West Virginia's five-cap tax weekend and the 1 percent city tax on top of the 6 percent state rate
West Virginia's back-to-school sales tax holiday is a four-day window with five separate price caps, and the Department's rules read like instructions for a store that sells bundles. Clothing is covered at 125 dollars or less per item, school supplies at 50 dollars, school instructional materials at 20 dollars, sports equipment at 150 dollars and laptops and tablets at 500 dollars, and the Department says the exemption depends on the actual price paid for each item, so a buy one, get one free price cannot be averaged across two pairs. The 2026 window ran from Friday, July 31 to Monday, Aug. 3. The state tax is 6 percent, and 107 municipalities add 1 percent more, which a remote seller collects by the shipped-to address. This page lays out the caps, the Department's answers on sets, coupons and shipping, the city tax and a mix and match plan that keeps every item under its own cap.
Back-to-school sales tax holiday
In 2026 the holiday ran from 12:00 a.m. Friday, July 31 to 11:59 p.m. Monday, Aug. 3 and covered five categories with a per-item cap: clothing at 125 dollars, school supplies at 50, school instructional materials at 20, sports equipment at 150 and laptops and tablets at 500. The Department's rule starts it on the Friday before the first Sunday in August, which would be July 30 to Aug. 2 in 2027; that window is computed, not announced.
- Clothing, 125 dollars or less per item
- School supplies, 50 dollars or less per item
- School instructional materials, 20 dollars or less
- Sports equipment, 150 dollars or less per item
- Laptops and tablets, 500 dollars or less
Watch out: Each item is tested alone, and the Department says an average cannot be used: a free second pair does not bring the first pair under the cap. Separately stated shipping and handling is taxable, and a set that mixes exempt and taxable items is taxed in full unless each price is stated. Confirm any item you are unsure of with the Department. This is not tax advice; confirm with the West Virginia State Tax Department.
Source: West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers
Questions merchants ask
- When is the West Virginia sales tax holiday in 2027?
- The Department has not announced 2027 in the pages we read. Its rule starts the holiday on the Friday before the first Sunday in August and ends it the following Monday, which computes to Friday, July 30 through Monday, Aug. 2, 2027. Confirm with the West Virginia State Tax Department. This is not tax advice.
- What are the price caps?
- For 2026 the Department lists clothing at 125 dollars or less, school supplies at 50 dollars, school instructional materials at 20 dollars, sports equipment at 150 dollars and laptops and tablets at 500 dollars. The cap applies to each item, and an item above its cap is taxed on its full price.
- How is sports equipment defined?
- The Department's page lists certain sports equipment at 150 dollars or less. In its description of what is not clothing it says sports or recreational equipment includes ballet and tap shoes, cleated or spiked athletic shoes, gloves, goggles, hand and elbow guards, life preservers and vests, mouth guards, roller and ice skates, shin guards, shoulder pads, ski boots, waders, and wetsuits and fins, and that such items do not get the clothing exemption but may qualify as sports equipment. The word is includes, so ask the Department about any sports item not on that list before you advertise it as exempt.
- Does a discount code change whether an item is under the cap?
- The Department says a retailer's discount or store coupon counts toward the price test, and a manufacturer's coupon that earns third-party reimbursement does not. It also says a buy one, get one free price cannot be averaged across two items, so check each item at its actual price paid.
- Is shipping taxed during the holiday?
- Separately stated shipping and handling charges are taxable, according to the Department, even when the item is exempt. An online order qualifies if it is ordered, paid and accepted for immediate shipment during the window, and an out-of-state buyer is not eligible.
- Do city taxes apply to online orders?
- Yes, for a registered remote seller. The Department says the seller must collect the municipal tax when the shipped-to address is inside a municipality that imposes one, at 1 percent including shipping and handling. The Department's page lists 107 municipalities, so check the address, not the ZIP code.
- When must an out-of-state store collect West Virginia tax?
- The Department's remote sellers page sets a small-seller exception at no more than 100,000 dollars of sales or fewer than 200 separate transactions for delivery into the state. It is decided from the preceding calendar year, and a seller that meets either threshold during the current year must begin collecting after the day it was reached. Confirm with the Department; this is not tax advice.
A mix and match back-to-school plan that keeps every item under its cap
Shipping
West Virginia has 24,038 square miles of land and 1,766,147 residents by the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate, The state rate is 6 percent, 107 municipalities add 1 percent and a remote seller collects it by the shipped-to address, including on shipping and handling. During the holiday window shipping and handling that is separately stated is taxable even when the item is not.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010)
Source: West Virginia State Tax Department: Municipal Sales and Use Tax
Source: West Virginia State Tax Department: Remote Sellers and West Virginia Sales and Use Tax
Source: West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers
- In June, before the window opens
Sort the catalog into the five categories and list the price of every item next to its cap. The Department tests each item on its own, so an 80 dollar book bag is over the 50 dollar school supply cap, and a 130 dollar jacket is taxed on its entire price even if the rest of the order is exempt.
- When you design the pick-any-three set
As planning advice, not a Department rule, build the set from items whose own prices sit under their caps and let the set price be the sum or a small reduction. The Department says a buy one, get one free price cannot be averaged, so ask it in writing how a single price for any three items is split before you advertise one that is lower than the sum.
