A bill introduced by State Sen. Jeremy S. McPike is designed to update the terminology used in Virginia’s tax law to match federal regulations and extend eligibility to more military retirees, the Virginia State Senate reports.
SB148, submitted on Jan. 14, 2026, in the 2026 regular session, has been officially described as: “Income tax, state; subtraction for tax, military retirement benefits, uniformed services.”
This analysis, based directly on the bill’s language, may clarify the bill’s specific provisions.
Essentially, the legislation modifies Virginia’s income tax subtraction for military retirement benefits, updating terminology to reflect federal law and allowing a wider range of individuals to qualify. It substitutes “Armed Forces of the United States” with “uniformed services of the United States” when defining those eligible for retirement income and survivor benefit exclusions. The bill maintains current phase-in increases to the deductible amount but clarifies qualifying income includes both retirement pay and certain survivor benefits related to service in any uniformed service specified by federal statute.
Sen. Jeremy S. McPike (Democrat-29th District) is the sole sponsor of the bill.
Since the session’s start, McPike has introduced 20 additional bills.
McPike earned his BA from George Mason University in 1997.
A Democrat, McPike was first elected to represent Virginia’s 29th Senate district in 2016, succeeding Charles Colgan.
In Virginia, the bill process begins with introduction in either the House of Delegates or Senate and assignment to committee for analysis and amendment. Committee-approved measures go to the full chamber for debate and voting. When approved by both bodies, the bill moves to the governor, who can sign, veto, or allow it to become law without signing. Regular sessions convene annually on the second Monday in January, with lawmakers presenting hundreds of bills—only a portion ultimately become law.
| Patron(s) | Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB148 | 01/14/2026 | Income tax, state; subtraction for tax, military retirement benefits, uniformed services. |
| Jeremy S. McPike, Barbara A. Favola, Jennifer B. Boysko, Kannan Srinivasan, Russet Perry, and Saddam Azlan Salim | SB74 | 01/14/2026 | Affordable housing; local zoning ordinance authority. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Christie New Craig | SB122 | 01/14/2026 | School boards; student diabetes care & management in schools, division wide plan required. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Russet Perry | SB138 | 01/14/2026 | PFAS monitoring; DEQ to require for industrial wastewater source, publicly owned treatment works. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB139 | 01/14/2026 | Income tax, state; subtraction for long-term capital gains from sale of principal residence. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB140 | 01/14/2026 | Fire Programs, Department of; development of mental health awareness training. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB149 | 01/14/2026 | State-facilitated IRA savings program; various changes to the program. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Bill DeSteph | SB164 | 01/14/2026 | Health insurance; ethics and fairness in carrier business practices, downcoded claims. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB165 | 01/14/2026 | Contracts; retainage bonds permitted in construction contracts, effective clause. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB166 | 01/14/2026 | Insurance; contingent deferred annuities, nonforfeiture benefits. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB170 | 01/14/2026 | Protection of employees; covenants not to compete, discharged employees. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB256 | 01/14/2026 | Appliance minimum energy and water conservation standards; requirement of manufacturers. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB321 | 01/14/2026 | Abandonment of highway; section of the secondary state highway system, local authority. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB324 | 01/14/2026 | Virginia Public Procurement Act; additional public works contract requirements. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB326 | 01/14/2026 | Virginia Public Procurement Act; cooperative procurement. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Kannan Srinivasan | SB371 | 01/14/2026 | Electric utilities; electric demand flexibility programs, high energy demand customers, report. |
| Jeremy S. McPike, Angelia Williams Graves, Jennifer D. Carroll Foy, Kannan Srinivasan, and Saddam Azlan Salim | SB388 | 01/14/2026 | Affordable housing; religious organizations and other nonprofit tax-exempt properties. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Angelia Williams Graves | SB443 | 01/14/2026 | Siting of battery energy storage projects; commercial solar photovoltaic generation facilities. |
| Jeremy S. McPike, Adam P. Ebbin, Jennifer B. Boysko, Kannan Srinivasan, Saddam Azlan Salim, and Scott A. Surovell | SB446 | 01/14/2026 | Limited-duration licenses, driver privilege cards, and permits; validity periods for documents. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB487 | 01/14/2026 | Electric cooperatives; authorized to establish and implement a virtual power plant program. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB591 | 01/14/2026 | Income tax, state; free tax filing program for individuals |
Information for this article was sourced from the Virginia State Senate. You can access the primary data here.
