<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 58.1-322.03 and 58.1-339.8 of the Code of Virginia, relating to taxation and revenues of the Commonwealth.</p>
SB 662 amends Virginia’s individual income tax deduction and low-income tax credit provisions. The bill updates several existing deductions in § 58.1-322.03, including the standard deduction schedule for taxpayers who do not itemize, the age- and blindness-related personal exemption, and the Virginia deduction for taxpayers age 65 and older. It also extends or revises a number of targeted deductions tied to specific expenses or activities, such as long-term care insurance premiums, college savings and prepaid tuition contributions, public school construction fund contributions, teacher continuing education costs, organ donation expenses, energy-efficient home purchases, and qualifying electric grid interconnection upgrades. In addition, the bill adjusts the timing for certain deductions by changing references from tax year 2027 to 2029 in the non-itemizer deduction and low-income credit provisions.
The bill also revises the low-income taxpayer credit in § 58.1-339.8. It preserves the existing nonrefundable credit for households at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty guideline, keeps the option to claim a credit based on the federal earned income tax credit, and extends the refundable credit option for eligible taxpayers by changing the applicable years from 2025-2027 to 2025-2029. The bill continues to bar taxpayers from combining that credit with certain other Virginia subtractions and deductions, including the aged/blind exemption and the age-based deduction.
Overall, the bill would affect Virginia individual income tax calculations by preserving and extending a broad set of deductions and credits, with particular benefits for older taxpayers, low-income households, families saving for education, teachers, organ donors, and taxpayers making certain energy-efficiency or infrastructure-related purchases. It would also continue to interact with federal tax concepts, generally allowing Virginia deductions or credits only when the same amounts were not already claimed federally.
The bill appears to have been introduced as a tax policy measure and was referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, where it was left in committee. No votes or committee transcripts are provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate in the available materials. The lack of recorded action suggests the bill did not advance, but the text itself indicates a broad, tax-relief-oriented approach rather than a narrow or punitive change.
The main points of potential contention are fiscal and policy-related: the bill expands or extends multiple deductions and credits, which could reduce state revenue, and it continues to provide targeted tax preferences for specific groups and purchases. The most notable beneficiaries are seniors, low-income taxpayers, educators, college savers, and taxpayers making certain energy or health-related expenditures, while the principal concern for opponents would likely be the cumulative cost and the complexity of maintaining many specialized tax provisions.
SB 662 would amend §§ 58.1-322.03 and 58.1-339.8 of the Code of Virginia to extend and modify a wide range of individual income tax deductions and the low-income taxpayer credit. It would change the effective dates for the non-itemizer deduction and the refundable low-income credit from 2027 to 2029, preserve several existing deductions, and add or continue targeted deductions for seniors, caregivers, educators, organ donors, college savings, energy-efficient purchases, and certain infrastructure-related costs. The bill would therefore affect Virginia taxable income calculations and the availability of tax relief for multiple categories of taxpayers.
The available record shows no committee transcript and no votes, so there is no documented debate or recorded partisan split. Based on the bill text, the measure is generally pro-tax-relief and pro-targeted incentives, with benefits aimed at seniors, low-income households, and other specified groups. Its referral to Finance and Appropriations and subsequent being left in committee suggests it did not advance, but the materials do not show explicit opposition or support statements.
The likely points of contention are the bill’s fiscal impact, its extension of multiple targeted tax preferences, and the administrative complexity of maintaining numerous deductions and credits with different eligibility rules. Supporters would likely emphasize relief for seniors, low-income taxpayers, teachers, organ donors, and families saving for education, while opponents would likely focus on reduced revenue and the policy choice to favor specific activities or taxpayer classes over broader tax simplification. Because there are no transcripts or votes, these positions are inferred from the bill’s structure rather than from recorded debate.