Virginia · Payroll registration
Virginia payroll tax registration, done for you.
Two agencies, and the same two-part liability test that four other states use. Virginia Tax handles withholding through the R-1 registration, and the Virginia Employment Commission handles unemployment through Business iFile. Neither registration produces the other.
Who you are dealing with
Virginia Department of Taxation
- Handles:
- Employer withholding account
- System:
- VATAX Online Services
- Form:
- Form R-1, the Virginia business registration, which also covers other tax types you need
- Phone:
- 804-367-8037
Virginia Employment Commission
- Handles:
- Unemployment insurance employer account
- System:
- Business iFile
- Form:
- Register online through Business iFile, or by post on the paper registration form. The VEC then assigns the account number used for all future filings
State fee. $0. Neither agency charges to register an employer account. Our flat fee covers preparing and filing each one.
When you have to register
Unemployment liability attaches when you pay $1,500 or more in total wages during any calendar quarter, or employ at least one worker for 20 or more weeks within a calendar year. Either test alone is enough, and the second one catches small ongoing payrolls that never approach $1,500 in a single quarter.
What comes next
Not applicable to a registration. For later: the withholding side closes on Form R-3, and the final VA-6 is due within 30 days of the last month in which you pay wages. Virginia also tells you to call and confirm the closure went through.
How long it takes
Virginia does not publish a registration turnaround we could confirm from the agency. Worth knowing what it does publish on the other side: after a closure it tells you to wait seven business days and then phone to confirm. That is a state that expects you to verify rather than assume, and the same instinct is worth applying here.
What we do
We work out exactly which accounts you need, prepare and submit each registration, and hand you the account numbers, rates, and deposit schedules your payroll system asks for. One flat price per account, and any state fee passed through at cost.
What makes Virginia harder than average
- The same test as Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Illinois. $1,500 in a calendar quarter or one worker across 20 weeks. Five states now share it, which is close enough to a default that employers assume it applies everywhere. It does not: New York is liable at $300 and California at $100.
- Two agencies from the start and two forms at the end. Virginia Tax and the Virginia Employment Commission never combine, at registration or at closure. The R-1 opens withholding, Business iFile opens unemployment, and later the R-3 closes one while the VEC needs telling separately.
- The R-1 covers more than payroll. It is the general Virginia business registration, so it can open sales tax and other accounts at the same time. Convenient when you need them, and an unwanted filing obligation when you do not.
- Virginia expects you to verify. Its published closure guidance is to wait seven business days and then phone to confirm the account actually closed. A state that builds a check into its own instructions is telling you how often the first step is not enough, and that applies at both ends.
Questions and answers
When does Virginia unemployment liability start?
When you pay $1,500 or more in total wages during any calendar quarter, or employ at least one worker for 20 or more weeks within a calendar year. Either test on its own is enough.
Does one registration cover withholding and unemployment?
No. Form R-1 with Virginia Tax opens the withholding account, and the Virginia Employment Commission is registered separately through Business iFile. Neither produces the other.
Will the R-1 register me for sales tax too?
It can, because it is the general business registration rather than a payroll-only form. Only tick what you actually need, since every account you open keeps expecting returns until it is closed.
What number will I get?
The VEC assigns an unemployment account number used for all future filings, and Virginia Tax issues a separate account for withholding. Both are distinct from your federal EIN.
What do you need from me to start?
The legal name and FEIN, entity type, Virginia work locations, the date of your first Virginia payroll, expected quarterly wages, and whether you need any tax types beyond payroll.
Agency details verified 2026-08-03