Sales tax holidays coming up for both Virginias

BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — Residents of both Virginias are gearing up for a weekend of sales tax-free shopping thanks to the annual sales tax holidays.

The sales tax holidays are weekends when certain items are able to be purchased without a sales tax on them.

In West Virginia, eligible items include clothing, school supplies, and certain sports equipment.

Virginia’s list is mostly the same but with “hurricane and emergency preparedness products” added to the list as well as EnergyStar and WaterSense products.

Whitney Crook is a mother from Princeton and said she plans on taking full advantage of the holiday.

“We’ll probably be going for mainly school supplies like notepads, pens, pencils,” said Crook. “We use a lot of hand sanitizer at the school, tissues, stuff like that.”

Crook said she’ll also be purchasing t-shirts and jeans for her kids for school.

Some people are planning on purchasing supplies not for themselves, but to benefit others.

Shaylin Alley, a travelling nurse stationed in West Virginia, said her aunt will benefit from the holiday.

“My aunt is a teacher, and she teaches special ed, so she will stock up on items because sometimes the school budget doesn’t afford it and she’ll buy a whole bunch and start passing them out to kids at the beginning of the year,” said Alley.

Alley is planning on purchasing some back-to-school supplies for her nieces and nephews as well.

She said she’ll also be stocking her own pen and notepad supply too.

Marck Bonk is another person planning to brave the crowds during the sales tax holiday.

Bonk is visiting from Florida with Alley and said, in addition to clothing, he will be looking for one other item during the holiday.

“Probably a computer as well because I currently don’t have one and I could really use one for lots of different things,” said Bonk.

With the public abuzz with plans for the sales tax holiday, lines may be long when you head out to shop, so pack your patience as you head out.

The West Virginia sales tax holiday begins at midnight on Friday, August 2nd and ends at 11:59P.M. on Monday, August 5th.

The Virginia sales tax holiday begins at 12:01A.M. on Friday, August 2nd and ends at 11:59P.M. on Sunday, August 4th.

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