Virginia Tax Residence

Summary

Virginia treats you as a resident for income tax if you live in Virginia, or maintain a place of abode there, for more than 183 days of the tax year in total. Virginia calls this an actual resident. It does not matter that your permanent home in law is in another state. A resident is taxed on income from all sources. The rule is in section 58.1-302 of the Code of Virginia and is applied by the Virginia Department of Taxation, which says the days do not need to be in a row.

Limit

183 days. Day 184 is the first day over the limit

Period

The tax year, for most people 1 January to 31 December

What is counted

Days you live in Virginia or keep a place of abode there

Days in a row

Not needed. All days in the year are added together

Law

Code of Virginia 58.1-302, regulation 23VAC10-110-30

Run by

Virginia Department of Taxation

Who it applies to

• People who work in Washington, D.C. and live in Northern Virginia while keeping a legal home in another state.
• Staff of members of Congress who rent in Arlington or Alexandria.
• Contractors and consultants on long projects in Virginia.
• People who rent a flat in Virginia for most of a year but travel a lot.

The rule

Section 58.1-302 defines 'resident' in two ways. The first is every person domiciled in Virginia at any time during the taxable year. The statute defines domicile as the permanent place of residence of a person and the place to which he or she intends to return, even though the person may actually live elsewhere. The second is every other person who, for an aggregate of more than 183 days of the taxable year, maintained his or her place of abode within Virginia, whether domiciled in Virginia or not.

The regulation 23VAC10-110-30 gives the two groups names. A domiciliary resident is a person whose legal domicile is Virginia. An actual resident is a person who maintains a place of abode in Virginia for more than 183 days in the aggregate during the taxable year, even if the legal domicile is in another state. The Department of Taxation explains the second group as a person who lives in Virginia, or maintains a place of abode here, for more than 183 days during the year, and says the period does not have to be consecutive days.

Notice what the statute counts. Many states count days of presence together with a home. The Virginia statute counts the time for which you maintained your place of abode in Virginia. Neither the statute nor the regulation defines 'place of abode', and neither says how a part of a day is counted.

For domicile, the statute lists what may be considered: your stated intent, your conduct, and all the circumstances, among them work, sources of income, where your spouse and children live, leases, property, vehicle registration and voter registration. Under the regulation, a person who claims to have given up a Virginia domicile must prove it, and when a person leaves Virginia and comes back within six months, that return is taken as evidence that the person never intended to give it up.

Why it exists

Northern Virginia is home to very many people who work for the federal government or near it and who keep a legal home in the state they came from. If only domicile counted, a large part of the people who live in Virginia all year would pay it tax only on local wages. The actual resident rule lets Virginia tax the people who really live there for most of the year, whatever state they call home.

Counting the days

You count the days of the tax year on which you lived in Virginia. The law gives no rule for part days, so the careful way is to count every calendar day with any time in the state. Separately, count the days on which you kept a place of abode in Virginia.

1. Take the tax year. For most people this is 1 January to 31 December.
2. Mark every calendar day on which you were in Virginia, including arrival and departure days.
3. Add the days of all periods. They do not need to be in a row.
4. Compare with 183. At 184 days or more you are over the limit.
5. Make a second count: the number of days in the year on which you maintained a place of abode in Virginia, such as the days of a lease. If this is more than 183, the statute's wording is also met.
6. Keep leases, travel records and work records that show both counts.

Examples

An aide who rents in Alexandria

Nina is domiciled in Montana and works for a member of Congress. She rents a flat in Alexandria all year and is in Virginia on 300 days in 2026. She has lived in Virginia and kept her place of abode there for more than 183 days, so she is an actual resident of Virginia for 2026 and is taxed on all her income. The member she works for is treated differently: a member of Congress who is domiciled in another state is not a Virginia resident.

Four months in a Richmond hotel

Raj is domiciled in Georgia. His firm sends him to a project in Richmond from 2 March to 30 June 2026, and he stays in a hotel that the firm pays for. That is 121 days. He is far under 183 days, so he is not an actual resident. Virginia can still tax the pay he earns for work done in Virginia as nonresident income.

