Tax Administration

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Food and Beverage Tax Filing and Payment Instructions - English, Spanish

File and Pay Tax Online 

• Food and Beverage Tax Food and Beverage Tax Return Form - 2026 English, 2025 English, 2024 English
• Food and Beverage Tax Guidelines Booklet - English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Urdu, and Vietnamese
• Food and Beverage Tax Brochure - English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Urdu, and Vietnamese
• Food and Beverage Tax Facts - English

Effective July 1, 2022, Prince William County began levying a tax on the purchase of prepared food and beverages. The Food and Beverage tax is 4% of the total cost of food and beverages sold by restaurants and other businesses that meet the definition of restaurants through December 31, 2025.

Effective January 1, 2026: Tax rate change to 3% of the total cost of food and beverages sold by restaurants and other businesses that meet the definition of restaurants.

Any business where food and/or beverages are prepared and served to customers must collect food and beverage tax from its customers and remit this tax to the County on or before the 20th of each month for taxes collected the previous month.

Failure to File and Pay

Failure to file and pay the Food and Beverage tax by the due date will result in a late filing penalty of ten 10%, a late payment penalty of 10%, plus a daily interest of 10% per annum computed daily added to the amount due.

Establishments responsible for collecting/remitting food and beverage tax include but are not limited to the following:

Amusement parks	Billiard parlors	Bakeries
Bars	Bowling alleys	Buffets
Cafes	Cafeterias	Caterers
Coffee shops	Concession stands	Confectionery
Convenience stores	Delicatessen	Dining rooms
Eating houses	Eateries	Food trucks and vendors
Health clubs	Hot dog stands	Ice cream parlors/yogurt shops
Lunchrooms	Mobile food services	Nightclubs
Movie theaters	Public and private clubs	Push carts
Restaurants	Short order places	Skating rinks
Sporting venues	Taverns	Theatres

 

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Definitions

RESTAURANT
Any place where food is prepared for service to the public, whether on or off the premises, any place where food is served to the public, or any place or operation that prepares or stores food for distribution to persons of the same business operation or of a related business operation for service to the public.

FOOD
Any and all edible refreshments or nourishment, liquid or otherwise, purchased in or from a restaurant or caterer, except snack foods sold separately.

BEVERAGE
Any alcoholic beverages defined in Virginia Code §4.1-100, and non-alcoholic beverages.

SNACK FOOD
Pre-packaged doughnuts, chewing gum, candy, popcorn, peanuts, cookies, unopened cans of soda, bags of chips, etc., are sold separately and not as part of a meal.

CATERER
A person who furnishes food on the premises of another for compensation.

Exemptions

The tax is not levied on food and beverages sold by:

• Boardinghouses that do not accommodate transients.
• Cafeterias operated by industrial plants for employees only.
• Restaurants to their employees as part of their compensation when no charge is made to the employee.
• Volunteer fire departments and volunteer emergency medical services agencies, nonprofits, churches, or other religious bodies; or educational, charitable, fraternal, or benevolent organizations the first three times per calendar year from sales of food and beverages as a fundraising activity and the first $100,0000 in gross receipts the fourth time.
• Churches that serve meals for their members as a regular part of their religious observances
• Public or private elementary or secondary schools or institutions of higher education to their students or employees
• Hospitals, medical clinics, convalescent homes, nursing homes, or other extended care facilities for patients or residents thereof
• Day care centers
• Homes for the aged, infirm, handicapped, battered women, narcotic addicts, or alcoholics.
• Age-restricted apartment complexes or residences with restaurants are not open to the public, where meals are served, and fees are charged for such food and beverages, which are included in rental costs.
• Sellers at local farmers markets and roadside stands, when such sellers' annual income from such sales does not exceed $2,500 (the sellers' yearly 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 is not levied on food and beverages:

• When used or consumed and paid for by the Commonwealth, any political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or the United State
• Provided by a public or private nonprofit charitable organization or establishment to elderly, infirm, blind, handicapped, or needy persons in their homes or at central locations.
• 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, blind, handicapped, or needy persons in their homes or at central locations.