Alert:
The Food and Beverage Tax is separate from the Virginia Sales and Use Tax and is considered a trust tax. Businesses collect the tax from their customers and must file and remit it directly to Fairfax County, not to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Businesses are responsible for maintaining adequate records to support allocations, exemptions, and taxable sales. Charging customers a flat fee does not exempt a transaction from tax. If the portion attributable to meals cannot be determined, the entire charge is taxable.
A meal consists of food and beverages, including alcoholic beverages, sold for the purposes of consumption in or from a food establishment, whether prepared or consumed in the food establishment or not. A meal does not include grocery items, snack foods, or beverages sold alone and not as part of a meal.
No. Beverages do not need to be sold as part of a “combo meal” to be taxable. Beverages are subject to the Food and Beverage Tax whenever they are sold as part of a transaction that includes a taxable food item. A taxable food item is a prepared food item sold for immediate consumption.
When a transaction includes a taxable food item, all beverages sold as part of that same transaction are subject to the Food and Beverage Tax, even if the beverages are listed separately or could otherwise be sold on their own.
Beverages sold alone, without a taxable food item, are not subject to the Food and Beverage Tax. The only exception to the beverage-with-food rule is for sealed alcoholic beverages sold for off-premise consumption, which are not subject to the Food and Beverage Tax even when sold in the same transaction as a taxable food item.
The Food and Beverage Tax is a tax on the total cost of food and beverages sold as meals by any restaurants, caterers, or other designated establishments within Fairfax County.
The Food and Beverage rate is 4%.
Establishments required to collect/remit the Food and Beverage Tax include, but are not limited to restaurants, caterers, lunchrooms, cafeterias, coffee shops, bars and breweries, taverns, delicatessens, grocery stores, convenience stores, bakeries, public or private clubs, ice cream shops, movie theaters, bowling alleys, and food trucks.
No. If your business is in the Town of Clifton, Herndon, or Vienna, or in the Cities of Fairfax, or Falls Church, you are not subject to the Fairfax County Food and Beverage Tax. These jurisdictions each administer and enforce their own separate meals tax.
The tax does not apply to grocery items, snack foods alone, beverages alone, nor alcoholic beverages sold in factory-sealed containers for off-premises consumption. If beverages and snacks are purchased with a meal, the tax applies.
Yes, there are exemptions. Please visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/taxes/business/foodandbeverage for a listing of exemptions. You may also refer to the Code of Virginia § 58.1-3833 and/or Fairfax County Ordinance § 4-31-15 for a complete list of exemptions.
No. Exemption from Virginia state sales tax does not automatically exempt a non-profit organization from the Fairfax County Food and Beverage Tax. The tax generally applies regardless of the purchaser’s non-profit or tax-exempt status.
Yes. Food and beverages paid for and consumed by federal, state, or local government entities, including state universities and other institutions of higher education that are part of the Commonwealth of Virginia, may be exempt from the Food and Beverage. See Fairfax County Code Section 4-31-15(m). - Exemptions from tax.
To qualify, the purchaser must provide Virginia Form ST-12 and use a government-issued form of payment, such as a government credit card, P-Card, purchase order, or direct billing. Sellers must retain the completed ST-12, a receipt identifying the government entity, and proof of government payment.
Yes. Food and beverages purchased by qualifying foreign diplomats in an official capacity may be exempt. The purchaser must present valid diplomatic identification issued by the U.S. Department of State. Sellers must retain a copy or notation of the diplomatic ID and a receipt showing the date and amount of the transaction.
For catering transactions, the Food and Beverage Tax is imposed based on the origin of the sale, not the destination of the event. If the caterer is in Fairfax County, the Fairfax County Food and Beverage Tax applies even if the catered event occurs outside the County.
No. When food or breakfast is included in the hotel room rate and is not separately stated or sold, it is not subject to the Food and Beverage Tax. Instead, the customer would be subject to the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT).
Yes. When a hotel provides food or beverages to guests through a voucher, coupon, or similar arrangement with a partnering restaurant, the transaction is subject to the Food and Beverage Tax. In these situations, the hotel is considered the purchaser of the food or beverages, and the partnering restaurant must charge the Food and Beverage Tax to the hotel. The exemption for food included in the room rate does not apply because the food is provided through a separate voucher or partnership arrangement.
When a business charges a single flat fee for an event, admission, or activity that includes food and beverages (such as festivals, golf tournaments, entertainment venues, or special events), the food and beverage portion of the charge is subject to the Food and Beverage Tax.
Even if the customer receipt shows one combined amount, the business must maintain internal records that reasonably identify:
To comply, the business must either:
Example:
A $25 flat-fee ticket includes admission, activities, and food and beverages.
Food and Beverage Tax due:
$6.50 × 4% = $0.26
In this example, $0.26 of Food and Beverage Tax must be collected from the $25 ticket and remitted to the county.
