500ES: Forms and Instructions for Declaration of Estimated Income Tax (2024)
Virginia · Virginia Tax · Used for tax years 2024
Virginia Form 500ES includes instructions, a worksheet, and payment vouchers for corporations’ 2024 estimated income tax. The vouchers report estimated tax for the year and the amount of each payment, and may be used only with an approved waiver from the electronic payment requir
Who files this form
A corporation subject to Virginia income tax must make a declaration of estimated income tax if its expected state income tax, after allowable credits, exceeds $1,000 for the taxable year. If the amount is $1,000 or less, no declaration is required.
An affiliated group filing a consolidated or combined return must make its declaration on that same basis. The return is treated as the return of a single taxpayer.
For a taxable period shorter than 12 months, no declaration is required if:
- The period is less than 4 months; or
- The filing requirements are first met after the first day of the last month of the short taxable year.
Estimated payments must be made electronically. Paper vouchers are only for corporations with an approved waiver.
When it's due
For tax year 2024, the declaration and installment schedule depends on when the corporation first meets the filing requirements:
| Requirements first met | Declaration due | Installments |
|---|---|---|
| Before the first day of the 4th month | 15th day of the 4th month | 25% each by the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, 9th, and 12th months |
| After the last day of the 3rd month and before the first day of the 6th month | 15th day of the 6th month | 33 1/3% each by the 15th day of the 6th, 9th, and 12th months |
| After the last day of the 5th month and before the first day of the 9th month | 15th day of the 9th month | 50% each by the 15th day of the 9th and 12th months |
| After the last day of the 8th month and before the first day of the 12th month | 15th day of the 12th month | 100% by the 15th day of the 12th month |
The 2024 worksheet prints these calendar-year first-filing dates: April 15, 2024; June 15, 2024; Sept. 15, 2024; and Dec. 15, 2024. Fiscal-year taxpayers are directed to use the month-based schedule above.
What you'll need
Have the following information ready:
- Expected Virginia net income for 2024 and allowable tax credits.
- Any 2023 overpayment to be credited to 2024 tax.
- Your Virginia account number, federal employer identification number (FEIN), corporation name, and address.
- The ending month and year of the entire taxable year.
Complete the Estimated Tax Worksheet and retain it for your files. The worksheet calculates annual estimated tax as 6% of expected Virginia net income, less allowable credits.
If you have an approved electronic-payment waiver, use the appropriate voucher and a check or money order. If you are changing an estimate already filed, complete the Amended Computation Schedule, using payments and credits already applied to the 2024 declaration.
How to file
Pay electronically
Use eForms or Business Online Services through the Virginia Department of Taxation. These options use Debit EFT and allow you to schedule a future payment.
You may also pay by ACH credit through your bank. Some banks may charge a fee. An Electronic Payment Guide is available at www.tax.virginia.gov.
Pay by mail only with an approved waiver
Obtain the waiver request form at www.tax.virginia.gov or call (804) 367-8037.
With an approved waiver:
- Complete the worksheet and the appropriate voucher. Use vouchers in numerical order, beginning with Voucher 1.
- Enter the annual estimated tax on voucher Line 1 and the payment amount on Line 2.
- Sign the first voucher you file. Sign later vouchers if you are amending your estimate.
- Make your check or money order payable to Virginia Department of Taxation and print your Virginia account number on it.
- Detach the voucher and mail it with payment to:
Virginia Department of Taxation
P.O. Box 1500
Richmond, VA 23218-1500
Common mistakes
- Using paper vouchers without an approved waiver. Estimated tax payments must be electronic unless a waiver is approved.
- Entering the quarter's ending date. Enter the ending month and year of the entire taxable year instead.
- Leaving the account number off a mailed payment. Print your Virginia account number on the check or money order.
- Sending payments to the help address. The form says not to send returns or payments to P.O. Box 1115. Mailed vouchers and payments go to P.O. Box 1500.
- Underpaying an installment. Underpayment results in an addition to tax from the installment due date until payment or the return filing due date, whichever is earlier.
Questions people ask
Can a 2023 overpayment reduce my 2024 estimated payments?
Yes. Enter the overpayment on worksheet Line 4. If it exceeds the first installment, enter 0 on Line 2 of the first voucher, with no payment due. An amount not deducted from the first installment can be applied toward the next installment. You may also divide the overpayment by the number of installments due and deduct that amount from each installment.
How do I change an estimate I already filed?
Complete the Amended Computation Schedule. Subtract payments and credits already applied from the revised estimated tax, then divide the unpaid balance by the number of remaining installments. Enter the revised tax and payment amounts on the next voucher due, sign it, and mail it with the required payment by the due date. Paper vouchers require an approved waiver.
Must I annualize income for a short taxable year?
The form directs you to multiply the short-period income by 12 and divide by the number of months in the short period. Annualization is not required if the short taxable year does not change your accounting period.
What if I believe an addition to tax for underpayment should not apply?
Enclose Form 500C, Underpayment of Virginia Estimated Tax by Corporations, with the corporation's income tax return, along with supporting schedules documenting the applicable exception.