From the Virginia Department of Taxation
Who’s eligible?
You’re eligible for the 2019 Tax Relief Refund if:
- You filed a 2018 Virginia individual resident, nonresident, or part year resident income tax return by July 1, 2019; and
- You have a 2018 tax liability in Virginia.
Why are we sending these refunds?
The Virginia Tax Relief Refunds are the result of state legislation passed by the 2019 Virginia General Assembly in response to the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Eligible taxpayers may receive up to $110 for individual filers and up to $220 for a married couple filing jointly.
How do we calculate the amount of the tax relief refund?
We start with your 2018 Virginia individual income tax return:
First, we look at your tax liability, or what you owe before credits. If you’re using the paper form, this is the amount on line 19 of your tax return.
Then we deduct the amount of any Virginia credits you took, including:
- the Credit for Low Income Individuals, or Virginia Earned Income Credit (on Schedule ADJ);
- credit for taxes paid to another state (on Form OSC), or
- other Virginia credits from Schedule CR.
For example, if your tax liability before credits is $1200, and you took $1200 worth of credits, your liability is fully offset by those credits so you will not be eligible for the tax relief refund. If your tax liability before credits is $1200, and you took less than $1200 worth of credits, you may still be eligible for a tax relief refund.
Next we are required to determine if you’re subject to any debt setoff claims – such as unpaid Virginia state taxes or debts to local governments, courts, or other state agencies. If so, we will withhold and apply part or all of your refund to help pay these debts.
If we are required to take part of your tax relief refund to offset a debt, the check stub message on the paper check you receive will provide additional information. If we are required to take all of your tax relief refund, you will receive a letter explaining why.
In summary, if you owed Virginia income tax in 2018, and didn’t take any credits (or the credits you took don’t zero out your tax liability), you will be eligible for part or all of the 2019 Virginia Tax Relief Refund – up to $110 for individual filers and up to $220 for a married couple filing jointly. However, you may not receive your Virginia Tax Relief Refund if you have an offset claim.
When will taxpayers receive the refunds?
Virginia’s Department of the Treasury has already started issuing refunds by paper check. These checks will be mailed to eligible taxpayers’ address of record by Tuesday, October 15.
Still have questions? You can contact our customer service center at 804.367.8031.
