This 2026 Virginia reference is for people assembling an accurate earnings statement or reviewing a pay record. Begin with the jurisdiction-specific rules and the source-backed subjects below; the presence of a downloadable paystub template does not itself determine an employer’s legal duties. The reviewed Virginia material addresses paystub requirements, virginia withholding, unemployment insurance.
Overview
Virginia’s statute is unusually specific about the information employees need to understand their paycheck. The required statement can be a traditional paystub or an online accounting, but it must identify the employer, show the rate and gross earnings, explain deductions, and provide sufficient information to determine how gross and take-home pay were calculated.
Hours are mandatory when the worker is paid by the number of recorded work hours and also for certain salaried employees below the federal overtime-exemption salary threshold referenced by Virginia law. The statute also creates a clear retention rule: the employer are required to retain the paystubs or online accounting for at least a three-year period after the work was performed.
Agricultural employment, including agribusiness and forestry, is treated differently. Instead of the regular-pay-date requirement described above, the statute provides that the employer must furnish a written statement of gross earnings and deductions upon the employee’s request.
On each regular pay date, most covered employers are required to provide the employer name and address, applicable hours, rate of pay, gross earnings, deduction amounts and purposes, and enough information to determine gross and take-home pay.
Refer to the Virginia Employer Withholding Tables and employee Form VA-4 information for the actual payroll period. The current tables govern wages paid after July 1, 2025 until replaced.
Virginia’s unemployment taxable wage base is $8,000 per employee. Base rates normally range from 0.1% to 6.2%, and a new employer generally receives a 2.5% base rate plus applicable add-ons.
Virginia generally requires workers’ compensation coverage when an employer regularly has more than two employees. In some contractor situations, subcontractor employees count toward that threshold.
Trusted sources
Consult these agency and research references when checking the rules for Virginia. The publication date and availability of each link should be rechecked before relying on its contents.
Document checklist
Use the Virginia requirements as a document-review list. Identify the governing employer or worker category, and distinguish mandatory fields from good recordkeeping practices.
On each regular pay date, most non-agricultural employers are required to provide a written statement by paystub or online accounting. Agricultural, agribusiness, and forestry employers have a different request-based statement rule.
Show employer name and address; applicable recorded work hours; rate of pay; gross earnings; amount and purpose of deductions; and enough information for the employee to determine how gross and take-home pay were calculated.
Refer to the current Virginia Employer Withholding Tables and the employee’s applicable VA-4 information for the pay period. Do not substitute a single generic withholding percentage.
Consult Virginia unemployment tax and workers’ compensation coverage separately. The unemployment wage base and assigned employer rate determine UI liability, while workers’ compensation generally turns on the number and type of workers regularly employed.
After payday
Virginia expressly allows the required regular-pay-date information to be provided through a written paystub or online accounting. Whatever format is used, the employee must be able to understand how gross and take-home pay were calculated from the information shown.
Virginia requires the employer to keep the covered paystubs or online accounting for at least a three-year period following the date the work was performed. Preserve the underlying wage, deduction, and tax records that support those statements as well.
Tax withholding
Virginia Tax publishes employer tax withholding schedules, instructions, and employee withholding forms. The current tables listed by Virginia Tax are the “July 2025 and Later” tables and ought to be used for applicable wages until the agency publishes a replacement.
Refer to the current Virginia wage tables or calculation method for the employee’s payroll frequency and exemptions rather than estimating withholding from a flat percentage.
Virginia Tax maintains Form VA-4, employer instructions, employer returns, and related withholding documents on its official forms page.
Document-generation boundary: Where a source discusses remitting taxes or employer contributions, PayStubCheck presents that information as context only. Preparing a document does not complete a remittance, file a return, or establish that a calculated figure is correct for a particular worker.
State vs. local rules
Virginia’s paystub, state withholding, unemployment, and workers’ compensation rules are primarily state-administered. Employers should therefore start with the statewide payroll framework and then check licensing, business-tax, or industry requirements that can be relevant in the locality where the business operates.
Step-by-step process
Determine whether the regular-pay-date paystub rule applies or whether the employee falls within the statute’s separate agricultural, agribusiness, or forestry treatment.
Record the employer name and address, employee information, pay period, rate, hours when required, earnings, tax setup, and deductions.
Confirm gross earnings, Virginia and federal withholding, authorized deductions, and take-home pay using the current effective tax guidance.
Create the employee statement with enough information to show how gross and take-home pay were determined, together with the supporting supporting wage records.
Retain the paystub or online accounting for at least a three-year period after the work date and retain the supporting payroll documentation needed for tax, unemployment, and other obligations.
A simpler way
Use the Virginia references above to check the kind of earnings document you are preparing, verify the dates and figures, and decide whether the document must contain specific information. PayStubCheck offers standalone document preparation; it does not run payroll, retain authoritative employer payroll ledgers, give individualized legal advice, or file tax returns on the user’s behalf.
United States document note: Where state-specific withholding or local requirements matter, compare your entries with the appropriate official source before relying on a generated statement.
Review every figure on a watermarked preview before any download.
Each jurisdiction page lists the agency references it draws on.
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References
Questions
Yes, for most non-agricultural employers. On each regular pay date, the employer must provide a written statement by paystub or online accounting containing the information required by Virginia Code § 40.1-29. Agricultural employment, including agribusiness and forestry, has a separate request-based statement rule.
The statement includes the employer’s name and address, applicable recorded work hours, rate of pay, gross earnings, deduction amounts and purposes, and enough information to allow the employee to determine how gross and take-home pay were calculated.
Virginia requires the covered paystubs or online accounting to be kept for at least a three-year period following the date of the work performed.
Virginia Tax currently lists Employer Withholding Tables for wages paid after July 1, 2025. Employers should refer to the current effective tables and employee VA-4 information rather than assuming that a new calendar year automatically creates a new withholding percentage.
The Virginia Employment Commission lists an $8,000 taxable wage base per employee. Employer rates normally vary from 0.1% to 6.2% at the base-rate level, while new employers generally receive a 2.5% base rate plus applicable add-ons.
Virginia generally requires coverage when an employer regularly employs more than two part-time or full-time employees. In contractor situations, employees of subcontractors performing the same trade, business, occupation, or contract work can be counted toward that threshold.
Keep your records in check
Enter verified details, review the watermarked preview, and keep your supporting records with the finished document.