17-05-2025
Virginia Beach Restaurant Association reacts to meal tax increase to 6%
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia Beach's approved fiscal year 2026 budget included a half-percent increase to the meals tax, raising it to 6% beginning July 1.
The budget passed Tuesday in a 10-1 vote and includes the increased meal tax that will still be lower than other cities in Hampton Roads, such as Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampton which have meal taxes ranging from 6.5-7.5%.
However, according to the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association, when adding sales tax, Virginia Beach's total will come out to 12%, making it one of the highest in the country.
'This raises us up to one of the top tax rates not only in the state but in the US as a whole,' said Martha Davenport, Virginia Beach Restaurant Association executive director. 'This puts us right in line, actually above major markets like Chicago, San Diego and San Francisco.'
As a result, restaurant owners and representatives are not happy with how this will potentially affect their businesses, especially with tourism season set to start soon.
'I believe our tourists are very savvy,' Davenport said. 'You have new restaurant owners that are looking at what does it take for me to open up a restaurant in Virginia Beach versus someplace else. And you're gonna have restaurants that are gonna be closing because they just cannot make it.'
In a statement to 10 On Your Side, the city of Virginia Beach said:
'The city is experiencing a significant cost increase in capital projects, which is largely being driven by inflation. As a part of the budget development process, several projects were deleted and rescoped, long standing dedications were redirected toward priority projects, and after all of these efforts a gap still remained resulting in the need for the 0.5% meals tax increase. The redirection of these resources and meals tax increase are dedicated to a newly established Major Projects fund.'
The funds raised from the new meal tax are expected generate about $111 million for the city.
You can learn more about Virginia Beach's budget for fiscal year 2026, the new meal tax, and what projects will be funded by clicking
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