Is an online payroll portal enough in Virginia, or do I need paper?

An online accounting satisfies § 40.1-29 on its own terms; the statute names "a paystub or online accounting" as equivalent ways of delivering the written statement. What matters is that the statement carries the required fields and enough detail to reconstruct the calculation.

Does my Virginia pay stub have to show the hours I worked?

It does if you are paid by the hour, and also if you are salaried at less than the standard salary level that the U.S. Department of Labor uses for the overtime exemption. Above that salary level the hours line may be left off, but everything else on the list still applies.

How long does my employer keep my Virginia pay stubs?

At least three years following the date of the work performed. That is the employer’s obligation rather than yours, but it is the reason a request for old statements is a reasonable one to make even a couple of years after leaving a job.

What happens if a Virginia employer simply does not pay?

Beyond the wages themselves, the employer is liable for an equal amount in liquidated damages and eight percent interest from the due date. Knowing failures draw a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, and willful non-payment is criminal, rising to a felony at $10,000 or on a repeat conviction.

Why is Virginia’s minimum wage $12.77 and not a round number?

Because it is calculated rather than chosen. The Department of Labor and Industry added the 2.9 percent annual CPI-U increase to the 2025 rate of $12.41 and rounded, which produced $12.77 for 2026. The statute then takes over with fixed steps of $13.75 in 2027 and $15.00 in 2028.

Pay stub requirements in Virginia

Virginia rewrote § 40.1-29 in 2020 and the interesting part is not the list of fields but the sentence after it: the paystub or online accounting must carry enough information for the employee to work out how gross and net pay were calculated. Employer name and address, hours worked, rate of pay, gross wages and the amount and purpose of every deduction all have to appear, and the employer keeps the record for three years. Salaried staff are paid at least monthly and hourly staff at least every two weeks. The state minimum wage is $12.77 for 2026, on a statutory path to $15.00 in 2028.

Pay stub required: Yes, on every regular pay date
Electronic delivery: Yes, an online accounting counts
Minimum wage (2026): $12.77/hour
Pay frequency: Hourly staff at least every two weeks

What Virginia law requires

A written statement on each regular pay date
On every regular pay date the employer provides a written statement, by paystub or online accounting, showing the name and address of the employer, the number of hours worked in the pay period, the rate of pay, the gross wages earned and the amount and purpose of any deductions. Employers in agriculture, agribusiness and forestry owe the statement only on the employee’s request.
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The stub has to show its own arithmetic
The statute is explicit that the paystub or online accounting "shall include sufficient information to enable the employee to determine how the gross and net pay were calculated". A stub that lists a net figure without the components behind it does not satisfy the section. Employers keep those records for at least three years from the date of the work performed.
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Hourly employees at least every two weeks
Every employer sets regular pay periods and rates. Salaried employees are paid at least once each month; employees on an hourly rate at least every two weeks or twice each month. Work-study students and employees whose weekly wages exceed 150 percent of the average weekly wage of the Commonwealth may agree to monthly pay. On termination, wages are due on the date they would have been paid had employment continued.
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Unpaid wages cost more than the wages
An employer that fails to pay wages owes all wages due plus an equal amount as liquidated damages plus eight percent annual interest from the date the wages were due. A knowing failure adds a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation. Willful non-payment is a Class 1 misdemeanor below $10,000 and a Class 6 felony at $10,000 or more, or on a second conviction.
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$12.77 in 2026, then a legislated climb
The Virginia Minimum Wage Act fixes $12.77 per hour from January 1, 2026 until January 1, 2027, then $13.75 for 2027 and $15.00 for 2028, after which the Commissioner sets a CPI-adjusted rate each year. The 2026 figure came from adding the 2.9 percent CPI-U increase to the 2025 rate of $12.41.
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What this generator calculates for Virginia

State withholding for Virginia is calculated from the 2026 figures the state publishes, and our test suite holds those figures against the state's own published calculation rather than against arithmetic of ours.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Wage and hour law changes. Check the linked source before relying on any figure here, and treat this page as a starting point rather than legal advice.

Pay stub requirements in Virginia

What Virginia law requires

A written statement on each regular pay date

The stub has to show its own arithmetic

Hourly employees at least every two weeks

Unpaid wages cost more than the wages

$12.77 in 2026, then a legislated climb