Virginia tax holiday coming in August

It’s still a few weeks away, but those on tight budgets should know Aug. 7 to 9 is the state’s tax holiday for a variety of back-to-school items, including clothing, shoes and supplies.

To qualify for the exemption, clothing and shoes must sell for less than $100 each and school supplies for less than $20 per item, according to the Virginia Department of Taxation.

“Retailers may also choose to absorb the tax on other items during the holiday period, but they are responsible for paying the tax on those items to the Department of Taxation,“ the state agency reports.

The exemption will be applied for rain check items — those that are sold out during the holiday period but are placed on order — as well as to returns.

“For a 60-day period immediately after the sales tax holiday exemption period, when a customer returns an item that would qualify for the exemption, no credit for or refund of sales tax shall be given unless the customer provides a receipt or invoice that shows the tax was paid,“ according to printed guidelines from the Virginia tax commissioner Janie Bowen.

A full list of eligible items is posted at the Department of Taxation’s Web site, at http://www.tax.virginia.gov/site.cfm?aliasSchoolSuppliesandClothingHoliday.

But in part, eligible school supplies include: binders and folders, tape, glue, index cards and boxes, notebooks and paintbrushes, paper, dividers and dictionaries, book bags, compasses and calculators, scissors, workbooks and reference maps and globes.

“School computer supply [items] are not included,“ the agency reports, “and may not be purchased free of tax.“

Those items include printers, printer paper and ink, electronic schedulers, discs and digital assistants.

Tax exempt clothing, meanwhile, runs the gamut from aprons and athletic supporters to vests and wedding veils. Also exempted: baby bibs, boots, costumes, diapers, dresses, girdles, gloves and mittens, pajamas, flip-flops and sandals, skirts and pants, suits and suspenders, and a slew of others that are not listed, but determined for eligibility on a case-by-case basis.