Virginia Free State Tax Filing Program
Summary
Virginia enacted HB1180, directing the Tax Commissioner to develop and offer a free individual state income tax filing program similar to the federal IRS Direct File Program, effective for taxable year 2028. The bill passed with unanimous support in both chambers (98-0 in House, 39-0 in Senate) and was signed by the Governor as Chapter 31. The legislation also includes technical amendments removing obsolete language regarding fillable forms.
What changed
Virginia HB1180 creates a free state income tax filing program for individuals, modeled after the federal IRS Direct File Program as it existed during the 2025 tax filing season. The Tax Commissioner is directed to develop and offer this program beginning in taxable year 2028. The bill received unanimous bipartisan support throughout the legislative process, with identical companion legislation SB 591. Technical provisions remove obsolete language regarding fillable forms.
Tax practitioners and software providers should note this new state-facilitated filing option will compete with commercial tax preparation services beginning in 2028. Individual Virginia taxpayers will gain access to a free state-only filing mechanism. The program takes effect July 1, 2026 for implementation, with full operational availability for the 2028 tax filing season.
What to do next
- Monitor Virginia Tax Commissioner guidance on free filing program development
- Review internal tax preparation service offerings for competitiveness with new state program
- Update tax filing guidance for individual clients on new free filing option effective 2028
Source document (simplified)
ChangeBridge / Virginia / HB1180 Enacted HB1180 House Bill Enacted 2026-03-31
Income tax, state; free tax filing program for individuals
Department of Taxation; free tax filing program for individuals. Directs the Tax Commissioner to develop and offer a free individual state income tax filing program, effective beginning in taxable year 2028, that is similar to the federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Direct File Program as it existed during the 2025 tax filing season. The bill contains technical amendments that remove obsolete language regarding fillable forms. This bill is identical to SB 591.
Bill Details
State Virginia
Session 2026 Regular Regular Session
Chamber House
Official Source lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1180
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Sponsors
Kimberly Pope Adams (Rep - D) Bonita Anthony (Rep - D) Kathy Tran (Rep - D) Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (Sen - D) Stacey Annie Carroll (Rep - D) Nicole Cole (Rep - D)
Action History
2026-03-31 Approved by Governor-Chapter 31 (effective 7/1/2026) 2026-03-10 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 2026-03-10 H Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 2026-02-24 H Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (2/24/2026 7:54 am) 2026-02-23 S Signed by President 2026-02-23 H Signed by Speaker 2026-02-23 H Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1180ER) 2026-02-23 H Enrolled 2026-02-19 S Passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-19 S Read third time 2026-02-18 S Passed by for the day 2026-02-18 S Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (38-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-18 S Rules suspended 2026-02-18 S Read second time 2026-02-17 S Reported from Finance and Appropriations (13-Y 0-N) 2026-02-16 H Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (2/16/2026 4:56 pm) 2026-02-16 H Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (2/16/2026 2:27 pm) 2026-02-11 S Referred to Committee on Finance and Appropriations 2026-02-11 S Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) 2026-02-10 H Read third time and passed House (98-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-09 H Engrossed by House as amended 2026-02-09 H committee amendment agreed to 2026-02-09 H Read second time 2026-02-06 H Read first time 2026-02-04 H Reported from Finance with amendment(s) (22-Y 0-N) 2026-02-02 H Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (10-Y 0-N) 2026-02-02 H House subcommittee offered 2026-01-26 H Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (1/26/2026 8:22 pm) 2026-01-14 H Referred to Committee on Finance 2026-01-14 H Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100215D
Votes
2026-02-02 Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (10-Y 0-N) Yea: 10 Nay: 0 2026-02-04 Reported from Finance with amendment(s) (22-Y 0-N) Yea: 22 Nay: 0 2026-02-10 Read third time and passed House (98-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 98 Nay: 0 2026-02-17 Reported from Finance and Appropriations (13-Y 0-N) Yea: 13 Nay: 0 2026-02-18 Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (38-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 38 Nay: 0 2026-02-19 Passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 39 Nay: 0
Committee Referrals
2026-01-14 H Finance 2026-02-11 S Finance and Appropriations
Amendments
0000-00-00 Finance Amendment 0000-00-00 Subcommittee #1 Subcommittee Amendment 0000-00-00 Finance Amendment
Bill Text Versions
2026-01-14 Introduced 2026-02-09 Engrossed 2026-02-23 Enrolled Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
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