Resource Levels Reinforce Confidence for Common Ground Budget Forecast

RICHMOND, VA - Governor Glenn Youngkin on April 16th, announced that general fund revenues for March 2024 remain slightly ahead of the revenue forecast and reinforce the Common Ground Budget forecast. For the month of March, total general fund revenues increased 5.0 percent versus the same period last year.  

“Strong employment growth continues to drive consistent outperformance versus our prudent near-term and long-term forecasts,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “With a record number of Virginians working, and record state revenues, Virginia has never been financially stronger. As the majority of Virginians complete their state tax filings by May 1, we’ll have stronger confidence in the fourth quarter outlook by May 15. That being said, March’s solid results provide stable ground for us to work together to land a budget that meets our collective goals.”

“The Commonwealth’s results have consistently exceeded forecast, which confirms that our forecast is prudent, and Virginia’s economy remains strong,” said Secretary of Finance Stephen Cummings. “With two fewer deposit days in March compared to last year, payroll withholding declined 5.6 percent year-over-year, but this was accounted for in our monthly projections. Payroll withholding exceeded projections for March and is ahead of plan for the year driven by steady job gains.”  

Through March, year-to-date collections are up 6.2 percent compared to last year and are running ahead of projections assumed in the Governor’s proposed Fiscal Year 2024 amended budget. Excluding nonwithholding and refunds, which continue to be distorted due to payments and refunds related to the recently enacted elective Pass-Through Entity Tax, year-to-date collections in core revenue sources are ahead of plan by $399.2 million, a variance of 2.2 percent.  

The full March 2024 revenue report is available here.