Ezel / Tax Rulings / VA
VA P.D. 17-218 Miscellaneous Taxes 2017-12-22

Could the Virginia Department review a city's local food-and-beverage tax assessment?

Short answer: No. Department review is limited to specified local business, property, mobile-property, and utility taxes. Local food-and-beverage tax, commonly called meals tax, is not on that list, so the taxpayer had to pursue any timely challenge in circuit court.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 2017. Ezel answers yours, under current Virginia tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 2017
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official published Ruling of the Virginia Tax Commissioner (Virginia Department of Taxation), issued as a redacted public document. It is based on the specific facts the taxpayer presented and the law in effect when issued; different facts or later changes in the law can change the result, and another taxpayer should not assume it applies to their situation. Virginia's retail sales and use tax is administered by the Department, but many Virginia local taxes, including the business license (BPOL) tax, business tangible personal property tax, and machinery and tools tax, are administered by local commissioners of the revenue. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Virginia tax professional about your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (PDF)

Plain-English summary

The taxpayer challenged city food-and-beverage tax assessments and asked the Department to decide that some sales were not taxable.

Virginia declined for lack of jurisdiction. The statutes authorize Department appeals only for listed taxes such as BPOL, business tangible personal property, machinery and tools, merchants' capital, local mobile property, and consumer utility tax. Meals tax is not included, so any timely challenge belonged in circuit court.

Citations and references

  • Va. Code §§ 58.1-3703.1 and 58.1-3983.1
  • Va. Code § 58.1-3984 A
  • P.D. 13-82

Source

Original ruling text

December 22, 2017

Re: Appeal of Final Local Determination

Taxpayer: *

Locality Assessing Tax: *

Local Food and Beverage Tax

Dear *:

This notice of jurisdiction is issued upon the application for correction filed by you on behalf of * (the “Taxpayer”) with the Department of Taxation. The Taxpayer seeks correction of assessments of local food and beverage tax issued by the *** (the “City”) for the 2012 through 2014 tax years.

The following determination is based on the facts presented to the Department summarized below. The Code of Virginia sections and public document cited are available on-line in the Laws, Rules and Decisions section of the Department's web site, located at www.tax.virginia.gov .

FACTS

The City issued assessments of food and beverage tax to the Taxpayer for the 2012 through 2014 tax years. The Taxpayer filed an appeal with the Department, contending that a portion of its sales were not subject to the tax.

ANALYSIS

Virginia Code §§ 58.1-3703.1 and 58.1-3983.1 authorize the Department to consider appeals of final local determinations of certain taxes. The ability to file an administrative appeal to the Department for a local tax is limited to the following:

BPOL tax, BTPP tax, machinery and tools tax, merchant's capital tax, local mobile property tax and consumer utility tax.

DETERMINATION

The Department is not authorized to consider appeals of the local food and beverage tax, commonly known as the meals tax. Therefore, I cannot issue a determination regarding the validity of the meals tax assessments issued to the Taxpayer by the City. See Public Document (P.D.) 13-82 (5/29/2013).

The Taxpayer may appeal assessments of the meals tax to the circuit court under the provisions of Virginia Code § 58.1-3984 A. In the Taxpayer's case, such an appeal must be filed with the circuit court: (1) within three years from the last day of the tax year for which the assessment is made, (2) within one year from the date of the assessment, or (3) within one year from the date of the local official's final determination under Virginia Code § 58.1-3981, whichever is later. No information has been provided to indicate that a final determination was issued by the City.

If you have any questions regarding this determination, you may contact * in the Office of Tax Policy, Appeals and Rulings, at ***.

Sincerely,

Craig M. Burns

Tax Commissioner

AR/1500.M

Get today's answer for your situation

You just read a 2017 ruling on this question. Ezel checks current Virginia tax law and answers your specific situation, with citations.

Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.