Volunteers Needed at Fellowship Square — The Reston and Lake Anne location need volunteers who can call seniors and deliver food to senior apartments. Sign up is available online. [Fellowship Square]
Hoskins Reflects on Year One — “Victor Hoskins took the helm of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) on August 5, 2019, after leading economic development in Arlington County for almost five years and winning the biggest economic-development competition in history: Amazon’s second headquarters, aka HQ2.” [Fairfax County Economic Development Authority]
Sales Tax Holiday Returns — The three-day holiday starts today and ends on Sunday. Residents can buy qualifying supplies, clothing, footwear, emergency preparedness items and Energy Star products without paying sales tax. [Virginia State Government]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
Elections Officers Sought Throughout the County — The county is seeking elections officers for the upcoming election. The application is available online. [Fairfax County Office of Elections]
Dog Days of Summer Today in Reston Town Center — Dogs and their owners can take advantage of a special play zone today in RTC’s pavilion from 5-7:30 p.m. The event will be held weekly until September 4. [Reston Town Center]
Take Advantage of Savings During Virginia Annual Sales Tax Holiday — Virginia’s annual sales tax holiday runs from Friday (August 2) through Sunday (August 4). Customers will no longer have to pay the state sales tax on several items. [Fairfax County Emergency Information]
Photo via Dario Piparo/Flickr
A three-day sales tax holiday begins Friday in Virginia, giving customers a break on back-to-school supplies and other qualifying items.
From 12:01 a.m. Friday through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, the sales tax exemption will be in effect for school supplies, clothing, footwear, hurricane and emergency preparedness items, and Energy Star and WaterSense products. According to the Virginia Department of Taxation, that includes the following items:
- School supplies, clothing and footwearÂ
- Qualified school supplies — $20 or less per item
- Qualified clothing and footwear — $100 or less per item
- Hurricane and emergency preparedness products Â
- 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​ productsÂ
- Qualifying Energy Star or WaterSense products purchased for noncommercial home or personal use — $2,500 or less per item
Before 2015, the three categories of items were available free of sales taxes on three separate weekends throughout the year.
Under current law, the sales tax rate is 5.3 percent — 4.3 percent for the state sales and use tax and 1 percent for the local option sales and use tax. In the Northern Virginia region, there is an additional 0.7 percent state tax for transportation.
For more details and a more extensive list of what items qualify for the tax exemption, check the Department of Taxation’s guidelines.
Stocking up for summer stuff? Think about buying some supplies to get your through the 2015 hurricane season, which begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30.
Though hurricanes don’t typically make landfall in Fairfax County, the effects of high winds and flooding can affect homes, roads and property here. To help prepare Virginia, will hold its Hurricane and Emergency Preparedness Equipment Sales Tax Holiday May 25-31.
Items such as batteries, generators up to $1,000, chainsaws up to $340, smoke detectors, first-aid kits, flashlights and more will be tax-free. See entire list of tax-exempt items from the Virginia Department of Taxation.
The hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday is part of the statewide Hurricane and Flooding Preparedness Week, May 24-30, that coincides with National Hurricane Preparedness Week sponsored by the National Weather Service.
