Virginia Sales Tax: 5.3% to 7% by Region, 1% on Food

Virginia does not have a single sales tax rate. The Department of Taxation lists several general rates by locality, plus a reduced rate for groceries that applies statewide.

This guide sets out those rates, what the 1% grocery rate covers, the main consumer exemptions, use tax on online purchases and a worked example, all from Virginia Tax pages read on 2 November 2026.

Rates by Location

Virginia Tax states that sales tax rates vary by the locality where the sale was made or the merchandise was received, and by the type of item sold, rented or leased. Its Retail Sales and Use Tax page lists four general rates:

Virginia Tax runs a rate and locality code lookup map and offers an Excel download of the rate for each city or county. Use it for an exact address rather than relying on the regional groupings above.

Groceries and Personal Hygiene Products: 1%

Virginia Tax says sales of food for home consumption and certain essential personal hygiene products are taxed at the reduced rate of 1% throughout Virginia. Most staple grocery items and cold prepared foods packaged for home consumption qualify.

• Not eligible: alcoholic beverages, tobacco, prepared hot foods packaged for immediate consumption on or off premises, and seeds and plants used to grow food for home consumption.
• Vendor rule: certain vendors, such as caterers, concession vendors, movie theaters and vending machine vendors, are presumed to sell food for immediate consumption and may not charge the reduced rate. A retailer whose sales of food for immediate consumption are 80% or more of its total sales also may not charge it.
• Hygiene products: the reduced rate covers listed products as of January 1, 2020, including nondurable incontinence products such as diapers and feminine hygiene products such as tampons.

For the detailed lists of eligible foods, Virginia Tax points to its Tax Bulletin 5-78 (food) and Tax Bulletin 19-8 (hygiene products).

What Is Exempt

Virginia Tax's exemptions page lists many exemptions, mostly for businesses. Those most relevant to consumers include:

• Prescription drugs and medicines, eyeglasses and hearing aids and supplies.
• Nonprescription drugs and proprietary medicines for use on humans.
• Electricity, natural gas and water delivered to customers through power lines, pipes and the like.
• Separately stated charges for alterations to clothing.
• Certain heating fuels for domestic use are exempt from state sales tax, but Virginia Tax notes the 1% local sales tax still applies to these sales.

The department's sales tax page says the tax applies to the sale, lease and rental of tangible personal property, accommodations and certain taxable services unless an exemption is established. Check the exemptions page for any specific item.

Worked Example: $1,000 Purchase and $200 of Groceries

Our illustration of how the regional rates change the tax on the same general purchase. These are our arithmetic using the rates in the table above, not official calculations.

On $200 of qualifying groceries the 1% rate gives $2.00 of tax. The same $200 taxed at the 5.3% general rate would be $10.60, so the reduced rate saves $8.60 in that area.

Use Tax on Online and Out-of-State Purchases

Virginia Tax says goods are subject to either sales or use tax, not both. You owe consumer's use tax when you use goods in Virginia and did not pay sales tax at the time of purchase, for example an internet or mail order purchase from a seller that did not collect Virginia sales tax. The use tax rate is the same as your sales tax rate, and items exempt from sales tax are also exempt from use tax.

Individuals report use tax when they file their Virginia individual income tax return, or file Form CU-7 if they do not need to file an income tax return. Calendar-year filers are due May 1. Virginia Tax also lists an exemption for out-of-state mail order catalog purchases totaling $100 or less for the calendar year; above $100, the total cost is reportable.

Motor vehicles are taxed differently; see our Virginia vehicle sales tax guide.

For Businesses: Collection, Filing and Penalties

Dealers collect the sales tax from customers and send it to Virginia Tax with their sales tax return. Returns are due on the 20th of the month following the close of the filing period, even when there are no sales to report. Virginia Tax sets a filing frequency, monthly or quarterly, based on tax liability. If a return or payment is late, a penalty of 6% per month is added to the tax owed, up to a maximum of 30%.

Official Sources

• Virginia Tax: Retail Sales and Use Tax
• Virginia Tax: Grocery Tax
• Virginia Tax: Sales Tax Exemptions
• Virginia Tax: Consumer's Use Tax
• Virginia Tax: Sales Tax Rate and Locality Code Lookup