (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Port of Virginia says its 83 million dollar Central Rail Yard expansion at Norfolk International Terminals was completed in August 2024 and its 220 million dollar Portsmouth Marine Terminal transformation project in March 2025.
Port of Virginia: Our Capabilities (accessed October 10, 2026)
The National Hurricane Center says the Atlantic hurricane season officially runs June 1 to November 30, peaks on September 10, and sees most activity between mid-August and mid-October.
NOAA National Hurricane Center: Climatology (accessed October 10, 2026)
Virginia has 39,490 square miles of land area.
U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Cities in Virginia
- RichmondRichmond has 26 food manufacturing establishments and a 6 percent rate. See how in-state sourcing works and a tiered sample plan for small makers.
Not tax advice. Confirm current rules with the state revenue department before you rely on a date or an exemption.