Virginia State Tax Deductions and Subtractions

Virginia state tax deductions and subtractions start with a standard deduction of $8,750 for single filers and $17,500 for married couples filing jointly in tax years 2025 and 2026.¹ On top of that, Virginia keeps a $930 personal exemption for each person on your return and offers more than a dozen subtractions that come off your income regardless of whether you take the standard deduction or itemize. For many filers, especially retirees, military families, parents, and savers, the subtractions are worth more than the deduction itself.

Because Virginia’s top rate of 5.75% kicks in at just $17,000 of taxable income, almost every dollar you shave off is worth about six cents in real tax savings.²

Standard Deduction or Itemized: You Don’t Get to Choose Independently

Virginia ties your deduction method to your federal return. Take the federal standard deduction and you take Virginia’s. Itemize federally and you must itemize for Virginia.¹ No mixing.

The standard deduction amounts for tax years 2025 and 2026:

Single filers: $8,750
Married filing jointly: $17,500
Married filing separately: $8,750 each

If you itemize, Virginia generally mirrors the federal categories with one important adjustment: you must add back any state and local income taxes you deducted federally.¹ You cannot claim a Virginia deduction for the income taxes you pay to Virginia or any other state. Charitable contributions, mortgage interest, and other federal itemized deductions carry over without modification.

For 2026, the federal cap on the state and local tax deduction rises to $40,000 for most filers under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, up from $10,000. That changes how much property tax and sales tax flows through to your Virginia itemized total, but the add-back for state income taxes applies regardless of the federal cap.

Personal Exemptions

Virginia still allows a $930 exemption for each qualifying person on your return, including yourself, your spouse, and any dependents claimed federally.³ The federal tax code eliminated personal exemptions after 2017, but Virginia kept them. A married couple with two children gets $3,720 shaved off taxable income before any subtractions. Part-year residents prorate the amount for the months of Virginia residency.

Subtractions for People 65 and Older

Subtractions are the piece a lot of filers miss. They come off your Virginia taxable income on top of the standard or itemized deduction, which means you get them regardless of which route you took federally.

The Age Deduction

Turn 65 by December 31 and you can subtract up to $12,000 from Virginia taxable income.¹ The full amount is available at or below $50,000 of adjusted federal AGI for single filers and $75,000 for married couples. Above those thresholds, the deduction shrinks dollar-for-dollar with excess income and disappears at $62,000 (single) or $87,000 (joint).

Filers born on or before January 1, 1939 get the full $12,000 no matter their income.¹

Social Security and Railroad Retirement

Social Security benefits and Tier 1 Railroad Retirement benefits are fully exempt from Virginia tax. Subtract the entire amount included in your federal AGI.⁴ Tier 2 Railroad Retirement benefits also qualify. There is no cap and no income limit.

Subtractions for Military Service Members and Veterans

Active Duty Basic Pay

Service members on extended active duty for more than 90 days can subtract up to $15,000 of military basic pay. The subtraction phases out dollar-for-dollar when basic pay exceeds $15,000 and reaches zero at $30,000.⁵ No rank restriction.

National Guard Pay

Virginia National Guard members at rank O-3 and below can subtract wages for up to 39 calendar days of active or inactive service, capped at $3,000.⁵

Military Retirement Income

Starting with tax year 2025, eligible veterans can subtract up to $40,000 of military retirement income, up from the prior $30,000 cap.⁶ The age-55 floor was removed beginning with tax year 2024, so younger retirees now qualify as well.

Line-of-Duty Death Benefits

Survivors of law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel killed in the line of duty can subtract death benefits from taxable income. Virginia aligns with the federal exclusion under IRC Section 104(a)(6), which keeps these payments out of gross income entirely.⁷

Subtractions for Savers and Students

Virginia 529 Contributions

Contribute to a Virginia529 account and you can subtract up to $4,000 per account per year.¹ Contribute more than $4,000 in a year and the excess carries forward indefinitely at $4,000 per year until fully deducted.⁸

Contributors who are 70 or older by December 31 can deduct the entire year’s contribution with no $4,000 cap.⁸

ABLE Account Contributions

Virginia allows up to $2,000 per year in deductions for contributions to an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) savings account. Amounts above $2,000 carry forward to future years until fully deducted. Contributors age 70 or older can deduct the full annual contribution in a single year.⁹

First-Time Homebuyer Savings Accounts

You can designate a savings or investment account as a First-Time Homebuyer Savings Account, contributing up to $50,000 in principal with growth to $150,000. All earnings, including interest and capital gains, are exempt from Virginia tax when used for eligible home-purchase costs like closing costs, lender fees, and inspections. Withdraw the money for anything else and you owe back taxes on the earnings plus a 5% penalty.

Subtractions for Families and People With Disabilities

Child and Dependent Care Expenses

Virginia lets you subtract the employment-related expenses you used to calculate the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit. The subtraction is the amount of qualifying expenses themselves, not the federal credit figure. Use $6,000 in expenses to calculate the federal credit and you subtract $6,000 from Virginia taxable income.¹⁰ This covers childcare and care for disabled adult dependents that allow you to work.

Long-Term Care Insurance Premiums

You can subtract the full amount of long-term care insurance premiums you paid, but only if you did not deduct those premiums federally.¹ It’s all or nothing: claim any federal deduction for the premiums and the Virginia subtraction is off the table that year.¹¹ Because so many filers now take the federal standard deduction and never itemize medical expenses, this Virginia subtraction is available to more people than you might expect.

Disability Income

With a permanent and total disability, you can subtract up to $20,000 of disability income from Virginia taxable income.¹² You cannot claim both the disability subtraction and the age deduction, so compare the two and take whichever saves more.

Credit for Taxes Paid to Another State

If you live in Virginia but earn income in another state that also taxes it, you can claim a Virginia credit for the income tax you paid elsewhere. The credit cannot exceed the Virginia tax that would otherwise be due on that same income.¹³ The credit is based on the actual tax liability on your nonresident return, not the amount withheld from your paycheck. If withholding was too high, file the nonresident return first and use the calculated tax figure on your Virginia return.

If you work in the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia, skip the credit entirely. Virginia has reciprocity agreements with all five, meaning the work state will not tax your wages if you file the proper exemption form.¹⁴ File Form VA-4 with your employer to stop work-state withholding. If withholding was taken in error, file a nonresident return in that state to recover it.

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-322.03 – Virginia Taxable Income; Deductions
2
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-320 – Imposition of Tax
3
Virginia Tax. Exemptions
4
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 23VAC10-110-142 – Virginia Taxable Income; Subtractions
5
Virginia Legislative Information System. Income Tax Subtraction for Military Benefits
6
Virginia Department of Taxation. 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement – Military Benefits Subtraction
7
Internal Revenue Service. Compensation Paid to Dependents of Fallen Public Safety Officers Is Excluded From Gross Income
8
Virginia Tax. Deductions
9
Virginia Tax. Virginia ABLE Account Deduction Guidelines
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Virginia Division of Legislative Services. Household and Dependent Care Expenses Deduction
11
Virginia Tax. Rulings of the Tax Commissioner 07-211
12
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-322.02 – Virginia Taxable Income; Subtractions
13
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-332 – Credits for Taxes Paid Other States
14
Virginia Tax. Reciprocity