Virginia Withholding Calculator

Virginia State Income Tax Withholding Calculator

Use this calculator to estimate your Virginia state income tax withholding per pay period. This can help you adjust your VA-4 form to ensure you're withholding the correct amount throughout the year, avoiding a large tax bill or a significant refund at tax time.

Gross Paycheck Amount ($): Pay Period Frequency: Weekly (52 pay periods) Bi-Weekly (26 pay periods) Semi-Monthly (24 pay periods) Monthly (12 pay periods) Filing Status: Single Married Filing Jointly Married Filing Separately Number of Withholding Allowances (from VA-4): Additional Withholding per Pay Period ($):

Understanding Virginia Withholding

Virginia state income tax withholding is the amount of state income tax your employer deducts from your paycheck and sends to the Virginia Department of Taxation on your behalf. This process helps ensure that you pay your income tax liability gradually throughout the year, rather than owing a large sum when you file your annual tax return.

Why is it Important to Calculate Your Withholding?

Proper withholding is crucial for several reasons:

Avoid Underpayment Penalties: If you don't withhold enough throughout the year, you might owe a significant amount at tax time and could face penalties for underpayment.
Prevent Over-Withholding: Withholding too much means you're giving the state an interest-free loan. While you'll get a refund, that money could have been earning interest or used for other financial goals throughout the year.
Budgeting: Knowing your approximate take-home pay helps with personal financial planning and budgeting.

How the VA-4 Form Works

When you start a new job or want to adjust your withholding, you'll typically fill out a Form VA-4, Employee's Virginia Income Tax Withholding Exemption Certificate. On this form, you declare your filing status and the number of withholding allowances you're claiming. Each allowance reduces the amount of income subject to state tax withholding. You can also specify an additional amount to be withheld if you anticipate owing more tax.

Key Inputs for the Calculator

Gross Paycheck Amount: Your total earnings before any deductions for a single pay period.
Pay Period Frequency: How often you get paid (e.g., weekly, bi-weekly, monthly). This helps annualize your income.
Filing Status: Your tax filing status (Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately). This impacts your standard deduction.
Number of Withholding Allowances: The number of allowances you claim on your VA-4 form. Each allowance reduces your taxable income for withholding purposes.
Additional Withholding: Any extra amount you wish to have withheld from each paycheck, as specified on your VA-4.

How the Calculation Works (Simplified)

Our calculator estimates your Virginia withholding by:

Annualizing your gross pay based on your pay frequency.
Subtracting your standard deduction (based on filing status) and the total value of your claimed allowances from your annualized gross pay to determine your estimated annual taxable income.
Applying the current Virginia state income tax brackets to calculate your estimated annual tax liability.
Dividing the annual tax liability by the number of pay periods to get the per-period withholding, then adding any additional withholding you specified.

Example Calculation

Let's say you have the following details:

Gross Paycheck Amount: $2,500
Pay Period Frequency: Bi-Weekly (26 pay periods per year)
Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly
Number of Withholding Allowances: 2
Additional Withholding: $0

Using these inputs, the calculator would perform the following steps (using 2023 tax values):

Annual Gross Pay: $2,500 * 26 = $65,000
Total Allowances Value: 2 allowances * $930/allowance = $1,860
Standard Deduction (MFJ): $17,000
Annual Taxable Income: $65,000 (Annual Gross Pay) – $17,000 (Standard Deduction) – $1,860 (Allowances) = $46,140
Annual Tax Liability (VA 2023 Brackets):
- 2.0% on first $3,000 = $60
- 3.0% on next $2,000 = $60
- 5.0% on next $12,000 = $600
- 5.75% on remaining ($46,140 – $17,000) = $29,140 * 0.0575 = $1,675.05
- Total Annual Tax: $60 + $60 + $600 + $1,675.05 = $2,395.05
Estimated Per-Period Withholding: $2,395.05 / 26 pay periods = $92.12

Therefore, your estimated Virginia withholding per bi-weekly paycheck would be approximately $92.12.

Disclaimer

This calculator provides an estimate based on the information you provide and current Virginia tax laws (typically the most recently published withholding tables, often reflecting the prior year's tax law until new tables are released). It does not account for all possible deductions, credits, or unique tax situations. Tax laws can change, and individual circumstances vary. For personalized tax advice, please consult a qualified tax professional or the Virginia Department of Taxation.

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Estimated Virginia Withholding:

" + "Based on your inputs, your estimated Virginia state income tax withholding per pay period is: $" + estimatedPerPeriodWithholding.toFixed(2) + "" + "This estimate is for the " + new Date().getFullYear() + " tax year (using 2023 tax law values for calculation) and does not account for all possible deductions, credits, or changes in tax law. Consult a tax professional for personalized advice."; } // Run calculation on page load with default values window.onload = calculateVAWithholding;