Virginia Tax-Free Weekend 2026: What’s Lined and When

For one weekend in early August, the value on the tag is the value you pay. Virginia’s annual gross sales tax vacation runs Friday, August 7 via Sunday, August 9, 2026, giving Alexandria buyers a three-day window to purchase college provides, garments, emergency-preparedness gear and energy-efficient home equipment with out the state and native gross sales tax added at checkout.

The timing is deliberate. The vacation lands squarely in back-to-school season, simply as Alexandria City Public Schools households begin filling provide lists, and on the entrance finish of peak Atlantic hurricane season, when emergency officers urge residents to replenish earlier than a storm is ever on the forecast. In the Alexandria space, the place the mixed gross sales tax charge is 6 %, the exemption trims actual cash off a full cart — $30 again on a $500 haul, and extra for households outfitting a number of youngsters.

How it really works

There’s nothing to join and no coupon to clip. During the three-day window, qualifying gadgets merely ring up with out gross sales tax at any retailer registered to gather Virginia gross sales tax — in shops and on-line alike. For on-line orders, the acquisition typically must be positioned and paid for in the course of the vacation to qualify. Final funds on layaway gadgets made in the course of the weekend rely, too.

One element price understanding: the value caps under apply per merchandise, not per transaction. A $95 jacket qualifies; a $120 coat is totally taxable, with no partial break on the primary $100. But you should purchase as many qualifying gadgets as you want in a single journey and nonetheless skip the tax on each.

What’s lined

The exemption falls into three buckets, every with its personal value ceiling, in response to the Virginia Department of Taxation:

School provides, clothes and footwear

• Qualified college provides — $20 or much less per merchandise
• Qualified clothes and footwear — $100 or much less per merchandise

The clothes class is broad, protecting on a regular basis attire and sneakers fairly than simply backpacks and binders — helpful for households and non-students alike. The division publishes a full record of qualifying college provides and clothes.

Hurricane and emergency-preparedness merchandise

• Portable mills — $1,000 or much less per merchandise
• Gas-powered chainsaws — $350 or much less per merchandise
• Chainsaw equipment — $60 or much less per merchandise
• Other qualifying preparedness gadgets — $60 or much less per merchandise

That final, catch-all tier is the place most family prep lands: batteries, flashlights, first-aid kits, bottled water, tarps and related provides. The division’s hurricane preparedness list spells out what makes the minimize.

Energy Star™ and WaterSense™ merchandise

• Qualifying merchandise for noncommercial residence or private use — $2,500 or much less per merchandise

This is the big-ticket class. Certain Energy Star-rated home equipment and WaterSense-labeled fixtures purchased for the house qualify, making the weekend a pure time to exchange an getting old dishwasher, washer or faucet. The Energy Star and WaterSense record particulars eligible merchandise.

Before you store

Just a few sensible notes: if a qualifying merchandise sells out, some retailers will honor the exemption on rain checks — price asking on the register. Not each product in a class qualifies, so the division’s detailed tips are the definitive phrase on what’s in and what’s out. And as a result of the vacation solely comes annually, it is a smart second to knock out each the school-supply record and the storm equipment in a single weekend.

Full particulars and the whole qualifying-item lists can be found from the Virginia Department of Taxation.