To fill out Virginia’s VA-4 withholding form, put your name, address, and Social Security number at the top, check one of the three Virginia filing status boxes, count your personal and dependent exemptions on the exemption lines, add any age or blindness exemptions on the separate line for those, enter a flat dollar amount on the additional withholding line if you want extra tax taken out, then sign, date, and hand it to your employer. The form stays in your employer’s payroll file and is never mailed to the Virginia Department of Taxation.1Virginia Department of Taxation. Income Tax Withholding Guide for Employers
Skip the form and your employer must withhold Virginia income tax as if you claimed zero exemptions, which pulls the maximum out of every paycheck.1Virginia Department of Taxation. Income Tax Withholding Guide for Employers Five minutes on the VA-4 is worth it.
Pick Your Virginia Filing Status
The VA-4 gives you three status choices: Single, Married, or Married filing a separate return.2Virginia Department of Taxation. Form VA-4 Virginia does not have a Head of Household line. If your federal return uses Head of Household or Qualifying Surviving Spouse, use Filing Status 1 (Single) on the VA-4.3Virginia Tax. Filing Status This is a common tripping point, so double-check that you haven’t picked Married just because you were used to a federal status that doesn’t map directly.
Count Your Personal and Dependent Exemptions
Each personal or dependent exemption is worth $930 in the withholding formula.4Virginia Department of Taxation. Exemptions Walk through this in order:
- One exemption for yourself.
- One for your spouse, unless your spouse files their own VA-4 and claims their own exemption. Only one of you gets the spousal exemption.
- One for each qualifying dependent. If both spouses work, decide together how to split the dependents between your two VA-4s.3Virginia Tax. Filing Status
Add these up and enter the total on the personal exemptions line.
Age and Blindness Go on a Separate Line
Virginia gives an additional $800 exemption for each filer age 65 or older by January 1 of the tax year, and another $800 for each filer who is legally blind under federal tax standards.4Virginia Department of Taxation. Exemptions These belong on the separate age/blindness line of the VA-4, not lumped in with your personal and dependent count. Each spouse claims their own on their own form; you can’t take your spouse’s age exemption on your VA-4.
Add Extra Withholding if You Need It
The VA-4 has a line where you can request a flat dollar amount of additional Virginia tax withheld each pay period.5Virginia Department of Taxation. Withholding Tax FAQs Use this if you have a second job, freelance work, or investment income that no employer is withholding on. Enter a per-paycheck dollar figure, not an annual total.
Going the other direction, if your withholding is coming out too high and you want to claim more exemptions than the form’s normal categories allow, you need written authorization from the Tax Commissioner. Send the request to P.O. Box 2475, Richmond, VA 23218-2475.6Virginia Department of Taxation. Withholding Tax FAQs – Section: Employee Information
Claiming Complete Exemption From Withholding
You can claim total exemption from Virginia withholding only if both of these are true: you owed no Virginia income tax for the prior year, and you expect to owe none for the current year.7Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-461 – Requirement of Withholding Check the exemption box on the VA-4 rather than filling in exemption counts.
This election is not permanent. You have to submit a new VA-4 each year to keep it in place, typically by February 15. Miss the renewal and your employer switches to withholding based on zero exemptions.
Special Cases: Reciprocity and Military Spouses
Two situations change how you use the VA-4 rather than how you count exemptions on it.
You Live in a Reciprocity State and Work in Virginia
Virginia has reciprocal tax agreements with the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Residents of D.C. and Kentucky who commute daily to Virginia and earn only wage or salary income here are exempt from Virginia income tax. Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia residents qualify for the same exemption if they are in Virginia 183 days or fewer during the year, keep no home in Virginia, and earn only wage or salary income in the state.8Virginia Department of Taxation. Reciprocity
If you qualify, use the VA-4 to certify your exemption to your Virginia employer, and re-certify every year. If Virginia tax was already withheld before you filed a corrected VA-4, file Form 763-S to get that money back.8Virginia Department of Taxation. Reciprocity
You’re the Spouse of a Servicemember
Under the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act, a servicemember’s spouse can elect the servicemember’s domicile, the spouse’s own domicile, or the servicemember’s permanent duty station as their state of residence for tax purposes.9Virginia Department of Taxation. Military Servicemembers and Spouses Residency FAQ If that election makes your income exempt from Virginia tax, file a revised VA-4 to stop Virginia withholding.
The election covers wages from services performed in Virginia, and can cover self-employment income when the business revenue comes primarily from your personal services. It does not cover investment income.9Virginia Department of Taxation. Military Servicemembers and Spouses Residency FAQ Virginia-source income outside the election still requires a nonresident return (Form 763).
Turn It In and Update It When Things Change
Give the completed VA-4 to your employer’s payroll or HR department. Your employer is required to use the Virginia form; a federal W-4 doesn’t substitute.1Virginia Department of Taxation. Income Tax Withholding Guide for Employers
File a new VA-4 within 10 days of any change to your situation.1Virginia Department of Taxation. Income Tax Withholding Guide for Employers Marriage, divorce, a new child, a spouse who starts or stops working, or a second job all change your exemption count or extra-withholding line. The process is the same each time: fill out a fresh VA-4 with the new numbers and hand it in. Your employer adjusts starting with the next pay period.
Don’t Inflate the Numbers
The exemptions you claim should match reality. Virginia law provides a civil penalty of 100% of the correct tax for a fraudulent withholding filing, and criminal penalties can reach up to one year of imprisonment, a fine of up to $2,500, or both.10Virginia Department of Taxation. Penalties and Interest If you’re unsure whether you qualify for a particular exemption, leave it off and adjust on your return, rather than claiming it and hoping.