West Virginia completed a three-year phase-in this year, and it is the most consequential recent change in the state's tax code.
Social Security benefits became 100% exempt in tax year 2026. The decreasing modification ran 35% in 2024 and 65% in 2025 for filers above the income thresholds, reaching 100% now. Filers below $50,000 of federal AGI single, or $100,000 joint, have had a full exemption since tax year 2022.
Which is why sources written before 2026 look contradictory — they were describing different points on a schedule.
On $85,000 a single filer pays $3,004 and takes home $65,624.
A note before you start. This is general education, not tax advice. Federal figures are tax year 2026, from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 and the Social Security Administration; West Virginia's brackets, exemption and retirement rules come from this site's own sourced 50-state dataset, citing W. Va. Code chapter 11 article 21 and the Tax Division's Form IT-140 instructions. Every dollar figure is computed by the same engine the site's calculators use, on a single filer with no dependents or pre-tax deferrals unless stated. Sales tax, property tax and municipal service fees are discussed qualitatively.
1. What West Virginia takes
| Amount on $85,000 | |
|---|---|
| Gross salary | $85,000 |
| Federal income tax | −$9,870 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | −$5,270 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | −$1,233 |
| West Virginia income tax | −$3,004 |
| Take-home | $65,624 |
Across incomes, single filer:
| Salary | West Virginia tax | Effective WV rate | Take-home |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $727 | 2.42% | $24,558 |
| $45,000 | $1,233 | 2.74% | $37,105 |
| $60,000 | $1,866 | 3.11% | $48,524 |
| $85,000 | $3,004 | 3.53% | $65,624 |
| $120,000 | $4,607 | 3.84% | $88,643 |
| $175,000 | $7,126 | 4.07% | $123,753 |
The effective rate never reaches the 4.58% top rate, even at $175,000, because five genuinely separated brackets do real work at the bottom.
West Virginia is cheaper than most people assume — sixteenth-lowest of the 41 income-tax states at $85,000, below Colorado, Missouri, Wisconsin and New Jersey.
Run your own salary against West Virginia's brackets2. Five brackets, and no standard deduction
| Taxable income above (single/joint) | Rate |
|---|---|
| $0 | 2.11% |
| $10,000 | 2.81% |
| $25,000 | 3.16% |
| $40,000 | 4.22% |
| $60,000 | 4.58% |
West Virginia has no standard deduction. A $2,000 personal exemption per person is the only across-the-board subtraction, plus $2,000 per dependent.
And the bracket thresholds are identical for single and married-joint filers. Only married-separate differs, at exactly half. West Virginia does not widen its brackets for a couple at all — the same arrangement Virginia and South Carolina use.
For a single filer on $85,000: $2,000 sheltered, $83,000 taxable. $10,000 at 2.11%, $15,000 at 2.81%, $15,000 at 3.16%, $20,000 at 4.22% and $23,000 at 4.58% — $3,004.
The lower brackets do genuine work here. They cover $60,000 of taxable income and produce $1,951 of tax, where a flat 4.58% on that same $60,000 would produce $2,748. The graduated structure is worth $797 to an $85,000 earner, which is much more than in Kansas ($87) or Oklahoma ($215).
The rates are coming down
West Virginia has legislated a multi-year reduction in its rates, with steps conditioned on revenue triggers. The rates here are the 2026 figures. If you are reading this later, check the current schedule — the direction has been consistently downward and the conditional steps are not guaranteed.
And the rate schedule's shape is worth one more sentence. West Virginia's five brackets are unusually evenly spaced — $10,000, $25,000, $40,000 and $60,000 of taxable income — which is why the graduated structure does more work here than in states whose brackets bunch at the bottom. Oklahoma exhausts its schedule by $7,200; Alabama by $3,000; West Virginia keeps working to $60,000. For a middle earner that is a genuine difference, and it is the reason West Virginia's effective rate stays well below its top rate at every income in the table above.
3. Filing jointly
| Salary | Single WV tax | Joint WV tax | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $727 | $664 | $63 |
| $45,000 | $1,233 | $1,149 | $84 |
| $60,000 | $1,866 | $1,782 | $84 |
| $85,000 | $3,004 | $2,912 | $92 |
| $120,000 | $4,607 | $4,515 | $92 |
| $175,000 | $7,126 | $7,034 | $92 |
$92. That is the entire joint-filing benefit in West Virginia, being 4.58% of the second $2,000 exemption.
