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Does Virginia tax Social Security and retirement income?

By Nicolas Straut
Published 3 min read

Key takeaways

  • Virginia law exempts Social Security and Tier 1 railroad benefits from state tax.1
  • At 65, each spouse can deduct up to $12,000, until income other than Social Security passes $75,000 for a couple.
  • Pensions and IRA withdrawals are otherwise taxed on a graduated schedule, 2% on the first $3,000 of taxable income, rising to 5.75% over $17,000.
In this article

No, Virginia doesn't tax Social Security. It does tax pensions and IRA withdrawals, because anything taxable on your federal return is taxable in Virginia, and then gives you an age deduction at 65.

That deduction is income-tested, so the same pension can be lightly taxed for one couple and fully taxed for a neighbor with a bigger IRA.

Virginia treatment of each retirement income source

Scroll horizontally to see more columns.
How Virginia taxes Social Security, pensions and IRA withdrawals in 2026
IncomeIn VirginiaThe rule
Social SecurityNot taxedVirginia exempts Social Security. You subtract any benefits your federal return taxed.1
PensionsTaxedVirginia taxes pensions as ordinary income, because income taxable on your federal return is taxable in Virginia.2
IRA and 401(k) withdrawalsTaxedVirginia taxes traditional IRA and 401(k) withdrawals as ordinary income.2
Income tax rateGraduated2% on the first $3,000 of taxable income, rising to 5.75% over $17,0003

Who gets the Virginia age deduction, and how much

The deduction shrinks by $1 for each $1 of adjusted income over $50,000 single or $75,000 married. Social Security is taken out of that income first, which helps couples living mostly on benefits.

The age deduction at 65

You can deduct up to $12,000 each at 65 or older. The deduction drops $1 for every $1 your adjusted federal AGI is over $50,000 single or $75,000 married, and Social Security is left out of that income.1

Born on or before January 1, 1939

If you were born on or before January 1, 1939, you get the full $12,000 whatever your income.2

Exemptions for age

Virginia allows a $930 exemption per person and another $800 for each person who is 65 or older.4

What a couple aged 66 and 63 with a $25,000 pension pays Virginia

Take a couple aged 66 and 63 with $45,000 of IRA withdrawals and a $25,000 pension. Only the older spouse qualifies for the age deduction this year, and their Virginia tax is $1,918.

Scroll horizontally to see more columns.
Virginia income tax for 2026, step by step
StepAmount
Social SecurityNot taxed
IRA withdrawals and pension$70,000
Retirement exclusion or subtraction−$12,000
Standard deduction5−$17,500
Personal and age exemptions4−$2,660
Taxable income$37,840
Virginia tax owed$1,918

Once the younger spouse reaches 65, a second $12,000 deduction arrives, as long as their income stays under the limit. Our sample couple, both 67, already has both deductions and pays $622.

How Virginia stacks up for the same couple

Three states with a different mix of exclusions and rates, for our married sample couple.

Scroll horizontally to see more columns.
State income tax on the same retired couple in 2026
StateState tax on the sample couple
Virginia$622
New York$154
Ohio$897
Michigan$0
Every state we cover

Virginia figures to confirm for 2026

  • Whether Virginia's standard deduction changes for 2026, since the Department of Taxation page shows no tax year.

Keep income under the Virginia age deduction limit

Holding non-Social Security income under $75,000 keeps both age deductions whole. The Tweed Retirement Withdrawal Plan shows the yearly withdrawal that stays under a target, and the free Tweed Retirement Calculator handles the longer view.

A Roth conversion counts toward that income limit too. Spreading conversions across years keeps each one from shrinking your Virginia age deduction.

Benefits don't count toward that Virginia limit, so the age you file won't cost you the deduction, and the Tweed Social Security claiming plan shows what each filing age pays.

This year is free

Find the Virginia withdrawal that keeps your age deduction

Open the Tweed Retirement Withdrawal Plan

Virginia retirement tax questions

Does Virginia tax Roth IRA withdrawals?

Usually not. Virginia Tax says Roth IRA distributions are usually not taxed, because the contributions were already taxed when you made them.

Does Virginia tax Tier 2 railroad retirement benefits?

Yes. Virginia exempts Tier 1 railroad retirement along with Social Security, but Tier 2 benefits are not part of that subtraction.

Sources

  1. https://www.tax.virginia.gov/subtractions
  2. https://tax.virginia.gov/news/virginia-taxes-and-your-retirement
  3. https://www.tax.virginia.gov/sites/default/files/2016-12/TAXTABLE.pdf
  4. https://www.tax.virginia.gov/exemptions
  5. https://tax.virginia.gov/deductions

This page covers Virginia state income tax on retirement income for full-year residents in 2026. The households are illustrations, not your return.

Tweed provides educational information, not tax or financial advice. Nicolas Straut is a personal finance writer, not a financial advisor or tax preparer.

Nicolas Straut
Nicolas Straut

Personal finance writer, former Forbes contributor and This Week in Fintech writer. He isn't a financial advisor or a CPA.

nicstraut.com

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