# Virginia HB488: Wage garnishment; state tax debt.

Virginia HB488, Wage garnishment; state tax debt., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Phil M. Hernandez (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-08 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0396)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB488-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB488
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Wage garnishment; state tax debt.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-12
- Last action: 2026-04-08, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0396)
- Sponsor: Phil M. Hernandez (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (225 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Wage garnishment; state tax debt. Provides that the maximum part of the aggregate disposable earnings of an individual for any workweek that is subject to garnishment to collect delinquent taxes and charges owed to the state government shall not exceed the lesser of (i) 25 percent of such individual's disposable earnings for that week or (ii) the amount by which such individual's disposable earnings exceed 40 times the federal or Virginia minimum wage, whichever is greater. The bill also directs the Department of Taxation to recognize Currently Not Collectible status granted by the Internal Revenue Service and to offer taxpayers with such status a similar Virginia status with comparable protections from collection activities. The bill contains technical amendments and has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Limits on workers' Virginia tax debt garnishments: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2027, Virginia must follow ordinary wage garnishment limits when collecting state tax debt from workers' pay. For weekly pay, the cap is the smaller of 25% of disposable earnings or earnings above 40 times the higher federal or Virginia minimum hourly wage. The calculation adjusts…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Phil M. Hernandez (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 98 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-28 | House | Reported from Finance with substitute | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-26 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (30)

- 2026-04-08: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0396) (Governor)
- 2026-04-08: Approved by Governor - Chapter 396 (effective - 7/1/2027) (Governor)
- 2026-03-23: Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (3/23/2026 10:38 am) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-12: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-11: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB488ER) (House)
- 2026-03-11: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-11: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-21: Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (2/21/2026 3:18 pm) (House)
- 2026-02-04: Referred to Committee on Finance and Appropriations (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-02: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-02: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-02: Read second time (House)
- 2026-01-30: Read first time (House)
- 2026-01-29: Committee substitute printed 26106135D-H1 (House)
- 2026-01-28: Reported from Finance with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-26: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-26: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-01-25: Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (1/25/2026 3:47 pm) (House)
- 2026-01-12: Referred to Committee on Finance (House)
- 2026-01-12: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105199D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217623.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217622.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1200655.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1200654.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-29: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100704.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100703.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-27: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1097287.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1097286.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-26: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1096734.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1096733.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084649.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084648.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217623.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217622.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1200655.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1200654.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100704.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100703.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1097287.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1097286.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1096734.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1096733.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084649.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084648.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB488-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).