Virginia Sales tax guide
We’re glad you chose to read 1stopVAT’s Virginia sales tax guide. We hope you will find answers to sales tax-related questions such as how much is the sales tax in Virginia or how to manage Virginia sales tax online. Please contact our team if you have additional questions not covered in the Virginia state sales tax article below.
Key facts about Virginia sales and use tax
Like in other states of the US, sales tax in Virginia (VA) is a consumption tax charged by the seller of goods or services. After collecting the correct Virginia sales tax rate, the seller must file and return the tax to Virginia‘s tax authority. Sales and use tax Virginia based companies and individuals have to pay are supervised by the Department of Taxation.
The requirement to collect the sales tax for Virginia is established once a business forms a nexus in the state, marking a sufficient activity for sales tax registration. Criteria for a nexus include a physical base of activity in the country and reaching the tax registration threshold for remote sellers.
Should you collect Virginia sales tax (VA)?
To become eligible of adding the Virginia state sales tax rate to the price of your products or services, you should meet the following criteria:
- Your company has a nexus in Virginia;
- You sell taxable goods or services to customers in Virginia;
- Your buyers are required to pay sales tax.
Meeting all of the criteria constitutes legitimate grounds for becoming a sales tax collector.
Do you have a nexus in Virginia?
There are The nexus criteria for becoming a Virginia tax sales collector are simple. Usually, all in-state dealers, companies with warehouses, offices, and other locations in Virginia should register to collect and pay sales tax Virginia.
The most common sales tax exemption is the purchase for resale. In the case of a planned resale, sales tax is not applied and is charged only at the point of sale to the final customer. Other sales tax exemptions are listed by the Virginia Department of Taxation and include sales of medical goods, government purchases, commodities, industrial materials, and so on.
Virginia sales tax registration
Sales tax registration in Virginia can be completed online by visiting the Virginia Tax website. You will have to fill in an online form and provide your business details together with projected information about your sales. You can also register for a seller’s permit by visiting one of Virginia’s Department of Taxation field offices.
What is the current sales tax in Virginia?
The first step in determining what’s the sales tax in Virginia is figuring out the location of your sales origin, as Virginia has an origin type of sales tax principle. This means that sales tax rates Virginia based companies must apply are set looking at the location of the origin of the sale, not the destination.
The base sales tax rate in Virginia is 4.3%, and the local sales tax rate Virginia operating companies must add can range from 0 to 2.7%. Therefore, the lowest sales tax rate in Virginia is 4.3% and the highest – 7%. In most locations, the sale tax rate is 5.3%.
Virginia has also established a reduced rate for food and personal hygiene items. These goods are subject to 2.5% sales tax.
Collecting and filing the sales tax
Having figured out what is the sales tax rate in Virginia that you should charge, you are ready to begin regularly filling your sales tax reports.
Once you are a registered sales tax collector, you will be assigned a filing frequency. It can be monthly or quarterly, depending on the size of your business. Virginia tax authority requires the filing to be completed by the 20th day of the month following the end of your period. If you have a sales tax liability of less than $20 000, you can receive a timely filing discount, a reduction of the base rate that can go up to 1.116%.
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