Does Virginia Have an Inheritance Tax? (2026)

Collecting a small Virginia estate without probate

Virginia's Small Estate Act lets the people entitled to a modest estate collect it directly from banks and other holders. It covers personal property only; real estate is never a small asset.

• Small asset affidavit, up to $75,000. When the person's entire personal probate estate, wherever located, was worth $75,000 or less at death, the successors can collect an account, a refund or other personal property with a sworn affidavit. At least 60 days must have passed, nobody can have applied to be personal representative anywhere, and any will must already have been probated. (source)
• Every known successor signs. The affidavit is made by all known successors on the form prepared by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. It names one designated successor to receive the asset for everyone, and that person owes the others a fiduciary duty to pass along their shares promptly. (source)
• Holders of $35,000 or less. A bank or other holder of a single small asset worth $35,000 or less may pay or deliver it to a successor without the affidavit, again only after 60 days and only if no personal representative has been appointed or applied for. (source)
• Real estate is excluded. The law defines a small asset as anything owed to or owned by the person who died other than real property, so a house or land never counts toward the $75,000 and cannot be collected this way. (source)

Virginia probate tax and the executor's first four months

• Probate tax at 10 cents per $100. Estates valued at more than $15,000 pay state probate tax of 10 cents per $100, counting the first $15,000 too. Estates of $15,000 or less pay nothing. Cities and counties may add a local probate tax equal to one third of the state amount. (source)
• What escapes the probate tax. Property owned jointly with right of survivorship, life insurance payable to a named beneficiary other than the estate, and bonds payable on death to a named beneficiary are not taxed. For a Virginia resident, bank accounts and stocks are counted wherever they are held; for a nonresident, only Virginia real estate and tangible property count. (source)
• Notice within 30 days. Within 30 days after qualifying, the personal representative must mail or deliver notice of probate to the surviving spouse, all heirs at law and the will's beneficiaries, then record an affidavit with the clerk within four months saying the notice was given. (source)
• Inventory within four months. The inventory goes to the commissioner of accounts within four months of the order appointing the personal representative. It lists personal property, the person's share of any joint bank accounts, and real estate the representative has power to sell or that belongs to the estate, valued as of the date of death. (source)

What a Virginia spouse or minor child can claim first

Virginia law sets aside three amounts for the surviving spouse of a person who lived in Virginia, or for the minor children if there is no spouse. They come ahead of most creditors.

• Family allowance. Living expenses during administration of up to $30,000 as a lump sum, or up to $2,500 a month for one year. It ranks ahead of every other claim against the estate and is paid in addition to what the spouse or children inherit. (source)
• Exempt property. Household furniture, cars, appliances and personal effects worth up to $25,000 above any liens on them. If the estate has less than that in such items, other assets make up the difference. (source)
• Homestead allowance. $25,000, paid after the family allowance and exempt property. It is not on top of the spouse's share under the will or intestacy: it tops that share up to $25,000 if the share is smaller. (source)

Virginia income tax on an inherited IRA or 401(k)

• It starts from your federal income. Virginia taxable income is computed starting from federal adjusted gross income, and Virginia has no general subtraction for inherited IRA or 401(k) withdrawals. Whatever is taxable on your federal return is taxable to a Virginia resident too. (source)
• Rates from 2% to 5.75%. Virginia taxes the first $3,000 of taxable income at 2%, the next $2,000 at 3%, income from $5,000 to $17,000 at 5%, and everything above $17,000 at 5.75%. Once your Virginia taxable income passes $17,000, each further dollar of withdrawals is taxed at 5.75%. (source)
• The age deduction depends on your age. Virginia's age deduction of up to $12,000 is based on the taxpayer's own birth date (on or before January 1, 1960) and phases out above $50,000 of adjusted income for a single filer, $75,000 for a married couple. It does not depend on the age of the parent who left the account. (source)

Selling an inherited Virginia house

• A new basis at death. When you sell inherited property, your gain is measured from its fair market value on the day of death, or the alternate valuation date if the executor elects it, not from what your parent paid decades ago. (source)
• Not a community property state. Virginia is not one of the nine community property states. If your parents owned the house jointly, only the half included in the first parent's estate gets the new basis; the surviving parent keeps the original cost on their own half. (source)

If the person who died lived in another state

Virginia borders two of the five states that tax heirs: Maryland, which also has its own estate tax, and Kentucky. A Virginian who owned a cabin or rental property in either state can leave that property exposed to their tax, and if your parent was domiciled there rather than in Virginia, that state's rules apply to the whole estate.

• Kentucky inheritance tax
• Maryland inheritance tax
• Nebraska inheritance tax
• New Jersey inheritance tax
• Pennsylvania inheritance tax

What matters is where the person who died lived and where their real estate is, not where you live. Compare inheritance tax by state to see who pays and how much.