- When you write the product titles
Use words from the Department's closed lists for school supplies and instructional materials. An item that is not on the list is taxable, so a desk lamp that you call a school supply is still taxed, and the title should not suggest otherwise.
- For sets that mix categories
Price the exempt and taxable parts separately on the page and in the cart. The Department says that when exempt clothing is sold with taxable merchandise as a set, the full price is subject to sales tax unless the price is separately stated.
Source: West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers
- When you set the dates
Plan for Friday, July 30 to Monday, Aug. 2, 2027 as a computed window, using the Department's rule, and confirm it when the Department announces the year. An order counts if it is ordered, paid and accepted for immediate shipment during the window, so end the banner when the clock ends in your time zone and do not promise tax-free for a delayed shipment.
Source: West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers
- At checkout
Test a cart with a shipping address inside a taxing municipality and read the tax line. A listed city adds 1 percent to the 6 percent state rate, shipping and handling included, so an order that is exempt in July for the item is not exempt for the delivery fee.
Source: West Virginia State Tax Department: Remote Sellers and West Virginia Sales and Use Tax
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Related reading
Dates to plan around
- Sales tax holiday, 2027 window computed from the Department's rule (not announced)West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers
Facts and sources
The State Tax Department says that for 2026 the sales tax holiday began at 12:00 a.m. on Friday, July 31, 2026 and ended at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026.
West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department's page says the holiday begins each year on the Friday before the first Sunday in August and ends the following Monday.
West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers (accessed October 10, 2026)
Computed, not announced: the first Sunday in August 2027 is Aug. 1, so the Department's rule puts the 2027 holiday from Friday, July 30 to Monday, Aug. 2, 2027, and the Department's page we read states only the 2026 dates.
West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department lists certain clothing at 125 dollars or less, certain laptop and tablet computers at 500 dollars or less, certain school instruction material at 20 dollars or less, certain school supplies at 50 dollars or less and certain sports equipment at 150 dollars or less.
West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers (accessed October 10, 2026)
The governor's July 29, 2026 announcement says the holiday begins at midnight on Friday, July 31 and runs through Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, lists the same five caps, and says taxpayers saved more than 3.5 million dollars during last year's holiday.
Office of the Governor of West Virginia: back-to-school sales tax holiday announcement (July 29, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department's Q&A says there is no limit on the total purchase and each item is tested on its own, that a clothing item above 125 dollars is taxed on its entire price, and that articles normally sold as a unit cannot be priced separately to get under the cap, while components normally priced as separates may be sold separately.
West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers (PDF; its examples use 2022 dates) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Q&A says a retailer's discount or store coupon counts toward the price test, a manufacturer's coupon that earns third-party reimbursement does not, and that a buy one, get one free price cannot be averaged across two items: tax is due on a 150 dollar first pair, but the retailer may sell each pair at 50 percent off.
West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers (PDF; its examples use 2022 dates) (accessed October 10, 2026)
When exempt clothing, accessories or footwear are sold with taxable merchandise as a set or single unit, the Department says the full price is subject to sales tax unless the price is separately stated.
West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Q&A says school supplies include only a closed list of items such as binders, calculators, composition books, folders, glue, markers, notebooks, paper, pencils and pens, and school instructional material includes only reference books, reference maps and globes, textbooks and workbooks, and that an item not on the list is taxable.
West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers (PDF; its examples use 2022 dates) (accessed October 10, 2026)
An order by mail, telephone, email or internet qualifies if the consumer orders and pays and the retailer accepts the order during the holiday for immediate shipment, even when delivery comes later, and the Department says out-of-state consumers ordering from West Virginia retailers are not eligible because sales tax follows the destination.
West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers (accessed October 10, 2026)
Shipping and handling charges that are separately stated are taxable during the holiday, according to the Department.
West Virginia State Tax Department: Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department's municipal sales and use tax page lists 107 municipalities, each at a 1 percent municipal rate, and says the combined rate is the state sales tax rate of 6 percent plus the municipality's rate, which makes 7 percent in a listed city.
West Virginia State Tax Department: Municipal Sales and Use Tax (accessed October 10, 2026)
Remote sellers registered for West Virginia sales or use taxes must collect the applicable municipal tax when the customer's shipped-to physical address is inside a taxing municipality, and the Department says the 1 percent municipal rate applies including shipping and handling charges.
West Virginia State Tax Department: Remote Sellers and West Virginia Sales and Use Tax (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department's remote sellers page says the small-seller exception, no more than 100,000 dollars of sales or fewer than 200 separate transactions for delivery into West Virginia, is decided each year from the preceding calendar year, and that a seller that meets either threshold during the current year must begin collecting on sales made after the day it was reached. Administrative Notice 2018-18 first set the 100,000 dollar and 200-transaction tests.
West Virginia State Tax Department: Remote Sellers and West Virginia Sales and Use Tax (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate for West Virginia is 1,766,147 people, down from an April 2020 estimates base of 1,793,759, and by our calculation from that file the state's change of minus 1.5 percent is the 49th of the 50 states by percent change.
U.S. Census Bureau: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States and States (Vintage 2025, NST-EST2025) (accessed October 10, 2026)
West Virginia has 24,038 square miles of land area.
U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Not tax advice. Confirm current rules with the state revenue department before you rely on a date or an exemption.
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