Before you start

An SSN or ITIN
Form W-4 with your employer for federal withholding, and Form VA-4 for Virginia
Records of foreign income and foreign financial accounts
A list of every vehicle you own, for the Commissioner of the Revenue

Step-by-step

1
Complete the W-4 and VA-4 on day one
Virginia has its own withholding certificate alongside the federal W-4. Because the top rate begins so low, most people are effectively withheld at 5.75% from the start and the calculation is simple.
Via employerWho: YouFirst week of employment
2
Register your vehicles with the Commissioner of the Revenue
Norfolk assesses personal property annually using J.D. Power values. This is a city process separate from DMV registration, and the bill arrives for 5 June. If your car is above the published mileage band for its year, claim the high-mileage adjustment by sending in your state safety inspection certificate.
In personWho: You
3
Determine your US tax residency
The substantial presence test counts weighted days over three years to decide whether the US taxes your worldwide income or only US-source income. Your visa category does not decide this.
OnlineWho: You
4
Check for an applicable tax treaty
The US has treaties with around 70 countries that can reduce or exempt tax on particular income. Virginia begins from federal adjusted gross income, so a federal treaty exclusion generally carries through to the state return.
OnlineWho: You
5
File the federal return by 15 April and the Virginia return by 1 May
The two deadlines are genuinely different and people miss the second by assuming they are the same. Virginia allows an automatic six-month extension to file, and there are special rules for service members: stationed outside the US or Puerto Rico on 1 May gives you until 1 July.
OnlineWho: You15 April federal, 1 May Virginia
6
File an FBAR if foreign accounts exceed $10,000
Aggregate foreign account balances over $10,000 at any point in the year trigger a FinCEN filing, separate from and additional to your tax return.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Form W-2 from each employer, issued by 31 January
Form 1099s for freelance, interest and investment income
Passport and travel history for the substantial presence day count
Vehicle details and state inspection certificate for the personal property assessment
Foreign account statements for FBAR reporting

Things most newcomers don’t know

Virginia's 'progressive' income tax is functionally flat.

The Code of Virginia sets 2% on the first $3,000, 3% to $5,000, 5% to $17,000 and 5.75% above that — and the $17,000 threshold has been unchanged since taxable years beginning on and after 1 January 1990. Nearly every full-time earner is above it, so plan around 5.75% rather than a marginal-rate calculation.

Source: Code of Virginia § 58.1-320

No Virginia locality may levy an income tax.

Unlike Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Maryland or New York City, Virginia cities and counties have no income tax power at all. For anyone comparing Norfolk against a Kentucky or Ohio metro, that removes an entire layer of local wage tax — but Virginia collects instead through the annual tax on your car.

Source: Virginia Tax — individual income tax filing

The Virginia deadline is 1 May, not 15 April.

It is a genuinely different date from the federal return and it catches people every year. Virginia allows an automatic six-month extension to file. There are also service-specific rules that matter in a Navy town: stationed outside the United States or Puerto Rico on 1 May extends the deadline to 1 July, and combat-zone service gets the federal extensions plus fifteen days.

Source: Virginia Tax — when to file

Hampton Roads pays 6% sales tax, not the 5.3% statewide base.

Virginia's base rate is 5.3%, but Hampton Roads, Central Virginia and Northern Virginia all add a regional increment to reach 6% — and James City County, Williamsburg and York County reach 7%. Groceries and personal hygiene items are 1% everywhere in the state, which is one of the more generous grocery exemptions in the country.

Source: Virginia Tax — retail sales and use tax

Common mistakes to avoid

Filing the Virginia return on 15 April's schedule and missing 1 May.
Assuming a low bottom rate means a low effective rate — 5.75% starts at $17,000.
Forgetting the annual personal property tax on vehicles when budgeting.
Not claiming the high-mileage adjustment on an older, well-used car.
Missing the FBAR because a home-country account did not feel 'foreign'.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.