Virginia's 183-Day Actual Residency Rule
Being present or keeping a place of abode in Virginia for more than 183 days in the taxable year makes you an actual resident, even if your true home is elsewhere. Here is exactly how the count works.
Last verified: July 2026
In short: Virginia treats you as an actual resident if you are physically present, or maintain a place of abode, in Virginia for an aggregate of more than 183 days (184 or more) during the taxable year. This applies even if you are domiciled in another state or country. Any portion of a day in Virginia counts as a full day, except time spent solely in transit to a destination outside the state.
- Threshold
- More than 183 days (184+)
- What triggers it
- Presence or place of abode
- Counting window
- Taxable (calendar) year
- A day counts if
- Any part of a day in VA
- Applies even if
- Domiciled elsewhere
- Legal basis
- Va. Code §58.1-302
The rule
Virginia has two separate ways to be a resident: by domicile (Virginia is your true, permanent home) or by actual residence. The 183-day rule is the actual-residence test, and it turns on the day count rather than on where your true home is:
- Presence or a place of abode. You are physically present in Virginia, or you maintain a place of abode there, during the year. The abode does not have to be owned, and you do not have to live in it full time.
- More than 183 days. Those days add up to an aggregate of 184 or more across the taxable year. Exactly 183 days keeps you under the day test.
Cross the line and you are an actual resident, taxed by Virginia on your income, even if you are domiciled in another state or country. Actual residence sits alongside domiciliary residence, not instead of it.
How to count it
- Count every day on which you were physically present in Virginia for any part of the day.
- Leave out part of a day spent solely while in transit to a destination outside Virginia.
- Add the days across the whole taxable year. They do not need to be consecutive.
- If the aggregate reaches 184 or more, you are a Virginia actual resident for that year.
Example. You are domiciled in Florida but keep an apartment in Arlington and spend long stretches there. Across the year you are physically in Virginia on 190 days, many of them just for part of the day.
Because any part of a day counts, all 190 days count toward the aggregate. With more than 183 days in the state, you are a Virginia actual resident, taxed on your income, despite being a Florida domiciliary.
Beyond the day count
The 183-day test is only the actual-residence route. Virginia can also tax you as a domiciliary resident, which turns on where your true, permanent home and life are rather than a day count, and giving up Virginia domicile requires more than simply leaving. A resident who pays income tax to another state on the same income may be able to claim a credit, and part-year residents are taxed only on the portion of the year they were resident. The day count decides the actual-residence question; these other rules decide the rest.
Official source: Va. Code §58.1-302, explained on the Virginia Department of Taxation residency status page.
AtlasDays tracks Virginia's 183-day rule automatically
Log your trips once. AtlasDays counts your days in Virginia for each calendar year, privately on your iPhone, and warns you before you cross the 183-day line.
Get AtlasDays on the App StoreFAQ
How many days can you spend in Virginia without becoming an actual resident?
Up to 183 days in the taxable year. At an aggregate of 184 or more days present or with a place of abode in Virginia, you become an actual resident even if domiciled elsewhere.
What counts as a day in Virginia?
Any portion of a day in which you are physically present counts as a full day, except for part of a day spent solely while in transit to a destination outside Virginia.
Does Virginia tax you if you are domiciled in another state?
Yes. If you cross the 183-day line as an actual resident, Virginia taxes you even though your true, permanent home is in another state or country.