Key takeaways
- Virginia Tax assigns monthly or quarterly filing based on liability, so confirm the frequency before building the calendar.
- The Q4 2026 quarterly return and the December 2026 monthly return are both due January 20, 2027.
- Returns are filed on Form ST-1 and must be filed and paid electronically, unless the seller has an approved electronic filing waiver.
- The combined rate depends on the locality: 5.3% where the Department lists everywhere else, 6% in the Central Virginia, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia localities, and the Department's list for 6.3% and 7%.
- Map each invoice to a locality from the Department's rate and locality file, not from the ZIP code.
Which due dates apply to 2026 returns
Virginia Tax determines each seller's filing frequency, either monthly or quarterly, based on the seller's tax liability. The seller does not pick the frequency, so confirm the assigned frequency before building the calendar. The due dates differ by frequency.
A monthly return is due on the 20th day of the month following the close of the filing period. Sales in November 2026 are due December 20, 2026, and sales in December 2026 are due January 20, 2027. The Department's own example is the April return, due May 20. Use tax returns follow the same rule, due on the 20th of the month after the filing period.
A quarterly return is due April 20 for January through March, July 20 for April through June, October 20 for July through September and January 20 for October through December. The Q4 2026 return is due January 20, 2027.
Decision rule for the calendar
If the client is assigned quarterly filing, put four 2026 dates on the calendar: April 20, July 20, October 20 and January 20, 2027. If the client is monthly, put twelve dates on the calendar and make sure the last one, for December 2026 sales, lands on January 20, 2027.
A calendar built from the calendar year stops at December 31, 2026 and misses the last 2026 return, because that return is due in the next calendar year. Put the January 20, 2027 date on the 2026 tax calendar with its period label, not on the 2027 calendar.
Registration and the forms that matter
Registration produces Form ST-4, the Sales Tax Certificate of Registration. Keep a copy in the client file, because every return is tied to that registration.
Returns are filed on Form ST-1, and amended returns also use Form ST-1. A direct pay permit holder also files electronically on Form ST-1, and must allocate the local tax so that no county or city loses any revenue.
If the client holds a direct pay permit, ask for the permit and last year's allocation schedule before the first 2026 return. The schedule should show how the local tax is split by city or county, because the allocation rule exists to stop one locality from losing revenue to another.
Electronic filing and the waiver
Virginia sales tax must be filed and paid electronically. A seller that cannot do that must submit an electronic filing waiver request to Virginia Tax. The waiver is a request the seller submits, and the Department's guidance does not say that the filing obligation is suspended while the request is pending, so do not assume it is.
Ask the client in writing: "Can the business file and pay Virginia sales tax electronically? If not, tell us now so we can submit the electronic filing waiver request well before the due date." The answer decides whether the firm needs the waiver before the first return.
The failure mode is a return filed on paper or a payment sent by check on the due date. Put a check in the close: for each return, record the electronic confirmation and the payment date before the 20th.
The rate stack: state, local and regional
The state sales and use tax is 4.3 percent under Virginia Code section 58.1-603. A city or county may levy a 1% local general retail sales tax under section 58.1-605. Where the Department's list says everywhere else, the combined rate is 5.3%.
The Department's list puts the Central Virginia, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia localities at a combined 6%. Richmond City, Henrico, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax County and Loudoun are on that list at 6%. The 0.7% regional tax under section 58.1-603.1 accounts for the gap between 5.3% and 6%. That section levies the tax in a Planning District that meets its population, vehicle registration and transit ridership criteria.
The list also shows 6.3% for Charlotte County, Danville, Gloucester County, Halifax County, Henry County, Northampton County, Patrick County and Pittsylvania County, and 7% for James City County, Williamsburg and York County. The Department's page does not break those two figures into components, so take them from the list rather than adding up parts yourself.
Worked example for 2026 sales. A taxable sale of $10,000 in Norfolk at 6% carries $600 of tax. The $600 splits into $430 state at 4.3%, $100 local at 1% and $70 regional at 0.7%. The same $10,000 sale in Williamsburg at 7% carries $700 of tax, and in Danville at 6.3% it carries $630 of tax.
Map every sale to a locality
The 1% local tax is credited to the city or county where the sale was made, under section 58.1-605. Because the rate depends on the locality, the locality must be fixed for each invoice. Do not guess it from the ZIP code or the city name in the address.
The Department publishes a downloadable Excel file of sales and use tax rates and locality codes for each city or county. The file name is sales-and-use-tax-rates-by-locality-by-date.xlsx, so read the row that covers the invoice date. A working paper with one row per invoice works: invoice number, locality from the file, combined rate, taxable amount and tax. For example, invoice INV-1042 for a Norfolk sale at 6% on a $10,000 taxable amount gives $600 of tax.
Regional revenue does not stay in the locality. Under section 58.1-638, the Comptroller deposits revenue from Planning District 8 in the fund under section 33.2-2509, Planning District 23 in the fund under section 33.2-2600, and Planning District 15 in the fund under section 33.2-3701. The statute says all payments are made to those funds on the last day of each month. It does not say who remits the tax to the Department, so take the remittance path from the Department's own guidance.
Rate changes to check before 2027 returns
A locality's rate changes only when its ordinance and the Department's rate list both reflect the change. Until the list shows a new rate, keep the current rate for the locality, and check the list again at the start of each filing period. For 2026 returns, use the 2026 rows of the Department's file for every sale dated in 2026, and do not load a 2027 rate into 2026 invoices.
Penalties and interest for late filing or payment
The Department's page says a penalty of 6% per month is added to the tax owed for late filing or late payment, with a maximum of 30% and a minimum of $10. Interest is added at the federal underpayment rate plus 2% and accrues on the tax until it is paid.
Worked example. A $600 tax on a return two months late carries a 6% per month penalty of $72, which is 12% of $600, plus interest until the tax is paid. Quote the penalty as a formula, not a flat figure, because the amount grows each month.
Failure modes and fixes
Wrong frequency. A client set up as monthly who files quarterly, or the reverse, misses a due date. Fix: confirm the assigned frequency in writing at onboarding and again at the start of each calendar year.
One rate for every invoice. A spreadsheet with a single Virginia rate under-collects in every locality that sits above 5.3%. Fix: add a locality column to the invoice export and look up each row in the Department's file.
Late payment on the due date. A payment sent after the 20th starts the 6% per month penalty clock. Fix: schedule the electronic payment at least one business day before the 20th, and record the confirmation in the close.