Updated July 2026 · 8 min read
Part of the Travel Nurse Tax Hub — browse every related guide in one place.
Virginia is a clean state to work in as a traveler once you understand one quirk: the tax brackets are technically progressive, but the top 5.75% rate kicks in so early that almost every full-time nurse pays it on most of their income. There's no separate city income tax anywhere in the Commonwealth, the non-resident return is straightforward, and if your tax home is in DC, Maryland, or one of three other jurisdictions, reciprocity may let you skip Virginia state tax entirely.
Virginia's individual income tax has four brackets that haven't moved in decades: 2% on the first $3,000, 3% to $5,000, 5% to $17,000, and 5.75% on everything above $17,000. Because $17,000 is a very low ceiling, virtually any full-time travel nurse blows past it in the first couple of months and pays 5.75% on the overwhelming majority of their assignment wages. Functionally you can budget Virginia as a ~5.75% flat state and be close to right.
| Taxable income | Marginal rate |
|---|---|
| First $3,000 | 2% |
| $3,001–$5,000 | 3% |
| $5,001–$17,000 | 5% |
| Over $17,000 | 5.75% |
That puts Virginia squarely in "moderate" territory — more than flat-2.5% Arizona, comparable to Georgia, and well below California or Oregon. You file Form 763 as a non-resident (or 760PY if you were a part-year resident), reporting the Virginia-source wages, and the tax applies only to what you earned in the Commonwealth if your tax home is elsewhere.
This is Virginia's quiet advantage. Unlike Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Maryland, no Virginia city or county levies a local income tax on wages. Whether your contract is in Richmond, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Charlottesville, or the Northern Virginia suburbs, there's exactly one income-tax layer to worry about: the state. Localities fund themselves through property and other taxes, not a paycheck income tax. For a traveler, that means the number you see for the state rate is the whole income-tax story — no RITA/CCA-style surprise, no separate municipal return.
Virginia has wage reciprocity with five jurisdictions: the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky. If you are a legal resident of one of those and you work in Virginia, your wages are taxed by your home jurisdiction rather than Virginia. You file Form VA-4 (with the reciprocity election) to stop Virginia withholding and pay only your resident state or DC.
This is especially relevant in the DC/Maryland/Virginia (DMV) metro, where a nurse might live in Maryland or the District and cross into Northern Virginia hospitals daily. With reciprocity, that commuter simply pays their home jurisdiction's tax and skips the Virginia return on those wages. Note the usual limit: reciprocity applies to wages/salary, not other income, and you must actually be a resident of the reciprocal jurisdiction — not merely housed there on assignment. A traveler whose true tax home is, say, Texas gets no reciprocity benefit; they just file the Virginia non-resident return and pay the 5.75%.
As everywhere, your lodging and meal stipends are tax-free reimbursements only while you work away from a legitimate tax home. Virginia doesn't change the federal test — but the state does actively assess residency, so keep the standard proof in order: a permanent home you pay for and return to, duplicated living expenses, a home-state driver's license and vehicle registration, voter registration back home, and no single Virginia metro stacked long enough (roughly a year in one area) to look like a relocation. If the tax home fails, the stipends become taxable wages and Virginia will tax them at 5.75% along with the federal hit. The tax-home guide and the cover the documentation in detail.
Virginia is a middle-of-the-pack tax state made friendlier by its total lack of local income tax and its useful DMV-area reciprocity. Budget ~5.75% on your assignment wages, file one clean non-resident return (or claim reciprocity if you qualify), and put your energy into defending the tax home. It's not a zero-tax haven like Texas or Florida, but it's simpler and more predictable than most of its Mid-Atlantic and Midwest neighbors.
Related: Defending your tax home · Ohio travel taxes · Pennsylvania travel taxes
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