Nothing else doubles, because the bracket thresholds are identical for both statuses.
Arkansas's $97 and Illinois's $145 are the nearest comparisons, and West Virginia's $92 is the smallest joint benefit of any state in this series.
The practical version: in West Virginia, marriage changes your state tax bill by about eight dollars a month.
4. What the paycheck actually looks like
On $85,000 as a single filer:
| Pay schedule | Gross per cheque | Net per cheque |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly (52) | $1,634.62 | $1,261.99 |
| Biweekly (26) | $3,269.23 | $2,523.98 |
| Semi-monthly (24) | $3,541.67 | $2,734.32 |
| Monthly (12) | $7,083.33 | $5,468.63 |
Biweekly and semi-monthly are not the same thing. Biweekly is 26 cheques — every other Friday — so two months a year carry three paydays. Semi-monthly is 24, on fixed dates, so every month carries exactly two. The annual total is identical; the monthly cash flow is not, and a biweekly earner budgeting on "two cheques a month" is under-counting by $5,048 a year.
Form WV/IT-104 is West Virginia's withholding exemption certificate, and it asks for a count of exemptions at $2,000 each. Because the exemption is small, each one is worth about $92 of tax — so the IT-104 decision moves less money here than in most states.
Withholding is an estimate, not the tax. Over-withholding produces a refund; under-withholding a bill.
5. Social Security, and why older sources disagree
West Virginia's Social Security exemption is now complete, and the history explains a great deal of contradictory published material.
| Tax year | Exemption for filers above the income thresholds |
|---|---|
| 2022 and earlier | Full exemption below $50,000 single / $100,000 joint; taxed above |
| 2024 | 35% |
| 2025 | 65% |
| 2026 | 100% |
Filers with federal AGI of $50,000 or less (single) or $100,000 or less (joint) have had a 100% exemption since tax year 2022. The phase-in above applied only to those above those thresholds.
Which is why two accurate sources written a year apart can say completely different things. A 2024 guide describing a 35% exemption was correct for 2024. It is wrong for 2026.
As of tax year 2026, West Virginia exempts Social Security benefits in full at every income level.
6. Retirement: three answers, and the spread is wide
Military retirement is fully exempt. A military retiree may take a decreasing modification for the taxable amount of retirement income reported on the federal return received from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service — no dollar cap, no age condition, no income limit. A Form 1099-R must be attached even if no withholding is reported.
Public pensions come in two tiers, and the second is unusually generous.
Tier one: any individual, regardless of age, may deduct up to $2,000 of benefits received from the West Virginia Teachers Retirement System, the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System, and federal retirement systems under 4 U.S.C. 111.
Tier two: the TOTAL amount of any benefit, including survivorship annuities, received from any West Virginia state or local police, deputy sheriff's, or firefighter's retirement system may be deducted IN FULL.
That second tier is one of the most generous public safety retirement exemptions in the country, and it is entirely separate from the $2,000 that a teacher or a PERS member receives.
Private pensions get nothing dedicated at all. A retired private-sector employee relies solely on the general $8,000 age-65-or-disabled modification.
401(k), 403(b) and traditional IRA distributions get nothing dedicated either — they too rely on that general $8,000 senior modification, which is not a plan-specific rule but a modification of income received from any source by a filer 65 or over or disabled.
| Source | West Virginia treatment |
|---|---|
| Social Security | Exempt in full (2026) |
| Military retirement | Exempt in full |
| WV police, deputy sheriff, firefighter retirement | Exempt in full |
| WV Teachers, PERS, federal retirement | $2,000 |
| Private pension | General $8,000 age-65 modification only |
| 401(k), 403(b), traditional IRA | General $8,000 age-65 modification only |
| Retirement income, single, 65+ | West Virginia tax |
|---|---|
| $40,000 all Social Security | $0 |
| $40,000 from a WV firefighter pension | $0 |
| $40,000 all 401(k) withdrawals | About $791 |
| $70,000 — $30,000 SS + $40,000 401(k) | About $791 |
The gap between a retired West Virginia firefighter and a retired private-sector employee on identical incomes is the whole $791. That is a deliberate policy choice, and it is worth knowing which side of it you are on.
7. No percentage income tax locally — but check the service fee
No West Virginia county or municipality levies a percentage tax on personal income. Form IT-140 has no local income tax line, no locality-of-residence field and no local schedule.
One caveat a West Virginia reader should have, stated as a caveat rather than as a sourced figure.