If a business cannot reasonably determine or document the portion of the charge attributable to food and beverages, the entire flat-fee charge is taxable.
Home-based bakeries that do not provide seating for on-premises consumption and do not offer any catering services as defined by Fairfax County Code Section 4-31-2 are not subject to collecting this tax. Please note that the guidance provided is contingent upon specific circumstances, which may influence the distinction between taxable and non-taxable scenarios.
Any prepared food items and beverages sold together with the intent of immediate consumption—such as those that include utensils or serving containers—are subject to the Food and Beverage Tax. Generally, food and beverages served as part of a meal that are sold from food trucks are considered for immediate consumption and, therefore, taxable. Please send us an email to find out if you are subject to this tax.
Items that are SNAP eligible are generally excluded from Food and Beverage Tax except for sandwiches, salad bar items, pre-packaged single-serving salads (consisting primarily of a variety of vegetables), and non-factory-sealed beverages.
Discretionary gratuity is not taxable. Any mandatory gratuity charge added by the establishment to the cost of the meal is taxable if it is more than twenty percent (20%). In this instance, only the amount greater than 20% is taxable.
Businesses should begin collecting the Food and Beverage Tax on sales made on and after January 1, 2026. New establishments after January 1, 2026, should begin collecting this tax immediately upon opening the business.
The tax applies to food and beverages sold as a meal from a Fairfax County food establishment, even if the delivery address is not in the county.
Fairfax County considers the restaurant that prepared the food to be the seller responsible for collecting and remitting the Food and Beverage Tax. When a marketplace facilitator or third-party delivery service (such as UberEATS, DoorDash, or ezCater) collects payment from the customer, it should collect the county’s Food and Beverage Tax and remit it to the restaurant. The restaurant is ultimately responsible for remitting the full amount of the Food and Beverage Tax to the county with its monthly filing. This should include the tax collected directly from patrons and through delivery services.
Common Mistake to Avoid:
Some restaurants assume that because a third-party delivery service collects the Food and Beverage Tax from customers, those sales do not need to be reported to Fairfax County. This is incorrect. Delivery services do not remit the tax directly to the County. The restaurant must report all taxable sales (including those made through delivery services) and remit the tax with its monthly filing.
Example Scenario:
A customer places a $100 food order through DoorDash. DoorDash charges the customer $100 plus $4 (4% Food and Beverage Tax) and collects the full $104. DoorDash then passes $100 (minus its fees) and the $4 tax to the restaurant. The restaurant is responsible for including the $100 sale and the $4 tax in its monthly Food and Beverage Tax filing. The restaurant must remit the $4 to Fairfax County by the 20th of the following month.
The Food and Beverage Tax should not be applied to any service charges or delivery charges which must be separately stated on invoice or receipt.
The tax return and payment are due on or before the 20th of the month following the reporting period. For all due dates, if the date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or county holiday, the due date is extended to the following business day. Filings and payments submitted after the due date are not eligible for the seller’s discount and are subject to a 10% late payment penalty and interest at 5% per annum. Electronically filed tax returns on the due date and paper tax returns postmarked by the due date will be considered timely.
Coming soon - You can file and pay online at: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/taxes/business/foodandbeverage.
Yes, to help defray some of the costs incurred by the seller in collecting the tax imposed, sellers who collect and remit the tax in a timely manner receive a filing discount of 3% of the tax due for the first two years after January 1, 2026. Subsequently, beginning on January 1, 2028, and beyond, the discount allowed will be 1% of the tax levied if the payment is remitted on time.
Business owners are required to keep and preserve complete records of taxable sales and claimed exempt sales paid for the current calendar year and the three previous years.
Payments submitted after the due date are subject to a 10% late payment penalty. Late payments are also subject to interest at 5% per annum.
You may contact the Fairfax County Department of Tax Administration by email at foodandbeverage@fairfaxcounty.gov or by phone at 703-222-8234 option 4 (TTY 711).
Businesses that are not collecting the correct Food and Beverage Tax may be reported to DTA Business Compliance at DTABusinessCompliance@fairfaxcounty.gov.
No. Growlers and growler refills are not taxable, even when sold in conjunction with food, because they are intended solely for off-premises consumption.
You can file and pay online by visiting our website at: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/taxes/business/foodandbeverage.
Filing and payment are due on or before the 20th of the month following the reporting period. Filings and payments submitted after the due date are not eligible for the seller's discount and are subject to a 10% late payment penalty and interest at 5% per annum.
Payments received after the due date are subject to a 10% late payment penalty. Late payments are also subject to interest at 5% per annum.
If you cannot pay the balance in full, you are encouraged to pay as much as possible by the due date. Any amount not paid by the due date will be assessed late payment penalties and interest and may also become subject to additional collection fees.
You may contact the Revenue Collection Division by phone at 703-222-8234 (TTY 711) or by email at DTARCD@fairfaxcounty.gov.