Virginia 2027 Regular Session Status: In Committee

HB 13 — RS and UT; food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products.

Last action — Continued from last session

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House of Delegates
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House of Delegates. Introduced December 19, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House of Delegates.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 24% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 11 sponsors

    1 primary, 10 co-sponsors signed on.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

The bill removes a local sales tax on food and hygiene products after July 1, 2026.

This bill eliminates the remaining one percent local sales tax on food and essential personal hygiene products starting in July 2026. It also mandates that cities and counties receive monthly compensation for the lost revenue.

What this means for you
  • Families: Families will benefit from reduced costs on essential items like food and hygiene products.
  • Consumers: You will no longer pay a local sales tax on food and hygiene products starting in July 2026.

Summary

Sales and use tax; food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. Eliminates the remaining one percent local sales and use tax that is imposed on food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products beginning on July 1, 2026. Under current law, no other sales and use tax is applied to such products. The bill requires an equivalent amount of revenue to be distributed to cities and counties on a monthly basis in compensation for the lost tax revenue.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

13 changes Share ↗

Compared against the Code of Virginia as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

This bill amends 6 section(s) of the Code of Virginia: 58.1-603.1, 58.1-603.2, 58.1-604.01, 58.1-605.1, 58.1-606.1, 58.1-611.1.

  • 58.1-603.1

    not be levied upon food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1. Such tax shall

    Strikes “not be levied upon food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1. Such tax shall”.

  • 58.1-603.1

    Such tax shall not be levied upon food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1.

    Strikes “Such tax shall not be levied upon food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1.”.

  • 58.1-603.2

    Such tax shall not be levied upon food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1.

    Strikes “Such tax shall not be levied upon food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1.”.

  • 58.1-603.2

    Such tax shall not be levied upon food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1.

    Strikes “Such tax shall not be levied upon food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1.”.

  • 58.1-604.01

    not be levied upon food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1. Such tax shall

    Strikes “not be levied upon food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1. Such tax shall”.

  • 58.1-604.01

    Such tax shall not be levied upon food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1.

    Strikes “Such tax shall not be levied upon food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1.”.

  • 58.1-605.1

    ; however, the local sales tax levied under this section shall not be levied on food purchased for human consumption or essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1

    Strikes “; however, the local sales tax levied under this section shall not be levied on food purchased for human consumption or essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1”.

  • 58.1-606.1

    ; however, the local use tax levied under this section shall not be levied on food purchased for human consumption or essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1

    Strikes “; however, the local use tax levied under this section shall not be levied on food purchased for human consumption or essential personal hygiene products, as such terms are defined in § 58.1-611.1”.

  • 58.1-611.1

    1.

    Inserts “1.”.

  • 58.1-611.1

    but before July 1, 2026,

    Inserts “but before July 1, 2026,”.

  • 58.1-611.1

    C. → 2.

    Replaces “C.” with “2.”.

  • 58.1-611.1

    C. 1. On and after July 1, 2026, no tax shall be imposed under this chapter, or pursuant to any authority granted under this chapter, on food purchased for human consumption or essential personal hygiene products.

    Inserts “C. 1. On and after July 1, 2026, no tax shall be imposed under this chapter, or pursuant to any authority granted under this chapter, on food purchased for human consumption or essential personal hygiene products.”.

  • 58.1-611.1

    2. Beginning July 1, 2026, an amount equal to the revenue that would have been distributed if the tax imposed pursuant to §§ 58.1-605 and 58.1-606 continued to be imposed on food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products shall be distributed among the cities and counties of the Commonwealth as provided in § 58.1-605. The amount received by each city or county shall be determined by its pro rata share of total sales and use tax collections in the month for which such distribution is made.

    Inserts “2. Beginning July 1, 2026, an amount equal to the revenue that would have been distributed if the tax imposed pursuant to §§ 58.1-605 and 58.1-606 continued to be imposed on food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products shall be distributed among the cities and counties of the Commonwealth as provided in § 58.1-605. The amount received by each city or county shall be determined by its pro rata share of total sales and use tax collections in the month for which such distribution is made.”.

Action History

  1. Continued from last session

  2. Continued to next session in Finance (Voice Vote)

  3. Subcommittee recommends continuing to (Voice Vote)

  4. House subcommittee offered

  5. Assigned HFIN sub: Subcommittee #3

  6. Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (1/28/2026 7:34 pm)

  7. Referred to Committee on Finance

  8. Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102063D

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 10 co-sponsors · 137 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (10)

Not signed on (137)

137 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 137 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

taxation agriculture
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 13 do?
Sales and use tax; food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. Eliminates the remaining one percent local sales and use tax that is imposed on food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products beginning on July 1, 2026. Under current law, no other sales and use tax is applied to such products. The bill requires an equivalent amount of revenue to be distributed to cities and counties on a monthly basis in compensation for the lost tax revenue.
Who sponsors HB 13?
HB 13 is sponsored by Eric R. Zehr, Wendell S. Walker, Phillip A. Scott, Delores Oates, Terry G. Kilgore, Karen Hamilton, Mitchell Cornett, Mike A. Cherry, Joseph P. McNamara, Hyland F. "Buddy" Fowler, Jr., and Ellen H. McLaughlin.
What is the current status of HB 13?
This bill is in committee in the House of Delegates. Introduced December 19, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 13?
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