Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Virginia Sales Tax Changes - July 2013

This notice applies to our Virginia customers only.

As of July 1st, 2013 sales tax in Virginia will increase state wide to 5.3%, and to 6% for residents of Northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads area.

As many of you know, our fulfillment warehouse is currently located in Winchester, VA, and since we operate and ship from Virginia we have to collect VA sales tax (which is currently 5%) on all orders shipping to addresses inside the state of Virginia. Virginia is our home state and is currently the only location/state that we collect sales tax for, or ever intend to collect it for if we have our way about it.

VA dept of taxation recently sent us a letter letting us know that effective July 1st, 2013 they are increasing the state wide sales tax rate three tenths of a percent from 5.0% to 5.3%.

Also (and for the first time ever) they are adding an additional 0.7% sales tax for residents of the Northern Virgina and Hampton Roads areas, making the effective sales tax for those areas 6.0%. This will be the first time that Virginia has authorized a regional sales tax that will not be the same amount state wide.

The 6.0% tax rate will apply to Northern Virginia residents who live in the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park plus Hampton Roads region residents who live in the counties of Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, Southampton, Surry, and York and the cities if Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg.

And while it won't apply to us, but in case you are wondering, the Virginia sales tax on groceries (food) will remain the same at 2.5%.

We will adjust our sales tax collection matrix for destinations inside Virginia to the new amounts starting July 1st.

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