It might be hard to believe, but we are just about a month away from the start of the school year. With the start of the school year comes the back-to-school shopping trips to get school supplies and clothes. With that in mind, I wanted to make sure you were aware of the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday coming up this weekend. From August 5-7, certain school supplies and clothes will be exempt from Virginia’s 5% sales tax.

Even if you don’t have a child going back to school, you will be able to purchase these items without having to pay the sales tax.

A variety of school supplies, including notebooks, pens, binders, calculators, paints and crayons, will be tax-free as long as each item costs $20 or less. Most clothing items and footwear will also be exempt from the 5% sales tax as long as they are priced at $100 or less each. There is no limit on the number of items you can purchase tax-free as long as each item qualifies. Lists of eligible items, along with guidelines and frequently asked questions for both consumers and retailers, can be found by clicking here.

This year marks the 6th year of the sales tax holiday on back-to-school supplies. In 2006, I was one of the co-sponsors of the bill that created the sales tax holiday.

I hope that you will be able to take advantage of the upcoming back-to-school sales tax holiday this weekend.

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