Whether you want to get a head start your back-to-school shopping or save a few dollars on a new pair of shoes, this is the weekend to do it.

Back-to-school shopping season is right around the corner, and Virginia is getting a head start by ushering in its annual sales tax holiday that will see a range of items marked down and made available, tax-free.

From Friday, August 5, until noon on Sunday, August 7, shoppers will see the sales tax benefit applied to school supplies, such as notebooks and bookbags, as well as apparel and footwear. Numerous home emergency or hurricane preparedness items — generators, for example — are also included in the tax break.

“Get your shopping in and get ready for school to start,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin told Washington’s ABC7. “It’s going to be a great year. I’m really excited about the whole back-to-school environment that we’re going to have across Virginia. So, go shopping this weekend, save some money, and get ready to go back to school.”

Sales items can be purchased both in-store as well as online, according to the Virginia Department of Taxation. Depending on where items are sold, eliminating the sales tax will cut between 5.3 percent and 7 percent of the total cost.

Qualifying school supply purchases, meanwhile, are considered those items costing $20 or less. The threshold for individual clothing and footwear items is set at $100.

Additional items include gas-powered chainsaws ($350 or less), portable generators ($1,000 or less), hurricane emergency supplies, such as flashlights, bottled water, and first aid kits ($60 or less), and an array of Energy Star and WaterSense products, which include refrigerators, light bulbs, faucets, and showerheads.

More details on items and regulations can be found through the Virginia Taxation Department’s website.

For more stories like this, subscribe to our Local News newsletter.

Copyright © 2022 Northern Virginia Magazine