How to Calculate Sales Tax in Virginia

Sales taxes increase an item's purchase price.

Virginia, like many other states, imposes a sales taxes on items sold in the state. When you budget for a purchase, you need to take into consideration the costs of sales tax. Virginia has two sales tax rates as of 2010: a 5 percent tax on most retail purchases and a 2.5 percent tax on food intended for home purchase. You need to know how much of your purchase is subject to each tax rate to calculate Virginia sales tax.

Things You'll Need

• Calculator

Instructions

1. Determine how much of the purchase is subject to the general sales tax rate and how much is subject to the reduced rate for food to be consumed at home. For example, if $30 of a purchase is groceries and $50 is cooking appliances, $30 is subject to the reduced rate and $50 is subject to the full rate.

2. Multiply the amount subject to the reduced rate by 0.025 to calculate the sales tax. Multiply $30 by 0.025 to calculate the sales tax to be $0.75 in this example.

3. Multiply the amount subject to the standard sales tax by 0.05 to calculate the sales tax. Continuing the example, multiply $50 by 0.05 to calculate the sales tax to be $2.50.

4. Add the results from Step 2 and Step 3 to find the total sales tax in Virginia. In this example, add $2.50 to $0.75 to find the total tax to be $3.25.

References

• Virginia Department of Taxation: Retail Sales Tax
• Virginia Department of Taxation: Retail Sales and Use Tax Food Tax Rate Reduction