Virginians Get Tax Relief Due to Democratic Measures in State Budget Agreement

After six months of negotiations, Democrats finally won most of the concessions they sought on state budget amendments, and this week, Gov. Glenn Youngkin officially signed them into law. But when will Virginians see the benefits?

At a ceremonial signing event on Thursday, Youngkin praised the state budget agreement passed by the Virginia General Assembly and celebrated his administration’s efforts in reaching an agreement, although Youngkin failed to win the permanent tax cuts for corporations and the ultra-wealthy that he’d pushed for.

The agreed-upon budget delivers $1 billion of tax relief to Virginians, largely in the form of direct rebates to taxpayers: individuals will receive a $200 rebate, while couples filing jointly will receive $400. Increasing the standard deduction to $8,500 for single filers and $17,000 for joint returns will provide additional tax relief, although Virginians won’t specifically feel that benefit until next year.

The direct taxpayer rebates, however, are slated to be paid out in 2023, though it remains unclear when, exactly, Virginians will receive these payments.

Virginians last received tax rebates from the state in 2022, and most taxpayers received their money by the end of October of that year. In 2019, checks delivering a similar tax refund were in the mail on or before Oct. 15. 

While the delay in reaching a budget agreement may be partly responsible for those rebates taking a little longer this year, it’s worth noting that Youngkin – intent on holding the state House and flipping the state Senate for his party – may have incentive to purposefully slow-walk the rebate process if he feels that Democrats will receive credit for it.

Other items included in the budget agreement include:

• The reinstatement of the statewide sales tax holiday
• An increase of the business interest deduction from 30%to 50%
• $653.3 million in aid for K-12 education and school divisions
• $155.6 million in new spending for mental health services
• $150 million for widening Interstate 64 between Richmond and Williamsburg