Virginia Administrative Code
Title 23 - TAXATION
Agency 10 - DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION

AGENCY SUMMARY

The Tax Commissioner is authorized to issue regulations relating to the interpretation and enforcement of the laws of the Commonwealth governing taxes administered by the Department of Taxation. The department is vested with general supervision over the administration of state taxation. For purposes of enforcement of the tax laws, the department may impose requirements relating directly or indirectly to the assessment and collection of taxes. Code of Virginia, Title 58.1, Chapter 2.

The department directly administers the following taxes as authorized in Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia: the retail sales and use tax (Chapter 6); the Virginia tire tax (Chapter 6.1); the estate tax (Chapter 9); the intangible personal property tax (Chapter 11); the watercraft sales and use tax (Chapter 14); the aircraft sales and use tax (Chapter 15); the motor vehicle fuel sales tax levied in certain transportation districts (Chapter 17, Article 4); and the rolling stock tax on railroads, freight car companies, and certificated motor vehicle carriers (Chapter 26, Article 5).

The department also directly administers excise taxes on the following items as authorized in Title 3.1 of the Code of Virginia: peanuts (Chapter 24), soybeans (Chapter 25.1), small grains (Chapter 25.3), slaughter hogs and feeder pigs (Chapter 27, Article 4.2), poultry products (Chapter 27, Article 8.1), eggs (Chapter 27, Article 10), cattle (Chapter 27.1), corn (Chapter 40), sheep (Chapter 43), and cotton (Chapter 44); and, as authorized in Title 58.1, on cigarettes (Chapter 10, Article 1), forest products (Chapter 16), and soft drinks (Chapter 17, Article 1). Excise taxes on beer and beverages are administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

The department directly administers corporation and individual income taxes and the system of income tax withholding and oversees the payment of estimated taxes. Code of Virginia, Title 58.1, Chapter 3. It administers the Virginia Bank Franchise Tax Act. Code of Virginia, Title 58.1, Chapter 12. The taxes on recordation of documents (Chapter 8), on wills and administrations (Chapter 17, Article 3) and on writs (Chapter 17, Article 6) are collected by local clerks of court, but otherwise are administered by the department as authorized in Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia.

Also as authorized in Title 58.1, the department is responsible for administering the litter tax imposed on persons manufacturing, wholesaling, distributing, or retailing certain products (Chapter 17, Article 2) and for promulgating regulations to enforce the Setoff Debt Collection Act (Chapter 3, Article 21), regulations for any local option income tax if adopted by a locality although no locality has adopted this tax (Chapter 3, Article 22), and regulations setting forth the circumstances under which the department may place padlocks on the doors of any business enterprise that is delinquent in filing or paying taxes owed (Chapter 18, Article 1).

The department is also responsible for administering any assessment of property of railroad and interstate pipeline transmission companies. Code of Virginia, Title 56, Chapter 21; Title 58.1, Chapter 26, Article 1.

The department may promulgate guidelines for the administration of local business, professional and occupational license taxes, and issue advisory opinions in connection therewith, and the department must issue determinations to taxpayer appeals of locality determinations. Such appeals are permitted for additional assessments which result from an audit. Code of Virginia, Title 58.1, Chapter 39, Article 2.

The department promulgates regulations, prescribes forms, and issues Tax Bulletins and other publications for the interpretation and enforcement of the various tax laws administered by it. It also issues circulars and memoranda to local commissioners of revenue, treasurers, and clerks of court containing instructions as to the handling of state taxes administered by them; these materials are not released to the public.

The department operates under the supervision of the Secretary of Finance. All regulations and forms are available from the department's office at 3610 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23230. Service hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. The Department of Taxations website, www.tax.virginia.gov, provides a variety of information and downloadable forms. The departments website contains the policy library, which includes Rulings of the Tax Commissioner and Tax Bulletins and links to the Code of Virginia, the Virginia Administrative Code, Legislative Summaries, and Attorney General Opinions.

The regulations of the Department of Taxation in this title are divided into the following divisions and subdivisions:

DIVISION I. IN GENERAL (23VAC10-10 et seq.)

DIVISION II. AGRICULTURAL EXCISE TAXES (23VAC10-50 et seq.)

DIVISION III. INCOME TAXES (23VAC10-100 et seq.)

Individual Income Taxes (23VAC10-100 et seq.)

Fiduciary Income Tax (23VAC10-115)

Corporation Income and Estimated Taxes (23VAC10-120)

Partnership Taxes (23VAC10-130) (Repealed)

Withholding Taxes (23VAC10-140 et seq.)

DIVISION IV. SALES TAXES (23VAC10-200 et seq.)

DIVISION V. MISCELLANEOUS TAXES (23VAC10-300 et seq.)

DIVISION VI. LOCAL TAXES (23VAC10-500 et seq.)