2026 tax year · Virginia
Marketplace seller taxes in Virginia
Etsy, eBay, Shopify and the rest report your gross and withhold nothing. The gap between that and what you are taxed on is your costs, in Virginia that gap is worth $7,368 in tax.
Take a driver who grossed $45,000 over 18,000 business miles. After mileage at 74.3 cents and the rest of the stack, worked through on the marketplace seller page $26,775 comes off and $18,225 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 | $2,575 |
| Federal income tax | $67 |
| Virginia income tax | $717 |
| Total tax | $3,359 |
| Effective rate on gross | 7.5% |
Earning more in Virginia
A single filer taking the standard deduction, 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 | $15,000 | $0 | $15,000 | $567 | $2,686 | 17.9% |
| Steady side income | $45,000 | $0 | $45,000 | $2,147 | $10,727 | 23.8% |
| Full-time | $72,000 | $0 | $72,000 | $3,590 | $18,393 | 25.5% |
Selling into and out of Virginia
Income tax follows you: Virginia taxes your profit wherever the buyer was. Sales tax does not. Marketplace facilitator laws make the platform collect and remit sales tax on your behalf in most states, which is why a seller can have customers in all fifty and still file only one income tax return. Selling off-platform is where that stops being true.
On $18,225 of profit, what the states around Virginia would charge:
| State | Its tax | vs Virginia |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | No income tax | −$790 |
| West Virginia | $442 | −$348 |
| Kentucky | $638 | −$153 |
| North Carolina | $727 | −$63 |
| Maryland | $813 | +$23 |
| Washington DC | $894 | +$103 |
- Tennessee has no income tax at all, so the same work done there costs $790 less in state tax than it does in Virginia.
- West Virginia would take $348 less, $442 against Virginia's $790.
- Kentucky would take $153 less, $638 against Virginia's $790.
- North Carolina would take $63 less, $727 against Virginia's $790.
- Maryland would take $23 more, $813 against Virginia's $790.
- Washington DC would take $103 more, $894 against Virginia's $790.
Marketplace seller tax questions in Virginia
How much should a Virginia seller set aside?
About 7.5% of gross on the $45,000 example, $3,359 across self-employment tax, federal income tax and $717 to Virginia. In practice that means moving about $75 of every $1,000 payout into a separate account the day it lands, and sending roughly $840 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 $45,000 on my 1099-NEC match what Virginia taxes?
No. Virginia taxes profit, not gross. After $26,775 of deductions the taxable figure is $18,225, so the Virginia bill is $717 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 60% of the gross never becomes taxable income, but only for the seller who kept the records to prove it.