How to File LLC Taxes in Virginia (2026)
Run a single-member LLC in Virginia and you report profit on Schedule C with your Form 760. Multi-member LLCs and LLCs taxed as S-corps both file Form 502 with the Virginia Department of Taxation.
LLCs that elect C-corp status instead pay Virginia's flat 6% corporate tax on Form 500. This page covers the deadlines and rates for each setup, the federal taxes on top and the pass-through entity election that can lower what some owners owe.
Quick Summary
- You'll deal with two agencies. File federal forms with the IRS and file every Virginia form with the Department of Taxation.
- Confirm your current rate before you file. Virginia updates its tax pages each year, so check the Department of Taxation's site for your filing year.
- Don't elect PTET or S-corp status on a guess. Have a CPA model the math, since a bad election can cost more than it saves.
Virginia LLC Tax Summary
The table below shows the federal form, the Virginia form and the filing deadline and rate for each way you can structure your LLC.
| LLC Type | Federal Form | State Form | Filed With | Filing Deadline & Tax Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single-member LLC | Form 1040 Schedule C | Form 760 | Virginia Department of Taxation | May 1: owner's individual rate, 2% to 5.75% |
| Multi-member LLC | Form 1065 | Form 502 | Virginia Department of Taxation | April 15: no entity-level tax unless PTET elected (5.75%) |
| S-Corp election | Form 1120-S | Form 502 | Virginia Department of Taxation | April 15: no entity-level tax unless PTET elected (5.75%) |
| C-Corp election | Form 1120 | Form 500 | Virginia Department of Taxation | April 15: flat 6% corporate rate |
How Virginia LLCs are taxed
Virginia taxes LLCs the same way the IRS does by default. Profit passes through to the owners' personal returns. The LLC itself owes no separate entity-level tax unless you elect corporate treatment or the PTET.
A single-member LLC is a disregarded entity. A multi-member LLC is a partnership. Either one can elect S-corp or C-corp status with the IRS, and Virginia follows that choice by deciding whether you file Form 502 or Form 500.
The hub page on how LLC taxes work at the federal level covers the IRS side in full. You still need to keep a registered agent in Virginia on file with the state.
1. Single-Member LLC: Form 1040 Schedule C
A single-member LLC in Virginia pays no separate entity-level tax. The IRS treats you as a sole proprietor by default.
Business profit and loss flow straight onto Schedule C of your own Form 1040. Virginia taxes that same income on your personal Form 760, due May 1 each year. You don't file a separate Virginia return, unless you've made an election that changes your status.
2. Multi-Member LLC: Form 502
A multi-member LLC is taxed as a partnership by default. The LLC itself files federal Form 1065. It also owes Virginia's Form 502, because every pass-through entity doing business in or receiving income from Virginia has to file one.
Form 502 is due the 15th day of the fourth month after your tax year ends. For calendar-year filers, that's April 15. An automatic six-month extension applies, and you don't need to file anything extra to get it.
Each member then reports their share of the LLC's income on their own Form 760. They pay tax at their individual rate.
3. LLCs Taxed as S-corp: Form 502
Electing S-corp status can lower your tax bill. It usually only pays off once the business earns enough to justify the extra paperwork.
You make the election with the IRS on Form 2553. You then file the federal S-corp return, Form 1120-S, each year.
Virginia treats a federal S-corp as an S-corp automatically, so you still file Form 502. The entity itself pays no Virginia income tax on its profit, and each owner reports their share on their personal Form 760.
4. LLCs Taxed as C-corp: Form 500
An LLC that elects C-corp treatment owes Virginia's corporate income tax on its own return, Form 500, separate from anything its owners pay personally. You make the election with the IRS instead of Virginia, and there's no additional state form for it.
Form 500 follows the same April 15 due date as the federal Form 1120 for calendar-year filers. An automatic seven-month extension pushes that to November 15.
The corporation pays tax on its profit. Owners then pay tax again on dividends. That's why C-corp treatment can mean paying tax twice on the same income.
5. Virginia income tax rate for tax year 2026
An LLC owner who reports business income on a personal return pays Virginia's four-bracket individual rate. The brackets: 2% up to $3,000, 3% up to $5,000, 5% up to $17,000 and 5.75% above that [1].
Federal taxes Virginia LLC owners pay
Virginia taxes stack on top of federal taxes, not instead of them. Most LLC members are self-employed for federal purposes. Income passes through to your personal return, and you owe self-employment tax on top of ordinary income tax.
The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%, covering Social Security and Medicare. Virginia does not add its own self-employment tax on top of it.
If you expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year, you generally need to pay quarterly estimated taxes to both the IRS and Virginia. The due dates are April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 of the following year.
Other Virginia taxes that may apply
Depending on what your Virginia LLC does, you may owe taxes beyond income tax. Two come up most often: taxes tied to having employees and taxes tied to selling taxable goods or services.
Separately, the State Corporation Commission charges its own annual registration fee to keep your LLC in good standing. That fee is not a tax, and it's covered on our page on what it costs to keep an LLC active in Virginia.
1. Virginia state employer taxes
If your Virginia LLC has employees, you withhold Virginia income tax from wages. You also register for unemployment insurance with the Virginia Employment Commission.
VEC sets each employer's base tax rate between 0.1% and 6.2%. That rate applies to the first $8,000 of each employee's wages per year. New employers start at a 2.5% base rate until they build enough history to qualify for a better one.
2. Sales and use tax
Register before your first sale if your LLC sells taxable goods or services. Most of Virginia charges a combined 5.3% sales and use tax rate, with some regions adding a local tax on top and groceries taxed at a reduced 1%.
You can register for Virginia sales tax through your Business Online Services account or Form R-1. Once you do, Virginia issues a 15-digit sales tax account number and a Certificate of Registration to display at your business location.
Virginia pass-through entity tax (PTET) election
Virginia lets a pass-through entity elect to pay a 5.75% tax at the entity level [2], an alternative to pushing all that income onto owners' personal returns.
Owners who benefit get a matching credit on their own Virginia return for the tax the entity already paid. The appeal is the federal limit on how much state and local tax you can deduct on your own return. A tax paid at the entity level instead isn't subject to that limit.
You make the election on your entity's timely filed Form 502PTET, including any extension, for each tax year separately. Because the math depends on each owner's own tax situation, this is a decision to run past a CPA before you elect rather than after.
What is deductible for a Virginia LLC
Ordinary, necessary business expenses reduce what your Virginia LLC owes. Virginia starts from the same taxable income the IRS calculates, then applies its own rates.
Deductible costs typically include business travel and lodging, office rent, vehicle and equipment costs, employee wages and fees paid to accountants or attorneys.
If you're weighing whether to start an LLC in Virginia or you already have one, keep receipts and mileage logs year-round so you're not reconstructing them at filing time.
FAQs
What Is Virginia's Pass-Through Entity Tax Election?
Virginia's pass-through entity tax election is a yearly choice: the entity files Form 502PTET instead of its usual Form 502, timely including any extension, to pay the 5.75% tax itself rather than passing it to owners.
When Are Virginia LLC Tax Returns Due?
Most Virginia LLC returns are due April 15 for calendar-year filers, matching Form 1065, Form 1120, Form 500 and Form 502. Individual owners filing Form 760 have until May 1 instead.
Does Virginia Charge A Separate Self-Employment Tax?
No, Virginia does not charge its own self-employment tax. Only the federal 15.3% self-employment tax applies, covering Social Security and Medicare, and Virginia taxes that same income again only through its regular income tax rates.
References:
1. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title58.1/chapter3/section58.1-320/
2. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title58.1/chapter3/section58.1-390.3/