A seven-month lease, 90 days there

Julia is domiciled in Florida. She leases a flat in Virginia Beach from 1 March to 30 September 2026, which is 214 days, but she travels for work and is in Virginia on only 90 of them. Her days of presence are under 183. But the statute asks for how long she maintained her place of abode in Virginia, and that is 214 days. Countr shows 90 days and no warning. Julia should not rely on that number alone and should get advice on her status.

Exceptions

• A member of the United States Congress who is domiciled in another state is not a Virginia resident. This is written in the statute. It does not cover staff: the regulation says aides who live in Virginia for more than 183 days are actual residents.
• Members of the armed forces who are legally domiciled in another state are not actual residents because of being stationed in Virginia, under the regulation and federal law.
• For spouses of service members, the Department says the couple may use the residence or domicile of the service member, that of the spouse, or the service member's permanent duty station.
• A person who establishes or gives up Virginia as the state of legal residence during the year is a part-year resident.
• Virginia has reciprocity agreements with Kentucky, Maryland, the District of Columbia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Residents of these places who meet the conditions may not need to file a Virginia return for wages earned in Virginia.

Common misconceptions

“My legal home is in Texas, so Virginia cannot tax me as a resident.”

The actual resident rule applies 'whether domiciled in Virginia or not'. More than 183 days of living in Virginia makes you a resident for that year even with a domicile elsewhere.

“Only days I sleep in Virginia matter.”

The statute speaks of maintaining a place of abode in Virginia for more than 183 days. A home you keep there can count on days when you are away.

“Everyone who works on Capitol Hill is exempt.”

Only members of Congress domiciled in another state are outside the definition. Their staff are actual residents if they live in Virginia for more than 183 days.

“The 183 days must be one continuous period.”

The statute says 'an aggregate', and the Department says the period of residency does not have to be consecutive days.

Questions and answers

Does the day I move into Virginia count?

The law does not define how part days are counted. A careful count includes the day you arrive and the day you leave, and Countr counts any part of a day as a day.

What happens if I live in Virginia for 184 days?

You are an actual resident for that tax year. Virginia taxes residents on income from all sources. Your home state may also tax you, and a credit for tax paid to another state normally reduces the double tax.

I live in Maryland and work in Virginia every day. Am I a Virginia resident?

Not for that reason. You do not live in Virginia or keep a place of abode there, and Maryland is one of the places with a reciprocity agreement, so your wages are taxed by your home state if you meet the conditions.

Can I be a resident of Virginia and of another state in the same year?

Yes. You can be domiciled in one state and an actual resident of Virginia. Each state applies its own test. Credits for tax paid to the other state are the usual answer to double tax.

Does a short trip out of Virginia reset the count?

No. The count is a total for the tax year. Days before and after a trip are added together. Only a new tax year sets the count back to zero.

I left Virginia for a job and came back after four months. Did I stop being a resident?

Probably not. Under the regulation, when a person moves out of Virginia and returns within six months, the return is taken as evidence that the person never intended to give up the Virginia domicile. The Department decides on the facts.

Sources

• Code of Virginia, section 58.1-302, Definitions (resident, domicile)
• Virginia Administrative Code, 23VAC10-110-30, Definitions (actual and domiciliary resident)
• Virginia Department of Taxation, Residency Status

Read more: The 183-day rule: what it means and what it does not.

Other rules for United States

• Arizona Tax Residence 273 days in each calendar year
• California Tax — Visitors 181 days in each calendar year
• California Tax Residence 273 days in each calendar year
• Connecticut Tax — 30 Days or Fewer 30 days in each calendar year
• Connecticut Tax Residence 183 days in each calendar year
• Delaware Tax Residence 183 days in each calendar year
• Hawaii Tax Residence 200 days in each calendar year
• Idaho Tax Residence 270 days in each calendar year

See all trackers

This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.