Updated October 5, 2026. Quick answer: No. Virginia has no inheritance tax for a death in 2026. Virginia Tax says “Virginia no longer has an estate tax* or inheritance tax”, with one exception for certain remainder interests that the page describes.
Virginia inheritance tax at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| State inheritance tax | None |
| What the documents say | Virginia Tax says Virginia no longer has an inheritance tax, with an exception for certain remainder interests |
| State estate tax | None: Virginia Tax says the estate tax was effectively repealed with the federal credit; it applied before July 1, 2007 |
| Source | Virginia Tax; Virginia Tax (Tax Commissioner ruling); IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 |
What the Virginia documents say
Virginia Tax’s Estate and Inheritance Taxes page says “Virginia no longer has an estate tax* or inheritance tax”. The asterisk leads to a caveat: “certain remainder interests are still subject to the inheritance tax”.
The Tax Commissioner’s ruling (Public Document 15-93) records that the “inheritance tax was repealed by the General Assembly and replaced” effective January 1, 1980.
What an heir in Virginia still faces
The federal estate tax is paid by the estate, with a 2026 basic exclusion amount of “$15,000,000 for calendar year 2026”. Virginia’s estate tax is gone too: Virginia Tax says that with the end of the federal credit “the Virginia estate tax was effectively repealed”. CMG’s Virginia estate tax page covers it.
An heir’s basis under 26 U.S.C. 1014(a) is generally the value at “the date of the decedent’s death”. Inherited retirement money is an income tax question: Virginia 401(k) and IRA withdrawals, the inherited IRA RMD calculator and Virginia probate cost cover the rest.
How current the Virginia documents are
Read on October 5, 2026: Estate and Inheritance Taxes (Virginia Tax, dated 2026); Public Document 15-93: Estate Tax Exemption to the Postponed Inheritance Tax (Virginia Tax (Tax Commissioner ruling), dated 2015).
What the documents do not say
- The remainder-interest exception turns on facts of the particular trust or will; Virginia Tax points to its Public Document 15-93 for it, and this page does not apply it to any case.
Common mistakes
- Ignoring the remainder-interest caveat that Virginia Tax’s page flags with an asterisk.
Related: inheritance tax by state, Virginia estate tax, Virginia probate cost, and how Virginia taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.
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Answer againSources
- Estate and Inheritance Taxes: https://www.tax.virginia.gov/index.php/estate-and-inheritance-taxes
- Public Document 15-93: Estate Tax Exemption to the Postponed Inheritance Tax: https://www.tax.virginia.gov/laws-rules-decisions/rulings-tax-commissioner/15-93
- Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Service): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf
- 26 U.S.C. 1014 Basis of property acquired from a decedent (U.S. Code, 2023 edition, GovInfo): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title26/html/USCODE-2023-title26-subtitleA-chap1-subchapO-partII-sec1014.htm
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 5, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a tax professional or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.