Prepared Food & Beverage Tax

Prepared Food and Beverage / Meals Tax is a tax on prepared food or beverage served by a business. This is a 4% tax, (in addition to the 7% state sales tax), which is assessed to the consumer and collected by the business. The business then reports and pays the amounts collected on a monthly basis to the Commissioner of the Revenue's Office. Access the online form for this tax.

The Prepared Food and Beverage / Meals Tax forms are mailed to each business upon filed Business License application.  It is required that a copy is retained by the business and filing is completed online.  The Prepared Food and Beverage Taxes are due to be filed and payment remitted, to the Commissioner of the Revenue on or by the 20^th of the following month collected.  The York County Code § 21.153 states “Every seller of food with respect to which a tax is levied under this article shall make out a report upon such forms and setting forth such information as the Commissioner of the Revenue may prescribe and require, showing the amount of food charges collected and the tax required to be collected and shall sign and deliver such report to the Commissioner of the Revenue with a remittance of such tax.  Such reports and remittance shall be made on or before the twentieth day of each month, covering the amount of tax collected during the preceding month.”  

Important Notice Regarding State Sales Tax:

Effective July 1, 2018, a new Historic Triangle regional sales and use tax of 1% was levied for all of York County, James City County and the City of Williamsburg under the authorization of Senate Bill 942, which raised the general sales tax rate for these localities to 7%.  For more information on the new Historic Triangle regional tax, please visit the Virginia Department of Taxation's website.