How to Get a Tax ID Number in Virginia: Registration Steps

To get a tax ID number in Virginia, register your business online through the Virginia Department of Taxation’s portal. Registration is free, takes a few minutes, and gives you a separate account number for each tax type you sign up for. A business that collects sales tax and withholds employee income tax, for example, will receive two distinct Virginia Tax account numbers.¹

Since July 1, 2024, new businesses are required to register electronically rather than on paper.²

Do You Actually Need to Register

Any business or individual collecting state tax or reporting taxable activity in Virginia needs to register with the Virginia Department of Taxation. The two most common triggers are selling taxable goods or services and having employees.

If you sell tangible goods, rent accommodations, or provide certain taxable services in Virginia, you need to register for retail sales and use tax. Anyone meeting the statutory definition of a “dealer” under Virginia Code 58.1-612 must register to collect and remit it.³

If you have even one employee earning income in Virginia, you must register for employer withholding tax. The Department recommends registering before you begin withholding wages. If you haven’t registered by the time your first payment is due, send it along with Form R-1 and a letter explaining the period the payment covers.⁴

You don’t need a physical location in Virginia to owe Virginia sales tax. A remote seller must register if, in the current or previous calendar year, it receives more than $100,000 in gross revenue from retail sales in Virginia or completes 200 or more separate retail transactions in the state. The statute aggregates sales made by commonly controlled businesses when counting toward those thresholds.³

One boundary worth knowing: if you sell exclusively through a marketplace facilitator like Amazon or Etsy and that facilitator collects and remits Virginia sales tax for you, you generally don’t need to register separately for those sales. If your direct sales to Virginia customers independently cross the $100,000 or 200-transaction threshold, you do need your own registration.⁵

What to Gather Before You Start

The online system lets you save a draft and return, but having everything on hand makes the process quick. Virginia Tax will ask for:¹

Your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). Most entities need one, and you can get it instantly from the IRS. Sole proprietors without employees may use their Social Security Number instead.⁶
Name, email, and phone for the primary account user.
Name, Social Security number, home mailing address, and email for the responsible party, meaning the individual legally responsible for the business.
Legal business name, physical address, and mailing address. Post office boxes are not accepted as a physical location.⁶
Your entity type: sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or LLC.
Your NAICS code (the North American Industry Classification System code for your industry), which you can look up on the Census Bureau’s website.
Which Virginia tax types you’re registering for and the start date for each.

How to Register Online

Start at the Virginia Department of Taxation’s registration page and choose “New business? Register your business here.” The portal walks you through each section step by step, and Virginia Tax offers an interactive video walkthrough on the same page if you get stuck. You can also register with the Virginia Employment Commission for unemployment tax at the same time, which saves a separate filing. There is no fee.¹

When you finish, you’ll immediately receive a Virginia Tax account number for each tax type, a sales tax certificate if you registered to collect retail sales or use tax, and documentation showing what returns you need to file and when. You’re also automatically enrolled in a business online services account for filing returns, making payments, and managing your account going forward.¹

When Paper Registration Is Still Allowed

A few situations still call for the paper Form R-1: you don’t have a federal EIN or Social Security Number, you need to reopen a previously closed account, or you hit some other barrier to online registration. You can download Form R-1 from the Department’s website and submit it by mail or fax.⁷

Mail the completed form to:

Virginia Department of Taxation
Registration Unit
P.O. Box 1114
Richmond, VA 23218-1114

You can also fax it to (804) 367-2603.⁸ The form must be signed by someone authorized to act for the business: a corporate officer, a member or manager for an LLC, or the proprietor for a sole proprietorship. Unsigned forms get returned.⁷ Paper takes longer than online, so plan for that if a first tax payment is coming due.

Household employers who need to withhold Virginia income tax for a nanny or housekeeper have a separate option in Form R-1H.⁴

What Happens After You Register

Once you have your account numbers, Virginia assigns your sales tax filing frequency, either monthly or quarterly, based on your tax liability. The paperwork you receive at registration will spell out your frequency and due dates. Employer withholding follows a similar structure tied to your payroll liability.⁹

Keep your 15-digit tax account number and the ZIP code tied to your business mailing address somewhere secure. You’ll need both, plus the total amount due on your most recently filed return, to log back into your online account.¹⁰

Updating or Closing the Account

You can update most information by logging into your business online account: contact details, addresses, business locations, and responsible officers. You can also add new tax types or end a tax-type liability online.¹¹

Two changes still require paper. Legal business name changes and trade name changes must be reported by mailing a completed Form R-3 (Registration Information Change Request), because the online system can’t process them. Ownership changes work differently again: the current owner closes the business and the new owner registers as a new entity.¹¹

When you close the business or shut down a location, notify Virginia Tax through your online account or by submitting Form R-3. That marks the account inactive so the Department stops expecting returns. Skip this step and Virginia Tax will keep looking for filings, which can trigger penalty notices even after you’ve stopped operating.¹²

What Happens If You Skip Registration

Willfully failing to collect, account for, or pay over certain taxes is a Class 1 misdemeanor under Virginia law, which can mean up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.¹³ Using software to falsify point-of-sale records carries the same criminal charge plus a $20,000 civil penalty.

Late payments accrue interest at 1% per month, and the civil penalty for unpaid tax is typically 10% of the amount due or $50, whichever is greater. Those numbers stack quickly for a business that should have been collecting sales tax and now owes it on every past transaction. Registering before your first sale or your first hire is the simplest way to avoid all of it.

1
Virginia Department of Taxation. Register a Business in Virginia
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Virginia Department of Taxation. New Virginia Businesses Must Register with Us Online Starting July 1
3
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-612 – Tax Collectible From Dealers; Dealer Defined
4
Virginia Tax. Income Tax Withholding Guide for Employers
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Virginia Department of Taxation. Remote Sellers, Marketplace Facilitators, Economic Nexus
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Virginia Tax. Form R-1 Business Registration Application Instructions
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Virginia Tax. Form R-1 Virginia Department of Taxation Business Registration Form
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Virginia Department of Taxation. Form R-1 – Virginia Department of Taxation Business Registration Form
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Virginia Department of Taxation. Retail Sales and Use Tax
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Virginia Department of Taxation. Business Account FAQs
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Virginia Department of Taxation. How to Report Changes to Your Business
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Virginia Department of Taxation. Closing Your Business
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Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3907 – Willful Failure to Collect and Account for Tax; Penalty