HB716 • 2026

Income tax, state; innocent spouse tax relief.

An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 2 of Chapter 18 of Title 58.1 a section numbered 58.1-1836, relating to income tax; innocent spouse tax relief.

Taxes

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Carnegie
Last action: 2026-04-06
Official status: Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official summary and text do not provide specific details on how the Department will handle cases or the amount of relief available, so these limitations are noted.

Tax Help for Spouses

This law allows the Department of Taxation to provide tax relief to spouses who are unfairly responsible for tax mistakes their partners made on joint returns, even if they did not seek federal help.

What This Bill Does

Creates a new rule that lets the Department of Taxation grant relief to taxpayers who have to pay extra taxes because their spouse made a mistake on their joint return.
Adds this new rule about innocent spouse tax relief in Virginia's tax laws.

Who It Names or Affects

Taxpayers who are married and file joint returns with their spouses.
The Department of Taxation, which will handle these cases.

Terms To Know

Innocent spouse relief: Help from the government for a taxpayer who is unfairly responsible for tax mistakes made by their spouse on joint returns.
Department of Taxation: The agency in Virginia that collects and manages state taxes.

Limits and Unknowns

Does not specify how much relief a taxpayer can get.
Does not provide details on the process for applying for this help from the Department of Taxation.

Bill History

2026-04-06 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 210 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-06 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 210 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-06 Governor
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0210)
2026-03-14 House
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026
2026-03-14 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-12 House
Signed by Speaker
2026-03-11 Senate
Signed by President
2026-03-11 House
Enrolled
2026-03-11 House
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB716ER)
2026-03-11 House
Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (3/11/2026 2:16 pm)
2026-03-04 Senate
Read third time
2026-03-04 Senate
Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-03 Finance and Appropriations
Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)
2026-03-03 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-03-03 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-03-03 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-03 Senate
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2026-02-04 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
2026-02-04 Finance and Appropriations
Referred to Committee on Finance and Appropriations
2026-02-03 House
Read third time and passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-02 House
Read second time and engrossed
2026-01-30 House
Read first time
2026-01-28 Finance
Reported from Finance (22-Y 0-N)
2026-01-26 Subcommittee #1
Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N)
2026-01-25 House
Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (1/25/2026 4:01 pm)
2026-01-13 House
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105268D
2026-01-13 Finance
Referred to Committee on Finance

Official Summary Text

Income tax; innocent spouse tax relief.
Authorizes the Department of Taxation to grant relief to a taxpayer liable for payment of all or part of any unpaid tax, assessment, or other deficiency that is owed due to a mistake made by such taxpayer's spouse on a joint tax return, regardless of whether the taxpayer claimed such relief from the federal government.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 2 of Chapter 18 of Title 58.1 a section numbered
58.1-1836
, relating to income tax; innocent spouse tax relief.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 2 of Chapter 18 of Title 58.1 a section numbered
58.1-1836
as follows:
§
58.1-1836
. Innocent spouse relief.
The Department may grant relief for a spouse who meets the qualifications for relief under § 6015 of the Internal Revenue Code regardless of whether a claim for federal relief was made.