Virginia Salary & Paycheck Calculator 2026

Withholding on a Virginia paycheck flows through Form VA-4, the state's withholding certificate. Virginia's 4-bracket schedule (2%, 3%, 5%, 5.75%) compresses fast: the top 5.75% rate kicks in at just $17,000 of taxable income, so any W-2 worker earning above ~$30,000 is paying 5.75% on the bulk of their income. The state has no local income tax anywhere — Northern Virginia (Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax) and Hampton Roads (Norfolk, Virginia Beach) all run pure state + federal + FICA paychecks. Federal employees in NoVA represent a disproportionate share of the state's high-income filers, and Virginia's military / federal-retirement subtractions are the single largest tax-shelter category for the state's W-2 base.

Take-home math at three tiers, Virginia single filer 2026: $60,000 → about $4,400 federal + $4,590 FICA + $2,995 VA state (after $8,500 standard deduction) = $11,985 deductions, take-home $48,015 (80%). $100,000 → $11,800 federal + $7,650 FICA + $5,295 VA = $24,745, take-home $75,255 (75%). $150,000 → $24,000 federal + $9,275 FICA + $8,170 VA = $41,445, take-home $108,555 (72%). The 5.75% top rate hitting at $17K means Virginia's effective rate looks more like a flat-5.4% state for most professionals than the 4-bracket structure suggests on paper.

Virginia's signature tax-side feature is the federal-employee and military shelter stack. The state subtracts up to $40,000 of military retirement income (phasing in by 2025 — full $40K available in 2026), exempts Title-32 active-duty pay, and allows a $12,000 age 65+ income subtraction (phased out for higher AGIs). Federal civilian employees can elect Virginia 529 contributions for in-state tuition planning with a $4,000 per-account state deduction. Combined, these provisions mean a retired O-6 with $50K military pension + $80K Civil Service + $30K Social Security pays Virginia tax on roughly half of what would be federally taxable. Virginia has no estate or inheritance tax. Property tax averages 0.81% effective — moderate.

The single highest-leverage tactic for Virginia W-2 earners is maxing pre-tax 401(k) and HSA (Virginia conforms to federal pre-tax treatment, saving 5.75% per deferred dollar above $17K). For Northern Virginia federal employees specifically, the TSP catches up to $24,500 plus age-50 / 60-63 catch-ups produce some of the largest legal tax shelters in any US state, since federal employees layer civilian pension on top of TSP without any state-level penalty. Active-duty service members domiciled in Virginia can also claim the Service Member Civil Relief Act (SCRA) protection to retain Virginia residency while stationed elsewhere — beneficial only if Virginia's tax structure is more favorable than the alternative.