Although several area schools opting for remote learning the first weeks of the school year, educational supplies are still necessities.
And this is the weekend to shop for them.
Virginia’s annual tax holiday began at 12:01 a.m. Friday (Aug. 7) and runs through 11:59 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 9). During that period, sales tax won’t be tacked onto purchases of eligible items.
During the sales tax holiday, shoppers can buy qualifying school supplies, clothing, footwear, hurricane and emergency preparedness items, and Energy Star™ and WaterSense™ products without paying sales tax.
The National Federation of Independent Businesses is encouraging people to shop local during the tax holiday.
“This has been a challenging spring and summer for local retailers struggling to recover from the economic shutdown and a great time to support them as they do come back,” said NFIB’s Virginia State Director Nicole Riley. “Not only did small business owners lose a lot of revenue in recent months, but they also had to spend additional dollars to pay for equipment and supplies to protect customers and employees from the coronavirus when reopening.”
What items are eligible? Here’s the list from the Virginia Department of Taxation:
School supplies, clothing and footwear
- School supplies: $20 or less per item.
- Clothing and footwear: $100 or less per item.
Hurricane and emergency preparedness products
- Portable generators: $1,000 or less per item.
- Gas-powered chainsaws: $350 or less per item.
- Chainsaw accessories: $60 or less per item.
- Other specified hurricane preparedness items: $60 or less per item.
Energy Star and WaterSense products
- Qualifying Energy Star or WaterSense products (must be purchased for noncommercial or personal use): $2,500 or less per item.
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