Virginia Sales Tax

The sales tax in Virginia varies by location, with a state sales tax rate, a portion that goes to local municipalities, and additional municipal rates in certain cities and counties in the state.

Virginia Sales Tax Rates

Virginia has a combined base sales and use tax rate of 5.30% across most of the state. This consists of a 4.30% state rate plus a required 1.00% local option tax collected everywhere.

Additional regional and local taxes apply in specific areas:

• Northern Virginia & Hampton Roads: 6.00% combined rate.
• Historic Triangle (Williamsburg, James City County, York County): 7.00% combined rate.
• Select Counties (e.g., Danville, Charlotte, Halifax, Patrick): 6.30% combined rate.

Tax Sourcing

Virginia uses a hybrid sourcing model:

• In-State Sellers: Sourced on an origin basis. Over-the-counter purchases or orders fulfilled from a business location within Virginia use the tax rate of the place of business.
• Remote Out-of-State Sellers: Sourced on a destination basis. Sales shipped into Virginia from outside the state are taxed based on the customer’s delivery location.

Virginia Nexus

While there is a state sales tax and several municipal sales taxes in Virginia, they only apply if you have sales tax nexus in the state. This means you have a presence in Virginia that requires you to collect and pay sales taxes on specific goods or services sold.

Physical Nexus

Physical nexus is determined by the following:

• Employees or contractors in the state
• A physical location in the state
• Leased property or physical goods in the state
• Physical goods or inventory in a warehouse in the state
• Any advertisements you pay for in a newspaper, billboard, or poster in the state
• Ownership of real estate or personal property in the state

Economic Nexus

Out-of-state remote sellers with no physical footprint trigger an obligation to register and collect tax if, during the current or previous calendar year, they reach either threshold:

• $100,000 in gross revenue from sales delivered into Virginia, OR
• 200 separate retail transactions delivered into Virginia.

Gross revenue calculations include total sales (both taxable and non-taxable goods).

Marketplace Facilitators

Marketplace facilitators (such as Amazon, Etsy, or eBay) meeting the economic nexus threshold must collect and remit sales tax on behalf of third-party sellers. Direct sales made through your own website still count toward your individual $100,000 or 200-transaction threshold to determine if you must register for your direct channels.

What Is Taxable in Virginia

Tangible Goods

All physical goods sold, leased, or rented to retail customers in Virginia are subject to sales tax unless a statutory exemption applies.

Services

Most general professional and personal services are exempt from sales tax in Virginia. Tax applies only to specifically listed services, such as hotel room rentals, dry cleaning, and repair labor when not listed separately from replacement parts on an invoice.

Shipping and Handling

• Separately Stated Shipping/Freight: Exempt. Shipping charges are non-taxable if listed as a distinct, separate line item on the customer invoice.
• Handling and Combined Fees: Taxable. Handling fees are always taxable. If shipping and handling are combined into a single fee (e.g., “Shipping & Handling”), the entire charge becomes taxable.

Digital Goods and Services

• Software as a Service (SaaS): Exempt. Cloud-hosted software accessed over the internet without downloading physical media is non-taxable in Virginia.
• Digital Media Downloads: Exempt. Downloadable digital books, music, movies, and software delivered electronically are generally non-taxable in Virginia.

Exemptions

• Groceries & Essential Hygiene Items: Unprepared food for home consumption and essential personal hygiene products (such as diapers and feminine hygiene items) qualify for a reduced statewide tax rate of 1.00%.
• Prescription Medicine: Prescription drugs, eyeglasses, and qualifying medical equipment are exempt.

Registration and Filing

See the State of Virginia’s Department of Taxation website to learn more about registering to collect sales and use tax in the state. You will need to acquire a Virginia sales and use tax permit, which you can do from the link below:

• Register to collect, accrue and remit taxes.
• Using the paper Form R-1 is no longer permissible for most businesses, but certain exceptions are listed

You’ll need a business location, mailing address, and additional personal and business information to apply for and receive your registration. Be sure to review the above list before starting your application. There is no charge for this registration, and there is no renewal required.

Filing Frequencies and Deadlines

You will pay Virginia sales and use tax by:

• Collecting based on the final destination of your sale – all taxes are applied based on the location where the product or service is delivered (destination based). You can determine your local sales tax rate here. For multiple locations, rates always apply to the point of sale.
• If you are located outside of Virginia and selling into the state, you are expected to collect taxes based on the location of the buyer of that item. 
• Filing a sales tax return. The Virginia Department of Taxation has an online portal, which you can use to register and file your taxes online.
• Making a payment is done through the Virginia Tax website, or you can use software from an approved vendor.

The State of Virginia will assign a tax filing frequency based on your total sales tax liability and estimates. This is assigned when you receive your registration, though it may be updated in the future depending on sales volume. Each frequency has its form, or the general form, ST-9, can be used.

Virginia offers a discount for those businesses that owe less than $20,000 in sales tax on average if they file and pay on time. This allows such businesses to keep a portion of the sales tax they collected on behalf of the state (this does not apply to any of the local portions of the tax collected). Several factors apply to discounts, so it is important that you reference Virginia’s documentation on the subject to determine what you are eligible for.

Quarterly: The following deadlines apply to any business assigned a quarterly filing deadline. Payments can always be made earlier without issue, but your final filing for each quarter must be submitted no later than the listed date:

Period	Due Date
January – March (Q1)	April 20
April – June (Q2)	July 20
July – September (Q3)	October 20
October – December (Q4)	January 20

Monthly: The following deadlines apply to any business that has been assigned a monthly filing deadline. These payments must all be received by 5:00PM on the day of collection to be considered on time for each of the monthly dates assigned:

Period	Due Date
January	February 20
February	March 20
March	April 20
April	May 20
May	June 20
June	July 20
July	August 20
August	September 20
September	October 20
October	November 20
November	December 20
December	January 20

Annual: Some businesses may only be required to file annually. When this is the case, the annual payment is due on January 20 following the year for which the taxes are being collected.

Penalties and Interest

If sales tax is not paid by your specific filing deadline, a penalty of 6% per month is added to the total tax owed. There is a maximum penalty for quarterly and monthly filers of 30% of the total tax owed with a minimum penalty of $10. This $10 penalty applies even if there is no sales tax due.

In addition to the late filing penalty, a late payment penalty of 6% per month up to 30% of the total tax imposed. This is separate from the filing deadline but doesn’t apply until after six months have passed. For this reason, if a business has not paid its sales tax within six months, the full 30% may be charged when the late fee is applied. Only one of the two late fees will be applied, so the maximum remains 30% of the total tax owed, even if the filing was done late and the payment is late. Interest is applied to all late payments at 2% per month.

Resources

• Virginia Department of Taxation forms and resources
• Sales and use tax documentation from the state
• Virginia Tax Online Services for Businesses

Virginia Sales Tax Software

To streamline the process of determining your sales tax liability, potential filing frequency, and to collect those Virginia sales taxes, you can use our TaxTools sales tax calculator software. TaxTools reviews your data by sorting through Virginia addresses and determining the right sales tax rate based on location. This can also work with your existing e-commerce website and quickly manage the collection, tracking, and payment of your sales tax in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Contact us for more information or sign up for a free trial of the TaxTools software.

You can also use our free sales tax calculator to look up the rate for any Virginia address.

Last updated July 2026