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Federal legislation signed into law on November 11, 2009, the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act, affects Virginia income tax filing requirements for certain spouses of military personnel stationed in Virginia. The new law, which is effective immediately, eliminates the need for withholding Virginia income tax from the wages and salaries of spouses who moved to Virginia solely to be with a servicemember stationed here on military orders, and who have not taken any other action to make Virginia their home (or domicile) state . For details, see Tax Bulletin 09- 10, and the revised Employee Withholding Exemption Certificate, Form VA-4. Check back for updates, or sign up for e-Subscriptions to receive e-mail notifications of new information.
Tax relief is just a click away at GetSquareVA.com. Pay the tax due plus one-half the interest on eligible Virginia tax assessments and delinquent returns, and we will waive the remaining interest and any penalties. The amnesty program runs from October 7, 2009 through December 5, 2009. Find out how to Get Square today!
Sign up today for our new e-Subscriptions service and we will send you customized e-mails about tax changes that may affect you or the the way you do business, while also receiving important filing reminders and updates. And don't worry -- you can unsubscribe at any time!
VATAX offers new Live Chat service to allow taxpayers to communicate on-line in real time with the department’s Tax representatives. Taxpayers can ask general tax questions or specific questions about their accounts. Live Chat is available from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. week days, and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Transcripts of on-line conversations are available to print out.
Effective July 1, 2009, businesses that provide lodging facilities in Virginia may be subject to collect the Digital Media Fee. The fee applies to digital media offered via an in-room television for a separate charge, and is imposed at the rate of 10% of the cost of the rental or sale of such media. A mailer with detailed information and registration instructions was sent to affected businesses on June 1. For for details about the fee, refer to Virginia Tax Bulletin 09-5, or visit the Digital Media Fee page.
Beginning with the month of July 2009, dealers who file a consolidated sales and use tax return on Form ST-9CO will use the newly revised Form ST-9B, Virginia Schedule of Local Taxes, in place of the previous version of the schedule. The new Form ST-9B contains additional columns that will supply data to facilitate revenue distributions to Virginia localities, as well streamline the reporting of exempt sales and other deduction. The new Form ST-9B will be included in the Form ST-9CO packets that will be mailed to affected dealers for the month of July 2009. The first returns using the new schedule will be due on August 20, 2009.
House Bill 1779 (Chapter 338) expands the Retail Sales and Use Tax exemption for occasional sales by authorizing nonprofit entities that are eligible to apply for a nonprofit entity exemption from taxation on their purchases of tangible personal property pursuant to Va. Code § 58.1-609.11, to make exempt sales of: 1) food, prepared food, and meals; and 2) tickets to events that include the provision of food, prepared food, and meals, provided such sales take place on fewer than 24 occasions in a calendar year. This act constitutes an expansion of the TAX’s definition of occasional sales, which is generally limited to sales made on three or fewer occasions per year. For details, refer to Tax Bulletin 09-8.
Taxpayers now have the option of filing and paying withholding tax (Forms VA-5, VA-6, VA-15, and VA-16) and sales tax (Forms ST-6B, ST-8, ST-9, and ST-9B) online for free through Web Upload. Tax practitioners will also want to take advantage of bulk filing and paying mutilple tax returns at one time.
Annual Filing Option for Household Employers (Nanny Tax)
Effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2009, employers of household service employees may elect to file and pay the Virginia income tax withheld from their employees’ salaries on an annual basis, at the same time they submit the employees’ Forms W-2 for the year. In order to qualify for the annual filing, an employer must have a total payroll in each calendar quarter that does not exceed $5,000, regardless of the number of persons providing the domestic service. The employment must consist exclusively of domestic service in the private home of the employer as defined in the Federal Employment Tax Regulations. The first annual return and payment will be due on February 28, 2010. Beginning January 5, 2009, employers may register for the new filing option by using iReg online, or by using Form R-1H. For details, refer to Tax Bulletin 08-12.
Legislation enacted by the 2008 General Assembly, House Bill 1398, extends the current tire tax rate of $1.00 per tire through June 30, 2011. The rate was previously scheduled to revert to $0.50 on July 1, 2008. Revised T-1(PDF 20Kb) and T-1A(PDF 20Kb) are currently available.
May 25-31, 2009: -- Hurricane Preparedness Equipment. During this seven-day period, purchases of items designated by the Department of Taxation as hurricane preparedness equipment, including portable generators, will be exempt from the Virginia sales tax. Portable generators must be priced at $1,000 or less, and other eligible items must be priced at $60 or less for each item.
August 7-9, 2009: -- School Supplies and Clothing. During this three-day period, purchases of certain school supplies, clothing and footwear will be exempt from the Virginia sales tax. Each eligible school supply item must be priced at $20 or less, and each eligible article of clothing and footwear must be priced at $100 or less.
October 9-12, 2009: -- Energy Star and WaterSense Qualified Products. During this four-day holiday, purchases of products meeting the Energy Star and WaterSense qualifications, such as certain energy-efficient appliances, will be exempt from the Virginia sales tax. Eligible products must be priced at $2,500 or less for each item, and be purchased for noncommercial home or personal use.
In addition, dealers may choose to absorb the sales and use tax on nonqualifying items sold during any of the holiday periods described above.
For additional information, visit our Sales Tax Holiday Information Center.
Legislation passed by the 2007 General Assembly requires pass-through entities to withhold Virginia income tax on behalf of their nonresident owners effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2008. For details on this requirement, see the Guidelines for Pass-Through Entity Withholding and the Instructions for Form 502. To make a payment, download Form 502-W or Form 502-V.
Since 1972, Virginia has conformed to federal income tax law. Whenever federal income tax law changed, the changes automatically affected Virginia income taxes, unless otherwise exempt. Beginning with the 2002 session of the Virginia General Assembly, Virginia's conformity to federal tax laws has been frozen as of a date specified by legislation enacted in each year's session. Under emergency legislation passed by the 2009 General Assembly and signed by Governor Kaine, Virginia's fixed date of conformity has been advanced to December 31, 2008. The special 30% bonus depreciation and the 5-year net operating loss carryback enacted by the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 are not included in this change. Please see the fixed date conformity Tax Bulletin 09-1 for further information.
Electronic filing options for corporation income tax returns (Form 500) will be implemented in summer 2009. In preparation for electronic filing, we have redesigned the 2008 Form 500 and all associated schedules. The new forms are available for download. Check back for updates!
To view the Application and Transfer Instructions for Land Preservation Credits, click here (PDF 30Kb).
Effective for taxable year 2008, the Neighborhood Assistance Act Credit provisions for qualifying contributions have been expanded to include the value of donated automobiles and marketable securities. Valuations will be made in accordance with applicable IRS guidelines.
Effective July 1, 2004, all Internal Revenue Code (IRC) § 501 (c)(3) and charitable § 501(c)(4) organizations may qualify for a sales and use tax exemption. Nonprofit organizations are no longer required to seek new sales tax exemptions through the legislature. This process is now being administered by the Department of Taxation. See Sales and Use Tax Exemptions for additonal information.
Last Updated 11/12/2009 17:35
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