Suffolk, VA Sales Tax: Rates, Exemptions, and Filing

The Suffolk, VA sales tax rate is 6% on most retail purchases, made up of a 4.3% Virginia state tax, a 1% local tax, and a 0.7% regional tax that funds Hampton Roads transportation projects.¹ Groceries and essential hygiene products are taxed at a reduced 1%, and a handful of exemptions and an annual tax holiday can bring the rate to zero on specific purchases.

Where the 6% Comes From

Three separate levies stack to produce Suffolk’s combined rate:

State retail sales and use tax of 4.3%, imposed under Code of Virginia § 58.1-603 on nearly all sales of tangible goods.²
Local tax of 1%, collected by the city under Code of Virginia § 58.1-605.
Regional tax of 0.7% because Suffolk sits in Planning District 23 (Hampton Roads), earmarked for regional transportation.³

Most Virginia localities outside Hampton Roads come in at a combined 5.3%. The 0.7% regional add-on is what pushes Suffolk and its neighbors to 6%.¹

What Gets Taxed and What Doesn’t

The 6% rate applies to tangible personal property: clothing, electronics, furniture, appliances, building materials, and similar physical goods. If you buy it in a Suffolk store or have it shipped to a Suffolk address, expect the 6% to appear on the receipt.

Most services are not taxed. A haircut, a legal consultation, an accounting engagement. The line blurs when a service is bundled with a physical product. A repair job that replaces a significant part in your appliance can make the entire charge, labor included, taxable.

Digital goods get lighter treatment. Software delivered electronically is generally exempt, which matters for businesses buying cloud-based tools. Software on a physical disc, or bundled with hardware, remains taxable. Streaming subscriptions and digital downloads of music, movies, and books are not explicitly taxed under Virginia’s current framework, though state policy here continues to evolve.

Groceries and Hygiene Products: 1%

Food bought for home consumption and essential personal hygiene products are taxed at just 1% in Suffolk.⁴ Starting January 1, 2023, Virginia eliminated both the state (4.3%) and regional (0.7%) portions on these items, leaving only the 1% local piece.⁵

“Food purchased for human consumption” tracks the federal Food Stamp Act definition: produce, meat, dairy, bread, canned goods, the things you cook at home. It does not cover prepared meals from restaurants or from establishments where more than 80% of revenue comes from ready-to-eat food.⁴ Essential hygiene products include diapers, incontinence supplies, tampons, menstrual pads, and similar items. As of early 2026, lawmakers have discussed removing the remaining 1%, but no repeal has passed.

Full Exemptions

Some buyers and transactions skip the tax entirely:

Resale purchases. A retailer buying inventory to resell doesn’t pay tax on the purchase; the tax is collected later from the end customer. The buyer gives the seller a completed Form ST-10 to claim this.⁶
Nonprofits exempt from federal income tax under IRC § 501(c)(3), (c)(4), or (c)(19) can apply for a Virginia sales tax exemption certificate. They must keep administrative costs below 40% of gross revenue and meet state solicitation rules.⁷
Churches claim their exemption with the self-issued Form ST-13A, without needing prior approval from Virginia Tax.⁷
Federal, state, and local government agencies are exempt on purchases for official use.

On the seller side, the exemption certificate is the whole case. A seller who accepts a buyer’s claim of exemption without a valid completed certificate must collect the tax, and a certificate that’s incomplete or clearly wrong on its face doesn’t protect the seller even if accepted in good faith.⁸

Virginia’s August Sales Tax Holiday

Each year, Virginia holds a three-day sales tax holiday starting the first Friday in August. In 2025, the dates were August 1–3, and 2026 should follow the same pattern.⁹ During the holiday, these items are tax-free up to the listed per-item ceilings:

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

The hurricane preparedness category catches many shoppers off guard. Timing a generator purchase to the holiday weekend can save real money on a big-ticket item.⁹

Consumer Use Tax on Out-of-State Purchases

Buy something from an out-of-state seller that doesn’t collect Virginia tax, and you owe the equivalent as “consumer use tax” at the same 6% rate that would apply in Suffolk.¹⁰ This typically comes up with smaller online retailers, out-of-state craft sellers, or things bought while traveling.

You report the amount on Line 35 of your Virginia individual income tax return. If you don’t file an income tax return but still owe use tax, Form CU-7 handles it separately. One practical floor: if total out-of-state catalog purchases for the year stay at $100 or below, you don’t have to report them.¹⁰

If You’re a Suffolk Business Collecting the Tax

Before collecting a dollar of sales tax, register with the Virginia Department of Taxation using Form R-1 (Business Registration), which you can file online.¹¹ You’ll need your federal EIN (or SSN for a sole proprietor), your NAICS code, the legal name and Suffolk address of the business, and an estimate of monthly sales volume, which Virginia Tax uses to assign your filing frequency.¹²

Once registered, you file through Virginia Tax’s online business portal, either monthly or quarterly depending on your liability. Returns and payments are due on the 20th of the month after the close of the filing period. You must file for every period even if you had zero sales; skipping an empty period is itself a filing violation.¹

Dealer Discount

Virginia pays timely filers a small discount on the state portion of the tax. If your return and payment arrive by the due date and your average monthly sales tax liability is $20,000 or less, you qualify.¹³ For general sales and use tax, the rates are 1.116% of the state tax on monthly taxable sales up to $62,500, 0.837% from $62,501 through $208,000, and 0.558% above $208,000. The discount applies only to the state portion, not the local or regional pieces, and one day late forfeits it for that period.

Late Penalties

Missing a deadline costs 6% of the tax owed per month (or partial month) late, capped at 30% of the tax. A late return with no tax due still carries a minimum $10 penalty, and interest accrues on any unpaid balance.¹ Five months late hits the cap, so filing on time with a partial payment is far cheaper than not filing at all.

Records to Keep

Keep sales invoices, purchase records, filed returns, and every exemption certificate you’ve accepted (Forms ST-10, ST-13A, and others). Three to four years past the filing date is the common best practice, and longer is better if an audit opens a discrepancy that extends the review period. If your reported figures don’t match your federal returns or internal books, the examination can widen in scope and reach further back. Exemption certificates are the single most important category to store in an organized, retrievable way: when an auditor questions a tax-free sale, the certificate is your only defense, and without it the sale is treated as taxable regardless of the buyer’s actual status.⁸

1
Virginia Tax. Retail Sales and Use Tax
2
Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 58.1-603 – Imposition of Sales Tax
3
Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 58.1-604.01 – Additional Tax in Certain Planning Districts
4
Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 58.1-611.1 – Exemption for Food Purchased for Human Consumption and Essential Personal Hygiene Products
5
Virginia Tax. Grocery Tax Reduced to 1% Beginning Jan. 1, 2023
6
Virginia Department of Taxation. Form ST-10 Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption
7
Virginia Tax. Nonprofit Organizations
8
Legal Information Institute. Virginia Administrative Code 23 VAC 10-210-280 – Certificates of Exemption
9
Virginia Tax. Virginia Sales Tax Holiday
10
Virginia Tax. Consumer’s Use Tax
11
Virginia Department of Taxation. Business Registration Form
12
Virginia Tax. Register a Business in Virginia
13
Virginia Department of Taxation. Form ST-9 Virginia Retail Sales and Use Tax Return