How does Virginia work out the income tax taken from my paycheck?

Virginia Tax's withholding formula annualizes your pay (the pay for the period times the pay periods in a year), subtracts an $8,750 standard deduction, $930 for each exemption on your Form VA-4 and $800 for each age 65 or blind exemption, then taxes the rest at 2% up to $3,000, $60 plus 3% of the excess up to $5,000, $120 plus 5% up to $17,000, and $720 plus 5.75% above that. The year's tax is divided by the pay periods. For a $60,000 salary with 1 exemption, the taxable pay is $50,320, which is $2,635.90 a year, or $101.38 every two weeks. Virginia Tax's online Employer Withholding Calculator gives the same figure.

How much is $60,000 a year after tax in Virginia?

For a single employee who claims 1 exemption on the VA-4 and is paid every two weeks, a $60,000 salary takes home $1,836.69 a paycheck, or $47,754.00 a year. The year's taxes are $5,020.08 of federal income tax, $2,635.88 of Virginia income tax, $3,720.08 of Social Security and $869.96 of Medicare.

How much is $20 an hour after tax in Virginia?

At 40 hours a week and weekly pay, $20 an hour is $800.00 gross and $654.38 take-home a week for a single employee with 1 exemption. That is $54.08 of federal income tax, $30.34 of Virginia income tax, $49.60 of Social Security and $11.60 of Medicare. Switch the calculator to hourly and type your own hours, including overtime.

What do I put on the Virginia VA-4?

Line 1(a) is your personal and dependent exemptions: you, a spouse who is not claimed on their own VA-4, and each dependent you can claim on your return. Line 1(b) is the exemptions for being 65 or older and for being legally blind, for you and, if you claim your spouse, for them. A personal exemption is worth $930 of pay a year and an age or blind exemption $800. With no VA-4 on file, your employer withholds as if you had no exemptions. On the $60,000 example, 0 exemptions withhold $103.44 a paycheck against $101.38 with 1 and $99.32 with 2, and one age or blind exemption on line 1(b) lowers it to $99.61.

Is Virginia's $8,750 standard deduction going away?

It is scheduled to. The higher amount, $8,750 for a single filer and $17,500 for a married couple filing jointly, applies for taxable years 2025 and 2026, and Virginia Tax's tables say it is scheduled to fall back after taxable year 2026 to $3,000 and $6,000. The withholding formula uses $8,750 for every employee, and this calculator does too.

How does Virginia tax a bonus?

A bonus or other supplemental payment that is paid with regular wages is added to them and withheld on the total. If it is paid separately and tax has been withheld from regular wages, the employer may withhold a flat 5.75% with no exemptions. This calculator treats all pay as regular pay.

What does a 401(k), an HSA or a health plan do to my Virginia paycheck?

Virginia withholds on any payment for which federal withholding is required, so a 401(k) deferral, health premiums through a cafeteria plan and HSA contributions through one all come out before Virginia tax, as they do federally. Putting 6% of a $60,000 salary into a 401(k) ($138.46 a paycheck) cuts Virginia withholding by $7.96 and take-home pay by only $113.88. A $100 HSA contribution a paycheck cuts Virginia withholding by $5.75.

Who pays unemployment tax in Virginia, and how much is it?

The employer does, to the Virginia Employment Commission. A new Virginia employer starts at a base rate of 2.5% on the first $8,000 of each employee's pay, until it has a rate of its own. That is $200.00 a year per employee at a $60,000 salary. The Commission adds a pool cost charge and, when its trust fund balance is 50% or less, a 0.2% fund building charge, which come on the annual rate notice and are not in these figures. Unemployment wages are the pay after cafeteria plan deductions but before 401(k) deductions.

I live in Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia or the District of Columbia and work in Virginia. Does Virginia withhold from me?

Not if you meet the conditions of Virginia's reciprocity agreements and say so on your VA-4. A resident of Kentucky or the District of Columbia who commutes daily to a job in Virginia is not withheld from. A resident of Maryland, Pennsylvania or West Virginia is not either, if their legal home stays in that state, they live in Virginia less than 183 days of the year, their only Virginia income is salary or wages, and their home state taxes it. This calculator withholds as if the employee has no such exemption.

