                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CERTAIN EXCISE TAXES PERMITTED (§ 58.1-3840)

A. The provisions of Chapter 6 (&#xA7; 58.1-600 et seq.) to the contrary
notwithstanding, any city or town having general taxing powers established by
charter pursuant to or consistent with the provisions of &#xA7; 15.2-1104 and,
to the extent authorized in this chapter, any county may impose excise taxes on
cigarettes, admissions, transient room rentals, meals, and travel campgrounds.
No such taxes on meals may be imposed on (i) that portion of the amount paid by
the purchaser as a discretionary gratuity in addition to the sales price of the
meal; (ii) that portion of the amount paid by the purchaser as a mandatory
gratuity or service charge added by the restaurant in addition to the sales
price of the meal, but only to the extent that such mandatory gratuity or
service charge does not exceed 20 percent of the sales price; or (iii) food and
beverages sold through vending machines or on any tangible personal property
purchased with food coupons issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under
the Food Stamp Program or drafts issued through the Virginia Special
Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children. No such taxes on
meals may be imposed when sold or provided by (a) restaurants, as such term is
defined in &#xA7; 35.1-1, to their employees as part of their compensation when
no charge is made to the employee; (b) volunteer fire departments and volunteer
emergency medical services agencies; nonprofit churches or other religious
bodies; or educational, charitable, fraternal, or benevolent organizations, the
first three times per calendar year and, beginning with the fourth time, on the
first $100,000 of gross receipts per calendar year from sales of meals
(excluding gross receipts from the first three times), as a fundraising
activity, the gross proceeds of which are to be used by such church, religious
body or organization exclusively for nonprofit educational, charitable,
benevolent, or religious purposes; (c) churches that serve meals for their
members as a regular part of their religious observances; (d) public or private
elementary or secondary schools or institutions of higher education to their
students or employees; (e) hospitals, medical clinics, convalescent homes,
nursing homes, or other extended care facilities to patients or residents
thereof; (f) day care centers; (g) homes for aged or infirm individuals,
individuals with disabilities, battered women, narcotic addicts, or alcoholics;
(h) age-restricted apartment complexes or residences with restaurants, not open
to the public, where meals are served and fees are charged for such food and
beverages and are included in rental fees; or (i) sellers at local farmers
markets and roadside stands, when such sellers&#8217; annual income from such
sales does not exceed $2,500. For the exemption described in clause (i), the
sellers&#8217; annual income shall include income from sales at all local
farmers markets and roadside stands, not just those sales occurring in the
locality imposing the tax.
			Also, the tax shall not be levied on meals: (1) when used or consumed and
paid for by the Commonwealth, any political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or
the United States; (2) provided by a public or private nonprofit charitable
organization or establishment to elderly, infirm, or needy individuals or
individuals with blindness or other disabilities in their homes or at central
locations; or (3) provided by private establishments that contract with the
appropriate agency of the Commonwealth to offer food, food products, or
beverages for immediate consumption at concession prices to elderly, infirm, or
needy individuals or individuals with blindness or other disabilities in their
homes or at central locations.
			In addition, as set forth in &#xA7; 51.5-98, no blind person operating a
vending stand or other business enterprise under the jurisdiction of the
Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired and located on property acquired
and used by the United States for any military or naval purpose shall be
required to collect and remit meals taxes.

B. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no city or town shall
levy any tax under this section upon alcoholic beverages sold in factory sealed
containers and purchased for off-premises consumption or food purchased for
human consumption as &#8220;food&#8221; is defined in the Food Stamp Act of
1977, 7 U.S.C. &#xA7; 2012, as amended, and federal regulations adopted pursuant
to that act, except for the following items: sandwiches, salad bar items sold
from a salad bar, prepackaged single-serving salads consisting primarily of an
assortment of vegetables, and nonfactory sealed beverages.

C. Any city or town that is authorized to levy a tax on admissions may levy the
tax on admissions paid for any event held at facilities that are not owned by
the city or town at a lower rate than the rate levied on admissions paid for any
event held at its city- or town-owned civic centers, stadiums, and
amphitheaters.

D. Expired.

HISTORY: 1984, c. 675; 1986, cc. 545, 605; 1989, cc. 314, 391; 1999, c. 366;
2000, c. 626; 2003, c. 12; 2005, c. 106; 2006, cc. 568, 602; 2009, c. 415; 2014,
c. 673; 2015, cc. 502, 503; 2020, cc. 241, 1214, 1263; 2023, cc. 148, 149.