Bonus Tax Calculator — Virginia (2026)
Bonuses in Virginia are taxed as supplemental wages: the employer usually withholds a flat 22% federal, plus 7.65% FICA and Virginia state withholding. Withholding is not the final tax; the true cost is settled on your return. Enter your bonus to see both. Virginia uses a progressive income tax with 4 brackets running from 2.00% up to 5.75%, applied after a state standard deduction of $8,500.
Virginia Bonus Tax Calculator
The gross bonus before withholding.
Percentage method vs aggregate method
Under the percentage method the bonus is separated from regular pay and hit with the flat 22% federal rate (37% above $1 million of supplemental wages in a year). Under the aggregate method the employer combines the bonus with your normal check and withholds at your marginal rate — which can temporarily withhold far more than 22%.
Either way the bonus is ordinary income. If your marginal federal bracket is 24% or higher, the 22% flat withholding leaves you short at filing time; if you are in the 12% bracket, you are over-withheld and get it back as a refund.
The Virginia layer on bonuses
Virginia taxes bonus income at the same progressive brackets as salary — up to 5.75%. A $10,000 bonus therefore carries roughly $575 of Virginia tax at the top rate, on top of federal and FICA.
Virginia has no separate city or county income tax, so the state figure above is the full sub-federal income tax you pay.
Reducing the tax on a Virginia Beach bonus
Deferring part of the bonus into a 401(k) or HSA cuts federal and Virginia income tax immediately, though FICA still applies. Some employers allow a separate bonus deferral election — ask payroll before the payment date, not after.
Timing matters too: pushing a bonus into January shifts the tax year, useful if this year included unusually high income from defense work or an equity event.
Local and payroll taxes Virginia adds on top
Virginia adds no state-mandated employee payroll deduction beyond FICA, so nothing extra is taken from your gross pay at the state level.
Virginia has no separate city or county income tax, so the state figure above is the full sub-federal income tax you pay.
Bonuses are wages, so every local layer that applies to your regular Virginia paycheck applies to the bonus too — which is why a supplemental payment often nets a smaller share than your salary does.
Working across a state line from Virginia
Virginia holds income-tax reciprocity agreements with District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. If you commute between them, your wages are taxed only by your state of residence — file the exemption certificate with your employer so the wrong state is not withheld from every paycheck.
Remote and hybrid work complicates this further: most states tax income where the work is physically performed, so a Virginia Beach resident spending part of the year at a client site in North Carolina may owe a nonresident return there. Keep a day-count log if you split time between states.
The rest of your Virginia tax bill
Virginia charges a 5.3% state sales tax, homeowners pay an average effective property tax of 0.87% of market value, and the minimum wage in force during 2026 is $12.77 an hour.
Combined rates reach 7% in Historic Triangle localities.
Income tax is only one part of a state's take. Virginia recovers revenue through sales and property tax as well, which is why headline income tax rates alone are a poor guide to how far a salary really goes. Virginia exempts Social Security and allows an age deduction up to $12,000 for filers 65+ subject to income limits.
Virginia vs North Carolina on the same salary
On a $75,000 salary, a single filer keeps about $58,026 a year in Virginia against roughly $58,791 in North Carolina — a difference of $765, or $64 a month.
Effective combined rates are 22.6% in Virginia and 21.6% in North Carolina. Set that gap against living costs: index 102 here versus 96 there, with property tax at 0.87% and 0.8% respectively.
Virginia income tax brackets 2026 (single filer)
| Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|
| $0 – $3,000 | 2.00% |
| $3,000 – $5,000 | 3.00% |
| $5,000 – $17,000 | 5.00% |
| $17,000 and up | 5.75% |