Virginia Paycheck Calculator
Estimate your Virginia take-home pay. VA uses progressive brackets from 2% to 5.75%, with the top rate kicking in at just $17,000 of taxable income — meaning most full-time workers hit it almost immediately. The brackets are unusual: they're identical for single and married filers (no marriage relief). Personal exemption is $930 per person, and the standard deduction is $8,750 single / $17,500 married (HB 854 extends through TY2026).
How to use this calculator
- Type your gross pay per paycheck — what you earn before any tax or deduction comes out.
- Pick your pay frequency (biweekly is the default — it's the most common).
- Set your federal filing status (Single or Married Filing Jointly).
- If you contribute to a traditional 401(k), enter the percentage. Add any pre-tax health or HSA deductions per paycheck.
- The result updates as you go. Use Share link to send your numbers to someone else without retyping them.
A real example: a $60,000 salary in Richmond
Say you take a $60,000-a-year job in Richmond, paid every two weeks, single, no 401(k). That's $2,307.69 gross per paycheck. The math goes like this for the year:
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross pay | $60,000.00 |
| Federal income tax (after the $16,100 federal standard deduction) | −$5,020.00 |
| Social Security (6.2% up to $184,500) | −$3,720.00 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | −$870.00 |
| Virginia state income tax (after $8,750 std deduction and $930 personal exemption) | −$2,635.90 |
| Take-home for the year | $47,754.10 |
| Take-home per biweekly check | $1,836.70 |
About 20% of your gross goes to federal, FICA, and Virginia state tax combined. Virginia's brackets are unusual: the top 5.75% rate kicks in at just $17,000 of taxable income — one of the lowest top-bracket thresholds in the country. Once you cross that, every additional dollar is effectively taxed at 5.75%, so a $60k job and a $100k job pay similar percentages to Virginia. Tax planning here focuses on credits and the Age Deduction (65+), not bracket management.
Now add a 5% traditional 401(k) and $200/month in pre-tax health premiums on a $120,000 salary, married, paid monthly: gross $10,000/mo, $500 to the 401(k), $200 to health. Virginia follows federal for retirement and Section 125 — both reduce VA taxable income. The married standard deduction is $17,500, plus $1,860 in personal exemptions ($930 × 2). VA tax for the year runs about $5,046, and your monthly take-home lands around $7,377.
How a Virginia paycheck is calculated
Virginia adds state income tax on top of federal tax and FICA. The brackets are unusual — same for single and married — and the rate hits 5.75% at just $17,000:
A few Virginia-specific details worth knowing:
- Same brackets for single AND married — no marriage relief. Virginia is one of the few states where joint filers don't get wider brackets than single filers. A married couple with $34,000 combined income hits the top 5.75% bracket at the same $17,000 threshold a single filer does. This penalizes higher-earning married couples relative to states like California or New York.
- $930 personal exemption per person. You, your spouse if filing jointly, and each dependent each get a $930 exemption — subtracted from taxable income before brackets apply. Taxpayers 65+ or blind get an additional $800 exemption each.
- The 5.75% top bracket kicks in at just $17,000. Once your taxable income crosses that threshold, every additional dollar is effectively taxed at 5.75%. This makes Virginia's brackets behave almost like a flat tax for most full-time workers — the lower brackets don't save you much.
- HB 854 extended the higher standard deduction. Virginia's standard deduction was scheduled to revert to $3,000/$6,000 after 2025, but HB 854 (2025) raised it to $8,750/$17,500 and extended the increase through TY2026. Future legislative action determines whether it stays elevated for TY2027.
- 401(k) and pre-tax both reduce Virginia tax. VA follows federal treatment — traditional 401(k) and Section 125 items lower your VA taxable income.
- No local income tax in Virginia. Unlike DC (where the city is the taxing entity) or Maryland (where counties layer on a local rate), Virginia has zero local income tax. The state rate is your total — useful when comparing the DMV region's three jurisdictions.
What Virginia paychecks look like at common salaries (single, no 401k)
| Annual salary | Federal tax | FICA | VA tax | Net per year | Net per biweekly check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,620.00 | $3,060.00 | $1,485.90 | $32,834.10 | $1,262.85 |
| $50,000 | $3,820.00 | $3,825.00 | $2,060.90 | $40,294.10 | $1,549.77 |
| $60,000 | $5,020.00 | $4,590.00 | $2,635.90 | $47,754.10 | $1,836.70 |
| $75,000 | $7,670.00 | $5,737.50 | $3,498.40 | $58,094.10 | $2,234.39 |
| $100,000 | $13,170.00 | $7,650.00 | $4,935.90 | $74,244.10 | $2,855.54 |
| $150,000 | $24,734.00 | $11,475.00 | $7,810.90 | $105,980.10 | $4,076.16 |
Numbers above use 2026 federal rates and Virginia's 2/3/5/5.75% brackets per Form 760ES 2026, single filer, no 401(k) or pre-tax deductions. Your actual withholding will differ based on your W-4.
Tips to take home more
- Max out pre-tax benefits first. Health insurance, HSA, and FSA dollars reduce both your federal tax and FICA — that's a roughly 22–28% discount on those expenses for most people.
- A 401(k) is real money, not a deduction. A 5% contribution on $60k is $3,000 the IRS doesn't see right now. You're not losing it — you're moving it.
- Check your W-4 if your refund or bill is large. A big refund means you overpaid all year; a big bill means you underpaid. Either way, the IRS withholding estimator at irs.gov/W4App helps fix it.
- Track the Social Security cap. If you'll cross $184,500 this year, your last few checks will be noticeably bigger for SS. (Medicare and SDI keep going on every dollar.)
- Live in Virginia, work remotely for an out-of-state employer? Virginia taxes residents on all income regardless of where it's earned. Some employers don't withhold VA tax automatically in that case — check your paystub, and consider quarterly estimated payments via Form 760ES to avoid an April surprise.
Frequently asked questions
What is Virginia's state income tax rate in 2026?
Virginia has progressive brackets ranging from 2% to 5.75% for 2026. The brackets — 2% on the first $3,000, 3% to $5,000, 5% to $17,000, 5.75% above $17,000 — are identical for single and married filers. There's no separate married bracket schedule, which means married couples don't get the bracket widening other states provide. The brackets have been unchanged for decades.
How much of a $60,000 salary do you take home in Virginia?
A single filer earning $60,000 in Virginia with no pre-tax deductions takes home roughly $47,754 a year, or about $1,837 every two weeks. That's $5,020 federal, $4,590 FICA, and $2,636 Virginia state tax (computed across the 2/3/5/5.75% brackets after the $8,750 standard deduction and $930 personal exemption).
Why does Virginia's top tax rate start so low?
Virginia's bracket structure was set decades ago and has not been adjusted for inflation since. The $17,000 top-bracket threshold means most full-time workers hit the 5.75% rate almost immediately. Critics call it a hidden tax increase — what was once a high-earner rate now applies to nearly everyone with a full-time job.
Does Virginia have local income taxes?
No. Unlike Maryland (where counties layer on a local income tax of roughly 2.25%-3.2%) or DC (which has its own progressive tax), Virginia has no city or county income taxes. The state rate is your total — useful when comparing jobs across the DMV region.
Are Social Security and retirement benefits taxed in Virginia?
Social Security is fully exempt at all ages. Most other retirement income (pensions, 401(k), IRA distributions) is taxed at the regular rates, but Virginia offers an Age Deduction of up to $12,000 per person for taxpayers 65+ (with income phase-outs above $50,000 single / $75,000 joint). Military retirement pay has a separate subtraction up to $40,000.