Virginia Paycheck Calculator

Last updated October 21, 2026FreeNo signupFormula shown

Enter your pay, how often you are paid, and the exemptions on your Form W-4 and Virginia Form VA-4, and this Virginia paycheck calculator shows your 2026 take-home pay. It follows Virginia Tax's withholding formula, 2% to 5.75% after a standard deduction and your exemptions, and works out the employer's side of the bill under it.

State

Virginia

I'm paid

Yearly salary (USD)

Pay frequency

Filing status on Form W-4

Virginia withholding

Personal and dependent exemptions on Form VA-4 (line 1a)

$930 of pay each year is left untaxed per exemption: you, a spouse with no income of their own, and each dependent.

Age 65 and blind exemptions on Form VA-4 (line 1b)

$800 each, for age 65 or older and for legal blindness. Most workers claim 0.

Form W-4 steps 2 to 4

Step 2 box is checked

Two jobs with similar pay, or both spouses work.

Children under 17

Step 3: $2,200 each.

Other dependents

Step 3: $500 each.

Other income per year

Step 4(a).

Deductions per year

Step 4(b).

Extra withholding each paycheck (USD)

Step 4(c).

401(k), % of pay

2026 limit $24,500.

Health premiums per paycheck

Pre-tax.

HSA per paycheck

2026 limit $8,750.

Take-home pay per paycheck

$1,836.69

$2,307.69 gross · $471.00 withheld (20.4%)

Where this paycheck goes

Gross pay: $2,307.69
Federal income tax: - $193.08
Social Security6.2%: - $143.08
Medicare1.45%: - $33.46
Additional Medicare0.9%: - $0.00
Virginia income tax: - $101.38
401(k): - $0.00
Health premiums: - $0.00
HSA: - $0.00

Take-home pay$1,836.69

Over the year, 26 paychecks

Gross pay: $60,000
Taxes: - $12,246
Pre-tax deductions: - $0
Share kept: 79.6%

Take-home pay$47,754

Of every $100 of gross pay, $80 is take-home.

Federal income tax$5,020 · 8.4%
Social Security$3,720 · 6.2%
Medicare$870 · 1.4%
Virginia income tax$2,636 · 4.4%
Take-home pay$47,754 · 79.6%

Take-home pay rises with every extra dollar of salary.

Gross payTake-home pay

This pay costs the employer $64,832 a year, $2,493.54 each pay period.

What the employer adds, per year

Employer Social Security6.2% to $184,500: $3,720
Employer Medicare1.45%: $870
Federal unemployment (FUTA)0.6% of the first $7,000: $42
Virginia unemployment2.5% of the first $8,000: $200

Employer taxes$4,832

Total cost of the employee

Gross pay: $60,000
Employer taxes: + $4,832
Per pay period: $2,493.54

Per year$64,832

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Virginia withholds 2% to 5.75% of a year's pay, after an $8,750 standard deduction and $930 for each exemption on your VA-4.

Virginia Tax's formula has three steps. Your employer multiplies your pay for the period by the number of pay periods in a year, takes off $8,750 and $930 for each exemption on your Form VA-4 ($800 for each age 65 or blind exemption), and taxes the rest by four brackets: 2% up to $3,000, 3% up to $5,000, 5% up to $17,000 and 5.75% above that. The year's tax is then divided by the pay periods. Nothing depends on your filing status: the exemptions you claim are the whole difference between two workers on the same pay.

A $60,000 Virginia salary takes home $1,836.69 every two weeks.

The calculator opens on this case: a single employee with 1 exemption on the VA-4 and a standard Form W-4, paid every two weeks, with no pre-tax deductions.

Gross pay: $60,000 ÷ 26 = $2,307.69
Federal income tax: $193.08
Virginia income tax: $60,000 − ($8,750 + $930) = $50,320 taxed, which is $2,635.90 a year, ÷ 26 = $101.38
Social Security: 6.2% × $2,307.69 = $143.08; Medicare: 1.45% = $33.46
Take-home pay: $1,836.69 a paycheck, $47,754.00 a year

Of $60,000 gross, $47,754 reaches the bank account.

