Sales tax holiday underway

Virginia’s sales tax holiday started today at 12:01 a.m. and ends on Sunday, Oct. 22, at 11:59 p.m.

During this period, Fairfax County consumers won’t be charged the 6 percent sales tax for eligible clothing, footwear, school supplies, emergency preparedness items, and energy and water-saving appliances.

The three-day sales tax holiday usually occurs on the weekend before the start of school, but this year, it was canceled when legislators forgot to renew it during the budget negotiations. That omission was rectified in the subsequent bipartisan budget agreement.

Here’s a summary of what’s eligible:

• Qualified school supplies – $20 or less per item.
• Qualified clothing and footwear – $100 or less per item.
• 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.  
• Qualifying Energy Star™ or WaterSense™ products purchased for noncommercial home use – $2,500 or less per item. 

A complete list of eligible items can be found in the Sales Tax Holiday Guidelines.