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Virginia’s three-day sales tax holiday will run from Friday, Aug. 7, through Sunday, Aug. 9, giving shoppers a temporary exemption on qualifying school supplies, clothing, footwear, emergency-preparedness items and certain Energy Star and WaterSense products.

The holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday and ends at 11:59 p.m. Sunday. The exemption applies to qualifying purchases made in stores and online.

School supplies priced at $20 or less per item qualify for the exemption. Eligible school-related merchandise can include items such as musical instruments, accessories, storage media, lunchboxes and backpacks. Computers are not included in the school-supply exemption.

Qualifying clothing and footwear priced at $100 or less per item also will be exempt from sales tax.

The holiday includes some emergency-preparedness products. Portable generators priced at $1,000 or less and gas-powered chainsaws priced at $350 or less qualify. Other emergency-preparedness items are also included, but the supplied sources report conflicting information about the exact price threshold for that broader category.

Certain Energy Star and WaterSense products priced at $2,500 or less qualify when purchased for personal or noncommercial use. Shoppers should check the Virginia Department of Taxation’s eligibility rules before making purchases, particularly for products with exclusions or category-specific requirements.

The holiday’s temporary exemption applies to state and local sales taxes. In Fairfax County, the typical sales tax rate is reported as 6%, comprising a 4.3% state tax, a 1% local tax and a 0.7% regional transportation funding tax.

Some products and accessories are excluded from the holiday, including certain protective equipment and sports equipment, according to the supplied source material.

The annual holiday is guaranteed to continue through at least August 2029, according to one of the supplied sources.