Federal income tax$5,020 · 8.4%
Social Security$3,720 · 6.2%
Medicare$870 · 1.4%
Virginia income tax$2,636 · 4.4%
Take-home pay$47,754 · 79.6%

Each paycheck: $1,836.69Kept: 79.6%

A single employee on a $60,000 salary, paid every two weeks, with 1 exemption. Invented example. Each tax is rounded to the cent in every paycheck, as payroll does.

Each exemption on the VA-4 keeps $930 of pay from tax, which is worth $2.06 a paycheck here.

At this pay the top of the taxable amount is in the 5.75% bracket, so each exemption saves $930 × 5.75%, about $53 a year, which is $2.06 on a biweekly paycheck. A second exemption saves the same again, for a spouse with no income or a dependent. Lower in the brackets it is worth less: 5% of $930 in the 5% bracket and 2% in the first. An age 65 or blind exemption is worth $800 instead of $930.

Each exemption on line 1(a) takes $2.06 off the Virginia tax of a biweekly paycheck.

0 exemptions$103.44
1 exemption$101.38
2 exemptions$99.32
3 exemptions$97.27
5 exemptions$93.15

Invented example: a $60,000 salary, single, paid every two weeks. Each exemption is $930 of pay a year; an age or blind exemption is $800.

Virginia follows the federal rule for a 401(k), a health plan and an HSA.

Virginia withholds on any payment for which federal withholding is required, so the amounts that skip federal income tax skip Virginia tax too. A 401(k) deferral of 6% on the $60,000 example is $138.46 a paycheck, and it lowers Virginia withholding by $7.96. Social Security and Medicare still apply to a 401(k) deferral, but not to health premiums or an HSA contribution made through a cafeteria plan.

A 6% 401(k) lowers federal tax by $16.62 and Virginia tax by $7.96 a paycheck.

Federal tax, no 401(k)$193.08
Federal tax, 6% 401(k)$176.46
Virginia tax, no 401(k)$101.38
Virginia tax, 6% 401(k)$93.42

Invented example: a $60,000 salary, single, paid every two weeks. 6% of pay is $138.46 a paycheck.

Hiring that employee costs $64,832 a year in Virginia.

On top of the $60,000, the employer matches Social Security and Medicare at 6.2% and 1.45%, which is $4,590. It pays federal unemployment tax of 0.6% on the first $7,000, which is $42; Virginia is not on the Labor Department's list of states with a 2026 credit reduction. A new Virginia employer pays unemployment tax at a base rate of 2.5% on the first $8,000 of pay, which is $200.00 a year per employee, before the add-on charges on its rate notice.

On $60,000 of pay, the employer owes $4,832 more in taxes.

Employer Social Security$3,720
Employer Medicare$870
Virginia unemployment$200
Federal unemployment (FUTA)$42

An employee on a $60,000 salary. Virginia unemployment is the 2026 new-employer rate of 2.5% on the first $8,000.

Take-home pay in Virginia runs from $32,834 on $40,000 to $105,980 on $150,000.

For a single employee with 1 exemption, paid every two weeks. Switch the table to weekly pay if you are paid every week. To see how a neighboring state compares, try the North Carolina paycheck calculator.

Take-home pay in Virginia for a single employee on a standard Form W-4, paid every two weeks, with no pre-tax deductions. Virginia taxes are its income tax.
Salary	Federal tax	Social Security and Medicare	Virginia taxes	Take-home a year	Every two weeks
$40,000	$2,620	$3,060	$1,486	$32,834	$1,262.85
$50,000	$3,820	$3,825	$2,061	$40,294	$1,549.78
$60,000	$5,020	$4,590	$2,636	$47,754	$1,836.69
$75,000	$7,670	$5,738	$3,498	$58,094	$2,234.39
$100,000	$13,170	$7,650	$4,936	$74,244	$2,855.54
$150,000	$24,734	$11,475	$7,811	$105,980	$4,076.16

Methodology & sources

The formula this calculator uses is shown in full above, and every assumption is an input you control. There are no hidden industry presets. All math runs in your browser; nothing you enter is stored or sent to a server. For the reasoning behind the formula and its edge cases, see:

