Virginia's Top 5.75% Rate Starts at Just $17,000
Virginia's income tax is progressive on paper, 2%, 3%, 5%, and 5.75%, but the top 5.75% bracket begins at only $17,000 of taxable income. Because that threshold is so low, virtually every full-time worker pays 5.75% on the bulk of their income, so in practice Virginia behaves like a flat 5.75% tax for anyone earning a normal salary. The standard deduction is $8,750 for single filers and $17,500 for married couples (2026). A single filer earning $85,000 owes about $4,127, an effective state rate near 4.9%.
The Standard Deduction Recently Went Up
Virginia raised its standard deduction to $8,750 single / $17,500 married for the 2025 and 2026 tax years, up from lower levels earlier in the decade. Because nearly all income above $17,000 is taxed at the same 5.75%, the deduction is the main lever that keeps Virginia's effective rate below its top marginal rate. For most workers, the larger deduction is the most meaningful recent change to a Virginia paycheck.
Reciprocity With DC, Maryland, and Three More States
Virginia has reciprocal agreements with the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky. A resident of any of those who works in Virginia, or a Virginian who works in one of them, is taxed only by their home state on those wages, and can have the correct state withheld at the source. For the dense DC-metro workforce that crosses state lines daily, this reciprocity is the difference between one clean return and a multi-state filing.
No Local Income Tax, Plus an Age Deduction
No Virginia county or city levies a local income tax, so the state schedule is the entire sub-federal picture on your wages. Virginia also offers an age deduction of up to $12,000 for filers 65 and older, phased down for higher incomes, a modest but real break for older workers and retirees. Outside of that, retirement income is generally taxed at the same rates as wages, so Virginia is less retiree-friendly than Illinois or Georgia on that front.
Planning in Virginia
Since almost all of your income lands in the 5.75% bracket, treat Virginia as effectively flat for planning, timing a bonus or conversion will not shift your marginal state rate. A traditional 401(k) dollar saves that 5.75% in state tax on top of your federal bracket, and maximizing the standard deduction (or itemizing if higher) is the main way to trim the bill. Use the calculator above to see how pre-tax contributions change your Virginia take-home pay.
Virginia for Military Retirees: the $40,000 Subtraction
Virginia is a major military state, and its tax code now reflects that. For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, recipients age 55 or older can subtract up to $40,000 of military retirement benefits from Virginia taxable income (Virginia Tax), the top of a multi-year phase-in. Separately, residents born on or before January 1, 1960 can claim an age deduction of up to $12,000 each, though that one is reduced as income rises. You cannot use the same dollars for two breaks at once. For a retired servicemember on a Virginia pension, the $40,000 subtraction can erase the state tax on a large slice of retirement pay.
Virginia's EITC Went Refundable
Virginia overhauled its Earned Income Credit in 2022. Lower-income workers can now choose a refundable credit equal to 15% of the federal EITC, instead of the older non-refundable 20% credit, meaning the credit can produce a refund rather than just zeroing out tax owed. For a family with little Virginia tax liability, the refundable option puts actual cash back, a substantial change from the prior credit that only reduced tax to zero. Whether the 20% non-refundable or 15% refundable version wins depends on your situation, so it is worth running both.
Setting Withholding and the May 1 Deadline
You set Virginia withholding on Form VA-4, and residents file Form 760 as the annual return. The detail that trips up new Virginians: the state filing deadline is May 1, not the federal April 15. Virginia grants an automatic extension to file (to November 1), but any tax owed is still due May 1, so a balance left until the federal date can accrue interest. If you moved to Virginia from a state that follows the April 15 calendar, mark May 1 specifically.
A Virginia Paycheck Behaves Like a Flat Tax
Because the 5.75% top rate begins at just $17,000 of taxable income, almost all of a normal salary is taxed at that one rate. Take a worker near the Virginia median household income, about $89,000: after the $8,750 standard deduction, taxable income is roughly $80,250, and Virginia tax works out to about $4,360, an effective rate near 4.9% with nearly every dollar in the top bracket. For planning purposes, treat Virginia as a 5.75% flat tax with a deduction, the graduated bottom brackets are too small to matter for most full-time earners.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA) are federal, so they come out the same in Virginia as in every other state. The main Paycheck Calculator walks through the full federal side, including the Social Security wage base and the Additional Medicare surtax.