2026 tax year · Virginia
Services and task work taxes in Virginia
TaskRabbit, Rover, Upwork and the rest report your gross and withhold nothing. The gap between that and what you are taxed on is mileage, in Virginia that gap is worth $2,430 in tax.
Take a driver who grossed $34,000 over 18,000 business miles. After mileage at 74.3 cents and the rest of the stack, worked through on the services and task work page $9,030 comes off and $24,970 is left as taxable profit. That profit is what Virginia and the IRS charge against.
What that leaves you owing in Virginia
Virginia uses graduated 2026 income tax brackets topping out at 5.75%, across 4 brackets, on top of federal income tax and self-employment tax.
| Self-employment tax | $3,528 |
| Federal income tax | $568 |
| Virginia income tax | $1,077 |
| Total tax | $5,173 |
| Effective rate on gross | 15.2% |
Earning more in Virginia
A single filer taking the standard deduction, standard mileage method, this work as the only income, the calculator above handles the other filing statuses. Miles rise with earnings, so the deduction rises too, and the effective rate on gross climbs more slowly than it would for someone whose income grew without expenses attached:
| Volume | Gross | Mileage off | Taxable profit | Virginia tax | Total tax | Rate on gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part-time | $11,000 | $1,485 | $9,515 | $312 | $1,657 | 15.1% |
| Steady side income | $34,000 | $4,455 | $29,545 | $1,321 | $6,405 | 18.8% |
| Full-time | $55,000 | $7,425 | $47,575 | $2,285 | $11,458 | 20.8% |
Working across a Virginia line
Services income is sourced to where the work was physically done. A job over the line can create a filing obligation in that state even for a single afternoon, and reciprocity agreements do not help, they cover wages paid by an employer, not self-employment income.
On $24,970 of profit, what the states around Virginia would charge:
| State | Its tax | vs Virginia |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | No income tax | −$1,178 |
| West Virginia | $632 | −$547 |
| Kentucky | $874 | −$304 |
| North Carolina | $996 | −$182 |
| Maryland | $1,134 | −$45 |
| Washington DC | $1,298 | +$120 |
- Tennessee has no income tax at all, so the same work done there costs $1,178 less in state tax than it does in Virginia.
- West Virginia would take $547 less, $632 against Virginia's $1,178.
- Kentucky would take $304 less, $874 against Virginia's $1,178.
- North Carolina would take $182 less, $996 against Virginia's $1,178.
- Maryland would take $45 less, $1,134 against Virginia's $1,178.
- Washington DC would take $120 more, $1,298 against Virginia's $1,178.
Services and task work tax questions in Virginia
How much should a Virginia contractor set aside?
About 15.2% of gross on the $34,000 example, $5,173 across self-employment tax, federal income tax and $1,077 to Virginia. In practice that means moving about $152 of every $1,000 payout into a separate account the day it lands, and sending roughly $1,293 to the IRS each quarter, no platform withholds any of this for you. Set aside from each payout rather than finding it in April.
Does the $34,000 on my 1099-NEC match what Virginia taxes?
No. Virginia taxes profit, not gross. After $9,030 of deductions the taxable figure is $24,970, so the Virginia bill is $1,077 rather than what gross alone would suggest. The form reports what the platform paid out, it knows nothing about your costs, and no one subtracts them for you. On this example 27% of the gross never becomes taxable income, but only for the contractor who kept the records to prove it.