What Is Form 760? Virginia’s Resident Income Tax Return

Virginia Form 760 is the resident individual income tax return filed each year with the Virginia Department of Taxation. You use it to report your income, apply Virginia’s own additions, subtractions, deductions, and credits, and settle up with the state. The deadline is May 1, not April 15, and Virginia’s top rate is 5.75% on taxable income above $17,000.¹

Who Files Form 760

Form 760 is for full-year Virginia residents. The state treats you as a resident if Virginia is your permanent home or if you kept a place to live in Virginia for more than 183 days during the year. You’re required to file if you had to file a federal return or if you had Virginia taxable income.¹ The practical trigger is the income threshold: $11,950 of Virginia adjusted gross income for single filers, $23,900 for married couples filing jointly.²

If you lived in Virginia only part of the year, use Form 760PY instead. Nonresidents with Virginia-source income use Form 763. And even when your income is below the filing threshold, file a 760 anyway if your employer withheld Virginia tax from your paychecks. That withholding doesn’t come back to you unless you ask for it on a return.

The May 1 Deadline and the Automatic Extension

Calendar-year returns are due May 1. If May 1 lands on a weekend or holiday, the due date rolls to the next business day.³ That’s two weeks after the federal deadline, which is useful breathing room and also easy to forget once your federal return is out the door.

Virginia gives every filer an automatic six-month extension to November 1, with no form to submit. The extension buys time to file, not time to pay. If you’ll owe, your payment is still due by May 1, and underpaying by that date exposes you to penalties and interest even if the return itself arrives inside the extension window.³

How the Tax Is Calculated

Virginia’s rates are graduated across four brackets applied to Virginia taxable income:

2% on the first $3,000
3% on income from $3,001 to $5,000
5% on income from $5,001 to $17,000
5.75% on income above $17,000

Getting from your federal numbers to Virginia taxable income is where Form 760 does most of its work. You start with federal adjusted gross income and then adjust it under Virginia’s rules.

Additions and Subtractions

Some income excluded on your federal return gets added back on your Virginia return. The most common addition is interest from bonds issued by other states, which federal law exempts but Virginia taxes because the state only exempts interest from its own bonds.⁴ Subtractions move the other way and lower your Virginia income below the federal figure. Contributions to a Virginia529 savings plan and certain military pay are common examples; the full list is in Va. Code § 58.1-322.03.⁵

Exemptions

Virginia allows a $930 personal exemption for each person on the return, including yourself, your spouse, and your dependents. If you or your spouse is 65 or older, or legally blind, add $800 per qualifying condition.⁶

Standard or Itemized Deductions

For tax year 2025, Virginia’s standard deduction is $8,750 for single filers and $17,500 for married couples filing jointly. The 2025 General Assembly set those amounts, and they apply through tax year 2026; after 2026, the standard deduction is scheduled to drop sharply unless the legislature acts again.⁷⁸ If you itemized federally and your deductions exceed Virginia’s standard amount, itemizing on Form 760 will produce a lower bill. Virginia generally follows your federal Schedule A numbers, so have those ready.

Credits

Credits come off your tax dollar-for-dollar. Two show up often on Form 760. If you’re a Virginia resident who earned income in another state and paid income tax there, the credit for taxes paid to another state offsets Virginia’s tax on that same income so it isn’t taxed twice.⁹ Virginia also offers an Earned Income Tax Credit equal to 20% of your federal EITC, with both a nonrefundable and a refundable component, so filers who owe no Virginia tax can still get money back. You must claim the federal EITC to qualify for the Virginia one.

How to File and Pay

Electronic filing is the fast lane. E-filed returns with refunds typically process in about two weeks; paper returns can take ten weeks or longer.¹⁰ You can e-file through commercial tax software or a tax professional.

If you owe, you can pay directly from a bank account at no charge through Virginia Tax’s online portal. Debit and credit card payments go through, with a third-party service fee. A bounced payment costs $35.¹¹

Paper filers mail to different addresses depending on whether a payment is enclosed:

With tax due: Virginia Department of Taxation, P.O. Box 760, Richmond, VA 23218-0760
Refund or no balance due: Virginia Department of Taxation, P.O. Box 1498, Richmond, VA 23218-1498

Once filed, you can check your refund status with the “Where’s My Refund” tool on the Virginia Tax site using your Social Security number and the exact whole-dollar refund amount.¹²

What It Costs to File or Pay Late

Virginia’s late charges stack, and they stack on the unpaid tax, not on your total income.

Extension penalty: if you file within the six-month extension but still owe more than 10% of your total liability, 2% per month on the unpaid balance, up to 12%.
Late payment penalty: once you file, an additional 6% per month on tax still unpaid, capped at 30%.
Interest: the federal underpayment rate plus 2%, compounding daily from the original due date.

Because everything is calculated on the unpaid balance, filing a return that shows a small balance due is far less costly than skipping the return entirely.¹³

When You Need to Pay Estimated Tax

If a meaningful share of your income isn’t subject to Virginia withholding, such as self-employment earnings, investment income, or rental income, you probably owe quarterly estimated payments. Virginia expects at least 90% of your total liability to be paid in through withholding or estimates by year-end. Farmers, fishermen, and merchant seamen use a lower 66⅔% threshold.¹⁴

Falling short triggers an addition to tax calculated on Form 760C, based on the lesser of 90% of this year’s liability or 100% of last year’s. Self-employed filers often get surprised here: they file their 760 on time, pay the balance, and still see an underpayment charge because the money wasn’t paid in across the year.

Fixing a Return After You File

To correct an error, file a new Form 760 with the amended return oval filled in and the appropriate reason code. Prepare it as you would an original return, using corrected figures throughout, and include documentation for the change.⁸

If the correction follows a federal audit, an amended federal return, or another state’s adjustment, you have one year from the date of that change to amend your Virginia return. When an amendment increases what you owe, interest runs from the original due date through the date you file the correction.

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-341 – Returns of Individuals
2
Virginia Department of Taxation. Who Must File
3
Virginia Department of Taxation. When to File
4
Virginia Department of Taxation. Additions
5
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-322.03 – Virginia Taxable Income; Subtractions
6
Virginia Department of Taxation. Exemptions
7
Virginia Department of Taxation. Deductions
8
Virginia Department of Taxation. 2025 Form 760 Resident Individual Income Tax Instructions
9
Virginia Department of Taxation. Credit for Taxes Paid to Another State
10
Virginia Department of Taxation. Individual Income Tax Electronic Filing FAQs
11
Virginia Department of Taxation. Individual Income Tax Payment Options
12
Virginia Department of Taxation. Where to File (Paper Returns Only)
13
Virginia Department of Taxation. Penalties and Interest for Individuals
14
Virginia Department of Taxation. Individual Estimated Tax Payments