Virginia Offers Tax Holiday for Hurricane Preparedness Items
RICHMOND, Va., May 25 (UPI) — Hurricane Preparedness Week begins Monday, May 25, in Virginia. As is customary, Governor Terry McAuliffe declared a tax holiday for a variety of hurricane preparedness products.
From Monday through Sunday, May 21, shoppers can avoid paying sales tax on small hurricane preparedness items that cost less than $60, like flashlights. Larger preparedness products like mobile generators can also be procured, tax-free, as long as they cost less than $1,000, as can gas-powered chain saws and accessories priced less than $350.
A full list of tax-free items — which includes products like duct tape, rope, water, first aid supplies, cell phone chargers and more — is available online.
“It’s smart to get ready for hurricane and flash flooding season, which arrives June 1st,” reads the tax holiday homepage on the website of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. “And it’s smart to save money.”
Virginia’s legislature recently passed a new law that will combine the state’s current hurricane preparedness tax holidays — currently held in May and August — into a single three-day event in August. But because the legislation doesn’t go into effect until July 1, May’s tax holiday remains in effect.
The Atlantic hurricane season stretches from June to November. This year’s hurricane season is expected to be relatively quiet. The Eastern Seaboard hasn’t been hit by a hurricane more powerful than Category 3 in nearly a decade.
