Chester, VA Sales Tax Rate: Breakdown, Exemptions, and Holiday

The sales tax rate in Chester, VA is 6%. Chester is an unincorporated community in Chesterfield County, so it uses the county’s combined rate rather than any separate city-level tax. That 6% applies to most things you buy at local stores and restaurants, but groceries, prescriptions, and hotel stays follow different rules worth knowing before you check out.

How the 6% Breaks Down

Three layers of government share the tax collected at Chester registers:

Retailers collect the full 6% at the register and remit it to the Virginia Department of Taxation, which then distributes each portion.3Virginia Tax. Retail Sales and Use Tax

What Gets Taxed at the Full 6%

Virginia’s sales tax covers the sale, lease, and rental of tangible personal property, essentially any physical item you can see, weigh, or touch that isn’t real estate.1Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 58.1-603 – Imposition of Sales Tax Furniture, electronics, clothing, auto parts, and household goods all carry the full 6% at Chester businesses. Equipment rentals and leases get the same rate.

Prepared food at restaurants is also taxed at 6%. Some Virginia localities add a separate meals tax, but Chesterfield County does not, so a Chester restaurant bill reflects only the 6% rate.

Digital products are a notable exception. Virginia does not currently tax digital downloads, streaming subscriptions, or software delivered electronically, so a movie download, e-book, or music subscription carries no Virginia sales tax. A proposal to extend the sales tax to digital goods was considered during the 2024–2026 budget cycle but was not enacted.

Labor Charges on Repairs and Installations

When a contractor or repair shop separates labor charges from parts on your invoice, the labor portion is not taxable. Virginia exempts separately stated charges for repair, installation, and remodeling of tangible personal property.4Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 23VAC10-210-4040 – Services The parts still get taxed at 6%, but the hourly labor does not, as long as the invoice breaks them out. If a shop bundles everything into one price, the full amount becomes taxable.

Groceries and Hygiene Products at 1%

Groceries bought for home consumption are taxed at just 1% in Chester.5Virginia Tax. Grocery Tax Virginia eliminated the state and regional portions of the tax on food in 2023, leaving only the 1% local tax that goes to Chesterfield County. Essential personal hygiene products, including diapers, menstrual products, and incontinence supplies, get the same 1% reduced rate.

The reduced rate covers food that would qualify under the federal food stamp program: raw meat, produce, dairy, bread, canned goods, and similar staples. It does not cover prepared food from restaurants or establishments where more than 80% of revenue comes from ready-to-eat meals. A sit-down restaurant meal is clearly taxed at the full 6%. A rotisserie chicken from the grocery deli sits in a gray area.

Items With No Sales Tax

Some purchases carry no sales tax at all. Prescription medications dispensed by a licensed pharmacist, dentist, or veterinarian are fully exempt. The same goes for prosthetic devices, durable medical equipment like wheelchairs, hearing aids, and eyeglasses and contact lenses sold on prescription.6Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 23VAC10-210-940 – Medicines, Drugs, Eyeglasses, and Related Items Over-the-counter medications without a prescription are taxed at the full 6%.

Hotels and Short-Term Rentals

Overnight stays in Chester carry a heavier tax burden than regular purchases. On top of the 6% sales tax, Chesterfield County imposes an 8% transient occupancy tax on room charges, which brings the combined tax on a hotel room to 14%.7Chesterfield County, VA. Business Taxes, Rates and Appeals This applies to any stay of fewer than 30 consecutive days, including Airbnb and VRBO rentals.

The Annual Sales Tax Holiday

Virginia runs a sales tax holiday each year on the first full weekend in August. For 2026, the holiday runs from Friday, August 7 through Sunday, August 9. During that window, qualifying items are completely exempt from state and local sales tax, and participation is mandatory for all Virginia retailers, including those in Chester.

Eligible categories and their price caps:

  • Clothing and footwear, $100 or less per item
  • School supplies, $20 or less per item
  • Portable generators, $1,000 or less
  • Gas-powered chainsaws, $350 or less
  • Chainsaw accessories and other hurricane preparedness items, $60 or less per item
  • Energy Star and WaterSense products for noncommercial home use, $2,500 or less per item

Items priced above these thresholds remain fully taxable, even during the holiday weekend. The exemption applies per item, not per transaction, so five qualifying shirts at $90 each all come out tax-free.

Use Tax on Out-of-State Purchases

When you buy something from an out-of-state seller who doesn’t collect Virginia sales tax, you owe use tax at the same 6% rate. This most commonly comes up with small online retailers, out-of-state catalog orders, or items bought while traveling. The use tax is designed to prevent an end run around the sales tax: if you consume or store the item in Virginia, it should be taxed the same as a local purchase.

Most large online retailers now collect Virginia sales tax automatically, so this mainly affects purchases from smaller vendors. Individual residents report use tax on Form CU-7, Virginia’s Consumer Use Tax Return for Individuals.8Virginia Tax. Consumer’s Use Tax If you already paid sales tax to another state on the purchase, Virginia gives you a credit for that amount, so you’d only owe the difference if the other state’s rate was lower than 6%.