Virginia · Payroll closure
Close a Virginia payroll tax account.
Virginia is one of the few states that tells you outright the submission is not the end. File the R-3, then wait seven business days, then call and confirm the account is actually closed. That instruction exists because accounts here do get left open.
Last updated:
Who you are dealing with
Virginia Department of Taxation
- Handles:
- Employer withholding account, and other tax accounts on the same form
- System:
- VATAX Online Services
- Form:
- Form R-3, Change to a Registered Business and/or Tax Account. Tick Close a business in its entirety, or End a Tax Type Liability and then name the accounts in Section II on page 2
- Phone:
- 804-367-8037
Virginia Employment Commission
- Handles:
- Unemployment insurance employer account
- System:
- VEC employer self service
- Form:
- Handled separately from the R-3
State fee. $0. Virginia does not charge to close a tax account or to file the final withholding summary. Outstanding tax is unaffected by the closure.
Our fee. $180 per state, flat. State fees are passed through at cost.
When you have to close or cancel
You close when you stop paying Virginia wages. The form asks you to decide whether the whole business is closing or only one tax type is ending, and those are different selections with different consequences.
Final returns come first
Form VA-6, the Final Summary of Virginia Income Tax Withheld, is due within 30 days of the last month in which you pay wages. That is 30 days from the end of that month, and it is a separate obligation from the R-3. Closing the account without the VA-6 leaves the summary outstanding.
How long it takes
Virginia gives an unusually concrete instruction rather than a processing time: wait seven business days after submitting the R-3, then call 804-367-8037 to confirm the account has been closed and there are no further steps. We make that call rather than assuming.
What we do
We confirm which accounts are open, file any outstanding final returns, submit each cancellation, and follow up until every agency confirms in writing. You keep the client. We never email them.
Opening an account in another state instead? State payroll tax registration covers the withholding and unemployment accounts payroll software will not open.
What makes Virginia harder than average
- Closing everything and ending one tax type are different boxes. Tick Close a business in its entirety and every account goes. Tick End a Tax Type Liability and you then have to name the specific accounts in Section II on page 2. Businesses keeping a sales tax account open while ending payroll get this wrong in both directions.
- The state tells you to call and check. Virginia's own guidance is to wait seven business days after the R-3 and then phone to confirm the account is closed and nothing further is needed. When a state builds a verification step into its instructions, it is telling you something about how often the first step is enough.
- The VA-6 has its own clock. Thirty days from the last month in which wages were paid, separate from the R-3 entirely. It is the piece most often left behind.
- Unemployment is a different agency. The Virginia Employment Commission holds that account and the R-3 does not reach it.
Dissolving the company is not the same as closing the tax accounts
Articles of dissolution leave the withholding, unemployment, and sales tax accounts open, and those agencies keep expecting returns until each one is closed with them. That is the separate filing that stops the notices.
How Virginia compares
Every state closes them differently. The table compares Virginia with the other states we have documented, agency by agency.
For CPAs and bookkeepers
Send the state, the last payroll or sale date, and the account numbers. The written confirmations come back to you. We do not dissolve the company and we do not take over payroll.
Questions and answers
Is filing the R-3 enough to close my Virginia account?
Not by itself. Virginia's guidance is to wait seven business days after submitting the R-3 and then call 804-367-8037 to confirm the account has been closed and there are no further steps. You also owe Form VA-6.
When is Form VA-6 due?
Within 30 days of the last month in which you pay wages. It is the Final Summary of Virginia Income Tax Withheld and it is a separate obligation from the R-3, which is why it gets missed.
I want to keep my sales tax account but end payroll. Can I?
Yes. On the R-3 you choose End a Tax Type Liability rather than Close a business in its entirety, then name the specific accounts you are ending in Section II on page 2. Picking the wrong option closes more or less than you intended.
Does this close my unemployment account too?
No. The Virginia Employment Commission holds the unemployment insurance account separately and the R-3 does not reach it.
What do you need from me to start?
The legal name and FEIN, the Virginia account number, the VEC account number, the last month you paid wages, and whether you are closing the business entirely or only ending the payroll accounts.
Also in Virginia
Agency details verified 2026-08-03
About the provider
Regcrest LLC is a document preparation and filing service based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, founded in 2026. It prepares and files state payroll and sales tax registrations, account closures, and resale certificates on behalf of the businesses that instruct it, and works behind accounting firms, bookkeepers, and payroll providers as well as directly with businesses.
Regcrest LLC is not a CPA firm and not a law firm. It gives no tax or legal advice. It files in all 50 states, and publishes a full page for the 29states it has verified against the agency's own material so far, each one showing the date it was checked. For anything that turns on your specific situation, ask a licensed accountant or attorney.