Virginia into Washington, DC

Live in Virginia, work in District of Columbia (2026)

Whether the two states have a reciprocity agreement, which form stops the withholding, and what your paycheck actually looks like after both states and any local tax have taken their share.

Is there a reciprocity agreement?

Yes. The District cannot tax nonresident wages under federal law, so DC takes $0 from a Virginia resident. File DC Form D-4A with your employer to stop the withholding. Virginia taxes you as normal, at $4,989, and the commute changes nothing about your take-home at all.

Northern Virginia into the District is one of the densest commutes in the country and one of the simplest to tax. The District taxes residents only, a limit imposed by Congress rather than negotiated with Virginia, so wages you earn in DC are invisible to the District's tax code. Give your employer Form DC Form D-4A and no DC tax is withheld. Virginia then taxes you as it taxes any resident, taking $4,989 at $100,000. Take-home is $74,191, identical to the $74,191 you would keep in a Tysons office. Virginia adds something its neighbours do not: it levies no local income tax anywhere in the state. Where a Maryland commuter carries a county tax that follows them across the river, a Virginia commuter carries nothing at all. The state bill you see here is the entire bill, and it is the same bill whichever side of the Potomac your desk happens to sit on.

At $100,000 single filer, against working at home in Virginia

This commute changes nothing about your take-home. You keep $74,191 either way.

Computed from the tax engine with 2026federal brackets, FICA, both states' income tax, and any local tax at either end. Standard deduction, no pre-tax contributions.

Who taxes you, and how much?

Single filer at $100,000, 2026 rules.

Tax	Amount
District of Columbia income tax (work state)	$0
Virginia income tax (resident state)	$4,989
Combined state income tax	$4,989

How the Virginia and District of Columbia rule works

Two separate things point the same way here. The first is structural: the District is barred from taxing nonresident wages by federal statute, so there is no DC commuter tax for anybody to negotiate an exemption from. The second is that Virginia and the District also maintain an explicit reciprocal arrangement, and Form DC Form D-4A is the certificate your employer needs. Either route arrives at the same place. Worth flagging is that Virginia's reciprocity with other states is not automatic in the way this one is. Its agreements with Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Kentucky carry conditions, including a limit on days present in the other state and a requirement that you maintain no abode there. The District arrangement carries no such test, because it does not need one. Nothing you do in the District, short of moving into it, can create a District tax liability on your wages.

What this estimate covers

These figures apply 2026 federal brackets after the standard deduction, FICA, Virginia's income tax, District of Columbia's income tax where the agreement does not remove it, and the local tax at each end of the commute. State-administered payroll programs such as disability and paid family leave follow the work state, so where District of Columbia runs them they come out of your check on District of Columbia's schedule rather than Virginia's. They assume every workday is spent in District of Columbia and all of your wages are earned there.

One limit is worth naming. A split week, with some days worked from home, is not modelled: the credit, the local tax and the work-state payroll programs would each be apportioned across the two states, and this estimate treats the whole year as District of Columbia work.

Living in Virginia and working in District of Columbia: FAQ

Does DC tax Virginia residents?

No. Federal law prevents the District from taxing the wages of nonresidents, so its share of your income is $0. Virginia residents working in the District file Form DC Form D-4A with their employer and no District tax is withheld.

Do I owe any local income tax?

No. Virginia levies no local income tax in any city or county, so your local line is $0. This is a real difference from Maryland, where commuters carry a county income tax across the river with them, and it is worth several thousand dollars a year.

How much Virginia tax do I pay?

$4,989 at $100,000 as a single filer, which is exactly what you would pay on a Virginia salary of the same size. Working in the District changes nothing about your Virginia return, because the District has taken nothing from you that needs reconciling.

Do I file a District return?

Not if Form DC Form D-4A is on file with your employer and nothing was withheld, because there is no District liability to report. You file a Virginia resident return covering all of your income, including the wages you earned inside the District.

Is this the same as Virginia's other reciprocity agreements?

Not quite. Virginia's agreements with Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky come with conditions attached, such as day-count limits or a daily-commute requirement. The District arrangement has none of these, because the bar on taxing nonresidents is federal and unconditional.

What is my take-home?

$74,191 at $100,000 single, after federal tax of $13,170 and FICA of $7,650. That is the same figure you would see with a job in Virginia itself, which makes the District commute tax-neutral in a way that few interstate commutes manage.

This estimate is for planning purposes only and does not constitute tax or financial advice. Actual paycheck withholding depends on your employer's payroll system, custom W-4 elections, additional income, and personal tax situation. For specific tax-planning decisions, consult a licensed CPA or tax professional. Cross-state estimates additionally assume all wages are earned in the work state and exclude any apportionment of remote workdays.

How This Page Is Reviewed

The Virginia to District of Columbia commute rule is taken from each state's own reciprocity guidance and withholding forms, and is reviewed against those primary sources before each tax-year update. Local tax figures come from the municipal research files behind the city pages.

Reviewed by

PaycheckCalc Research Desk

Last reviewed

2026-06-25

Primary sources