Income Taxes in Virginia
Virginia's individual income tax has run the same four-bracket schedule for decades -- 2% on the first $3,000, 3% on $3,001-$5,000, 5% on $5,001-$17,000, and 5.75% above that -- and because the top bracket starts at just $17,000, it functions in practice as a near-flat 5.75% tax for the overwhelming majority of working filers, even though it is nominally graduated.
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Learn moreThe bracket structure, precisely -- and why "graduated" overstates the benefit for most filers
Virginia taxes income at 2% on the first $3,000 of Virginia taxable income, 3% on $3,001-$5,000, 5% on $5,001-$17,000, and 5.75% on everything above $17,000. These brackets apply identically regardless of filing status (they are not doubled for married filers). Because the top bracket begins at just $17,000, nearly all working income above that very low threshold is taxed at 5.75% -- a materially different, less favorable structure for middle earners than Arizona/Colorado/Georgia/North Carolina's genuinely flat single-rate systems or South Carolina's newly-restructured two-bracket system, where the top rate does not apply until $30,000.
Social Security is fully exempt at any age
Virginia fully exempts Social Security retirement income from state income tax at any age -- a real, unambiguous positive for retirees, well-corroborated across the secondary retirement-tax sources reviewed in this dataset's research.
A real, if capped and income-tested, age-65 deduction
Filers 65 and older can claim an age deduction of up to $12,000 (for those born after January 1, 1939; filers born on or before that date receive a different, larger legacy amount), phased out dollar-for-dollar once federal adjusted gross income exceeds $50,000 (single) or $75,000 (married filing jointly) -- fully eliminated at $62,000 single / $99,000 married. For married filers filing separately, the combined AGI of both spouses is tested against the $75,000 threshold. This is drawn directly from the Code of Virginia's statutory text (Section 58.1-322.03), a primary source.
This applies identically across every Virginia region
Unlike Ohio's separate municipal income tax layer, Virginia's income tax is a single state-level tax with no local add-on -- the near-flat 5.75% rate, the Social Security exemption, and the age deduction apply the same in Northern Virginia, Richmond, Hampton Roads, and the Shenandoah Valley. Regional cost-of-living differences (see cost-of-living) come from housing and everyday costs, not from a locally-varying income tax.
Key takeaways
- Virginia's top 5.75% income-tax bracket begins at just $17,000 of taxable income, so the nominally four-bracket, graduated system functions as a near-flat 5.75% tax for the large majority of working filers.
- Social Security is fully exempt from Virginia income tax at any age.
- Filers 65+ get a real age deduction of up to $12,000, phased out above $50,000 (single)/$75,000 (married) federal AGI and fully eliminated at $62,000/$99,000 -- per Va. Code Section 58.1-322.03.
- Virginia's income tax has no local/municipal add-on layer and applies identically statewide, unlike its sales tax, property tax, and housing costs, which vary genuinely by region.
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