Frequently asked questions

How does Virginia work out the income tax taken from my paycheck?: Virginia Tax's withholding formula annualizes your pay (the pay for the period times the pay periods in a year), subtracts an $8,750 standard deduction, $930 for each exemption on your Form VA-4 and $800 for each age 65 or blind exemption, then taxes the rest at 2% up to $3,000, $60 plus 3% of the excess up to $5,000, $120 plus 5% up to $17,000, and $720 plus 5.75% above that. The year's tax is divided by the pay periods. For a $60,000 salary with 1 exemption, the taxable pay is $50,320, which is $2,635.90 a year, or $101.38 every two weeks. Virginia Tax's online Employer Withholding Calculator gives the same figure.
How much is $60,000 a year after tax in Virginia?: For a single employee who claims 1 exemption on the VA-4 and is paid every two weeks, a $60,000 salary takes home $1,836.69 a paycheck, or $47,754.00 a year. The year's taxes are $5,020.08 of federal income tax, $2,635.88 of Virginia income tax, $3,720.08 of Social Security and $869.96 of Medicare.
How much is $20 an hour after tax in Virginia?: At 40 hours a week and weekly pay, $20 an hour is $800.00 gross and $654.38 take-home a week for a single employee with 1 exemption. That is $54.08 of federal income tax, $30.34 of Virginia income tax, $49.60 of Social Security and $11.60 of Medicare. Switch the calculator to hourly and type your own hours, including overtime.
What do I put on the Virginia VA-4?: Line 1(a) is your personal and dependent exemptions: you, a spouse who is not claimed on their own VA-4, and each dependent you can claim on your return. Line 1(b) is the exemptions for being 65 or older and for being legally blind, for you and, if you claim your spouse, for them. A personal exemption is worth $930 of pay a year and an age or blind exemption $800. With no VA-4 on file, your employer withholds as if you had no exemptions. On the $60,000 example, 0 exemptions withhold $103.44 a paycheck against $101.38 with 1 and $99.32 with 2, and one age or blind exemption on line 1(b) lowers it to $99.61.
Is Virginia's $8,750 standard deduction going away?: It is scheduled to. The higher amount, $8,750 for a single filer and $17,500 for a married couple filing jointly, applies for taxable years 2025 and 2026, and Virginia Tax's tables say it is scheduled to fall back after taxable year 2026 to $3,000 and $6,000. The withholding formula uses $8,750 for every employee, and this calculator does too.
How does Virginia tax a bonus?: A bonus or other supplemental payment that is paid with regular wages is added to them and withheld on the total. If it is paid separately and tax has been withheld from regular wages, the employer may withhold a flat 5.75% with no exemptions. This calculator treats all pay as regular pay.
What does a 401(k), an HSA or a health plan do to my Virginia paycheck?: Virginia withholds on any payment for which federal withholding is required, so a 401(k) deferral, health premiums through a cafeteria plan and HSA contributions through one all come out before Virginia tax, as they do federally. Putting 6% of a $60,000 salary into a 401(k) ($138.46 a paycheck) cuts Virginia withholding by $7.96 and take-home pay by only $113.88. A $100 HSA contribution a paycheck cuts Virginia withholding by $5.75.
Who pays unemployment tax in Virginia, and how much is it?: The employer does, to the Virginia Employment Commission. A new Virginia employer starts at a base rate of 2.5% on the first $8,000 of each employee's pay, until it has a rate of its own. That is $200.00 a year per employee at a $60,000 salary. The Commission adds a pool cost charge and, when its trust fund balance is 50% or less, a 0.2% fund building charge, which come on the annual rate notice and are not in these figures. Unemployment wages are the pay after cafeteria plan deductions but before 401(k) deductions.
I live in Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia or the District of Columbia and work in Virginia. Does Virginia withhold from me?: Not if you meet the conditions of Virginia's reciprocity agreements and say so on your VA-4. A resident of Kentucky or the District of Columbia who commutes daily to a job in Virginia is not withheld from. A resident of Maryland, Pennsylvania or West Virginia is not either, if their legal home stays in that state, they live in Virginia less than 183 days of the year, their only Virginia income is salary or wages, and their home state taxes it. This calculator withholds as if the employee has no such exemption.

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