Virginia Sales Tax Calculator (2026) — Add or Reverse Tax
Virginia's combined sales tax rate is 5.77% (5.30% state + 0.47% average local). Use the calculator below to add Virginia sales tax to a price, or reverse a tax-included total to find the pre-tax price and exact tax amount.
How to use this calculator:
- Adding tax — enter a pre-tax price, pick "Add tax to price," and the calculator applies the Virginia rate to show the tax amount and final total.
- Reversing (extracting) tax — enter a total that already includes tax, pick "Extract tax from total," and the calculator divides by 1 + the rate to isolate the pre-tax price and the exact tax paid.
- Pick the rate that matches your situation: the average combined rate is a good statewide estimate, but the state-only or maximum-local rate is more precise if you know the exact city or county.
Understanding Virginia Sales Tax
Virginia's state sales tax rate is 5.30%, and local jurisdictions add an average of 0.47% on top, bringing the typical combined rate to 5.77%. Rates vary by city and county — the highest combined rate in Virginia can reach 8.00%.
Virginia also levies a state income tax, which shapes how much the state relies on sales tax revenue relative to other funding sources.
Groceries
taxed at a reduced combined rate of about 1%, well below the general state and local rate
Largest city
Virginia Beach
State income tax
Yes
Why Reverse Sales Tax Calculation Matters
Receipts, invoices, and marketplace payouts usually show only the tax-included total — not the pre-tax price. Reversing the calculation matters for bookkeeping (separating revenue from tax collected), expense reports (reimbursing only the pre-tax cost), and price comparisons (checking what an item actually costs before Virginia's tax is applied). Because dividing by (1 + rate) is not the same as simply subtracting the rate from the total, doing this by hand is a common source of errors — the calculator above handles it exactly.
Virginia Taxability at a Glance
🛒 Groceries
Reduced rate
👕 Clothing
Taxable
💊 Prescription drugs
Exempt
History & Rate Breakdown
Virginia's General Assembly passed the Retail Sales and Use Tax Act in 1966, taking effect in 1967 at an initial 2% rate. A mandatory statewide 1% local add-on has applied ever since, and in 2013 the legislature added regional transportation taxes in specific high-growth areas.
Virginia's base combined rate of 5.3% (4.3% state + a mandatory 1% local tax applied statewide) rises to 6.0% in three designated regional transportation districts — Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and Central Virginia — where an additional 0.7% funds regional transportation projects approved by each area's transportation authority.
Where the Money Goes
The 0.7% regional transportation add-on in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads is earmarked specifically for projects approved by each region's own transportation authority, tying part of every retail sale in those high-growth metro areas directly to local road, transit, and infrastructure funding.
Business Use Case: Registering & Collecting Virginia Sales Tax
A retailer with stores in both Fairfax (Northern Virginia Transportation District, 6.0% combined) and a rural county outside any transportation district (5.3% combined) must track two different rates for what is nominally the same statewide tax system.
Sales Tax Terms Glossary
Combined rate
The state sales tax rate plus any applicable local (city, county, or special district) rates — the actual rate charged at checkout in a given location.
Reverse sales tax
The process of working backward from a tax-included total to find the pre-tax price and the exact tax amount, using total ÷ (1 + rate) = pre-tax price.
Economic nexus
A sales threshold (in dollars, transaction count, or both) that obligates an out-of-state seller to collect and remit sales tax even without a physical presence in the state.
Marketplace facilitator
A platform (e.g. Amazon, Etsy, eBay) that collects and remits sales tax on behalf of third-party sellers under most states’ marketplace facilitator laws.
Real-World Example
A $500.00 purchase in Virginia at the average combined rate of 5.77%:
- Tax amount: $500.00 × 5.77% = $28.85
- Total price: $500.00 + $28.85 = $528.85
Virginia Sales Tax Compliance for Sellers
Remote and online sellers establish economic nexus in Virginia once they exceed $100,000.00 in annual sales or 200+ separate transactions. Once nexus is established, a seller must register with the state, collect Virginia sales tax at checkout, and file returns on the state's required schedule. Marketplace facilitators (Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Walmart) generally collect and remit on behalf of third-party sellers automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions — Virginia Sales Tax
What is the sales tax rate in Virginia?▾
Does Virginia tax groceries?▾
Does Virginia have a state income tax?▾
When do online sellers need to collect Virginia sales tax?▾
How do I calculate Virginia sales tax on a purchase?▾
How do I reverse Virginia sales tax to find the price before tax?▾
What is the formula to back out sales tax from a receipt in Virginia?▾
References & Sources
Rates last verified January 2026. Virginia sales tax rates and thresholds can change — always confirm current figures with the Virginia Department of Revenue before filing or invoicing. This tool is for estimation and educational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or accounting advice.
Jordan Hayes
Verified AuthorLead Content Editor & Personal Finance Specialist
Jordan Hayes is a personal finance content strategist with 9+ years building educational finance and health resources. He has written and fact-checked over 200 personal finance guides covering mortgage amortization, retirement planning, tax strategy, and budgeting. His work applies IRS publications, Federal Reserve data, and peer-reviewed research to make complex calculations accessible.