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Structured Installment Sale Resource Center
For sellers and the professionals beside them
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Virginia

Reviewed July 2026
Follows federal §453
Yes
Top marginal rate
5.75%
Capital gains
5.75%
Withholding
No
PTE election
Yes
Residency-change trap
Low
Reading level

Federal §453 conformity

Yes — Virginia starts from the federal return and taxes installment gain as payments arrive at a 5.75% top rate reached quickly, with no capital gains preference (narrow subtractions for certain qualified technology-business investments aside). The gain component and the note's interest are both ordinary Virginia income in the year received.

Nonresident sourcing

Gain from Virginia real estate or a business operating in Virginia is Virginia income for sellers anywhere, and the payments keep that character; intangible gain generally follows the seller home.

Withholding

Virginia imposes no closing-table withholding on nonresident real estate sellers. Pass-throughs withhold on nonresident owners' Virginia income each recognition year unless the PTE election or an exemption covers it.

Selling, then moving (residency change)

Virginia-source gain stays taxable here after a move; other gain travels with the seller, and no rule accelerates deferred gain at the border.

Pass-through entity (PTE) tax election

Virginia's own PTE election was made permanent by 2026 legislation — good news standing alone. The trap arrived with it: as of January 1, 2026, Virginia residents can no longer claim a credit for pass-through entity taxes paid to other states. A Virginia resident selling a multistate business through an entity that elects PTET in other states now faces genuine double taxation on that income — the other state taxes the entity, and Virginia taxes the resident with no offset. For Virginia-resident sellers, every other-state PTET election on the payment stream needs re-examination.

Estate and IRD

Virginia has no estate or inheritance tax. At death the federal rules apply — heirs pay income tax as payments arrive — with no state layer.

Planning notes

Virginia's list has one item in bold: audit every state-level election touching the payment stream, because other states' entity-level taxes no longer offset the Virginia bill. Where the entity can cover nonresident owners through individual-level filings instead, that path preserves the credit. Everything else here is standard conforming-state work.

Key trap
Other states' PTET payments stopped counting in 2026

Virginia residents can no longer credit pass-through entity taxes paid to other states — while Virginia's own PTET is now permanent. A multistate seller's entity electing PTET elsewhere creates real double taxation for its Virginia owners. Re-run every state election on the payment stream, and prefer owner-level filings in source states where the choice exists.

Educational information, current as of the July 2026 review. State law changes; confirm treatment with a qualified advisor before structuring a transaction.

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