KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

Back to Virginia

HB1362 • 2026

Retail Sales and Use Tax; sales through vending machines.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend and reenact § 58.1-614, as it is currently effective and as it may become effective, of the Code of Virginia, relating to sales and use tax; sales through vending machines.</p>

Taxes
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
McNamara
Last action
2026-02-18
Official status
Failed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details on how the bill affects vending machine operators' profits or local tax revenue.

Retail Sales and Use Tax; Sales Through Vending Machines

This bill changes the sales tax rate to one percent on food and essential hygiene products sold through vending machines starting January 1, 2027.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the sales tax rate for certain items sold through vending machines.
  • Applies a new lower tax rate of 1% to food and essential personal hygiene products purchased from vending machines beginning in 2027.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Vending machine operators who sell food or essential hygiene products.
  • Consumers buying food or essential hygiene items from vending machines starting in 2027.

Terms To Know

Tangible personal property
Physical goods that can be touched and moved, like food and hygiene products.
Wholesale purchases
Buying items in large quantities to sell them later at a higher price.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify the exact impact on vending machine operators' profits.
  • It is unclear how this change will affect local tax revenue from vending machines.
  • The bill only applies to certain items and dates, so other sales through vending machines are taxed at higher rates.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-18 House

    Left in Committee Education

  2. 2026-02-18 House

    Left in Finance

  3. 2026-02-10 Subcommittee #2

    Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (7-Y 3-N)

  4. 2026-02-06 Subcommittee #2

    Assigned HFIN sub: Subcommittee #2

  5. 2026-01-31 House

    Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (1/31/2026 6:51 pm)

  6. 2026-01-20 House

    Presented and ordered printed 26105181D

  7. 2026-01-20 Finance

    Referred to Committee on Finance

Official Summary Text

Sales and use tax; sales through vending machines.
Provides that, beginning January 1, 2027, only a one percent local sales and use tax shall be applied to sales through vending machines of food purchased for human consumption or essential personal hygiene products. Under current law, the rate applicable to such sales is 5.3 percent or six percent, as applicable depending on the locality, plus the one percent local sales and use tax.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A BILL to amend and reenact §
58.1-614
, as it is currently effective and as it may become effective, of the Code of Virginia, relating to sales and use tax; sales through vending machines.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §
58.1-614
, as it is currently effective and as it may become effective, of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§
58.1-614
. (Contingent expiration date) Vending machine sales.

A.
1.
Notwithstanding the provisions of §§
58.1-603
and
58.1-604
, whenever a dealer makes sales of tangible personal property through vending machines, or in any other manner making collection of the tax impractical, as determined by the Tax Commissioner, such dealer shall be required to report his wholesale purchases for sale at retail from vending machines and shall be required to remit an amount
based on
described in subdivision 2.

2. A dealer d
escribed in subdivision 1 shall remit the tax imposed by this chapter in the following amounts:

a. Beginning January 1, 2027, for sales through vending machines of food purchased for human consumption or essential personal hygiene products, one percent of such wholesale purchases as pro
vided in subsection B. No other tax shall be imposed under this chapter, or pursuant to any authority granted under this chapter
,
on such sales.

b. For (i) sales through vending machines of food purchased for human consumption or essential personal hygiene products occurring before January 1, 2027, or (ii)
all other sales except those sales described in subdivision a,
5.3 percent of such wholesale purchases. However, any dealer located in any county or city for which the taxes under §§
58.1-603.1
and
58.1-604.01
are imposed shall be required to remit an amount based on 6.0 percent of such wholesale purchases.

c. For purposes of this section, "food purchased for human consumption" and "essential personal hygiene products" mean the same as those terms are defined in §
58.1-611.1
.

B. Notwithstanding the provisions of §§
58.1-605
and
58.1-606
, dealers making sales of tangible personal property through vending machines shall report and remit the one percent local sales and use tax computed as provided in subsection A.

C. The provisions of subsections A and B shall not be applicable to vending machine operators all of whose machines are under contract to nonprofit organizations. Such operators shall report only the gross receipts from machines selling items for more than 10 cents and shall be required to remit an amount based on a percentage of their remaining gross sales established by the Tax Commissioner to take into account the inclusion of sales tax.

D. Notwithstanding any other provisions in this section, when the Tax Commissioner determines that it is impractical to collect the tax in the manner provided by those sections, such dealer shall be required to remit an amount based on a percentage of gross receipts
which
that
takes into account the inclusion of the sales tax.

E. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to any dealer who fails to maintain records satisfactory to the Tax Commissioner. A dealer making sales of tangible personal property through vending machines shall obtain a certificate of registration under §
58.1-613
in relevant form for each county or city in which he has machines.

§
58.1-614
. (Contingent effective date) Vending machine sales.

A.
1.
Notwithstanding the provisions of §§
58.1-603
and
58.1-604
, whenever a dealer makes sales of tangible personal property through vending machines, or in any other manner making collection of the tax impractical, as determined by the Tax Commissioner, such dealer shall be required to report his wholesale purchases for sale at retail from vending machines and shall be required to remit an amount
based on four and one-half percent through midnight on July 31, 2004, and
described in subdivision 2.

2. A dealer described in subdivision 1 shall remit the tax imposed by this chapter in the following amounts:

a. Beginning January 1, 202
7
, for sales through vending machi
nes of food purchased for human consumption or essential personal hygiene products, one percent of such wholesale purchases as provided in subsection B. No other tax shall be imposed under this chapter, or pursuant to any authority granted under this chapter, on such sales.

b.
For (i) sales through vending machines of food purchased for human consumption or essential personal hygiene products occurring before January 1, 202
7
, or (ii) all other sales except those sales described in subdivision a,
five percent beginning on and after August 1, 2004, of such wholesale purchases.

c
. For purposes of this section, "food purchased for human consumption" and "essential personal hygiene products" mean the same as those terms are defined in §
58.1-611.1
.

B. Notwithstanding the provisions of §§
58.1-605
and
58.1-606
, dealers making sales of tangible personal property through vending machines shall report and remit the one percent local sales and use tax computed as provided in subsection A
of this section
.

C. The provisions of subsections A and B
of this section
shall not be applicable to vending machine operators all of whose machines are under contract to nonprofit organizations. Such operators shall report only the gross receipts from machines selling items for more than 10 cents and shall be required to remit an amount based on a percentage of their remaining gross sales established by the Tax Commissioner to take into account the inclusion of sales tax.

D. Notwithstanding any other provisions in this section, when the Tax Commissioner determines that it is impractical to collect the tax in the manner provided by those sections, such dealer shall be required to remit an amount based on a percentage of gross receipts
which
that
takes into account the inclusion of the sales tax.

E. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to any dealer who fails to maintain records satisfactory to the Tax Commissioner. A dealer making sales of tangible personal property through vending machines shall obtain a certificate of registration under §
58.1-613
in relevant form for each county or city in which he has machines.