A number of West Virginia municipalities impose flat "city service fees" collected per week worked in the city. Charleston, Huntington, Morgantown, Parkersburg and others have levied them at various points.
Three things about them:
They are fixed dollar amounts, not a percentage of income. A flat weekly charge on anyone who works in the city, typically a few dollars a week.
They are municipal ordinances rather than a state-administered tax, and they do not appear on the state return. That is why they are outside this site's local-income-tax model, which stores percentage rates.
They are triggered by working in the city, not living there. Someone commuting into Charleston pays it; someone living in Charleston and working elsewhere may not.
A few dollars a week is a few hundred dollars a year, which against a $3,004 state income tax bill is not trivial — and it is entirely invisible in the figures above.
Check whether the city you work in charges one, because nothing on your state return will tell you.
8. What West Virginia charges besides income tax
Property tax is comparatively low. West Virginia's effective rates on owner-occupied housing are among the lowest in the country, and the state offers a homestead exemption removing a portion of assessed value for owners aged 65 or over or permanently disabled.
That low property tax is a genuine and often-overlooked part of West Virginia's position. Set against Virginia next door, where the vehicle personal property tax adds a recurring annual bill, or Pennsylvania, where school district property taxes run high, the difference for a homeowner can exceed the income tax gap.
Sales tax sits below the national middle at the state level, with a municipal option layered on top in a number of cities. West Virginia exempts groceries from the state sales tax.
Severance taxes on coal, natural gas and other minerals carry a meaningful share of state revenue, which is the structural reason West Virginia can run a comparatively modest income tax and low property tax at the same time.
And that has the same consequence it has in Wyoming, Alaska and North Dakota: revenue tracks commodity prices. The legislated income tax reductions in section 2 are conditioned on revenue triggers precisely because the legislature knows the base is cyclical.
For a household the practical summary is favourable. Below-average income tax, low property tax, below-average sales tax with groceries exempt, and no local percentage income tax — offset by the flat city service fees in the previous section and by a job market concentrated in a small number of sectors.
9. Where West Virginia ranks
At $85,000, West Virginia's $3,004 is sixteenth-lowest of the 41 income-tax states.
| State | Tax on $85,000 |
|---|---|
| North Carolina | $2,883 |
| Nebraska | $2,988 |
| West Virginia | $3,004 |
| Colorado | $3,032 |
| Missouri | $3,058 |
Against its five neighbours:
| Salary | WV | VA | KY | OH | MD (state only) | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $727 | $911 | $932 | $109 | $1,059 | $921 |
| $45,000 | $1,233 | $1,773 | $1,457 | $521 | $1,772 | $1,382 |
| $85,000 | $3,004 | $4,073 | $2,857 | $1,621 | $3,672 | $2,610 |
| $175,000 | $7,126 | $9,248 | $6,007 | $4,096 | $8,448 | $7,126 |
West Virginia is cheaper than Virginia and Maryland at every income shown, and more expensive than Ohio at all of them — Ohio's $26,050 zero bracket is the reason.
Three of the five neighbours have local wage taxes that West Virginia does not. Kentucky's local occupational taxes are near-universal, Ohio's municipal income taxes cover most of the state, Pennsylvania's local earned income taxes are widespread, and every Maryland county levies one at 2.25% to 3.20%.
So the state-figure comparison understates West Virginia's position substantially. Against Maryland in particular — where a county tax adds roughly $2,000 to $2,800 at $85,000 — West Virginia's real advantage is more than double what the table shows.
And West Virginia and Pennsylvania are identical to the dollar at $175,000 — $7,126 each, arrived at by a graduated schedule and a flat 3.07% respectively. That is a coincidence, and a good illustration of how little the structure predicts.
10. What you can control
Pre-tax deferrals save 4.58% at state level for an $85,000 earner. A $10,000 traditional 401(k) contribution saves $2,200 federally plus $458 in West Virginia tax.
But read section 6. That money relies on the general $8,000 age-65 modification when it comes out, and everything above that is taxable. The deferral defers rather than avoids the state tax for most private-sector savers.
HSA contributions through payroll cut federal tax, West Virginia tax and FICA. On $4,400 that is roughly $968 federal, $202 West Virginia and $337 FICA — about $1,507, or 34% of the amount contributed.
Capital gains get no state preference. West Virginia taxable income begins from federal AGI, which already includes net capital gain, and no exclusion, discount or preferential rate applies.
Find out whether your workplace city charges a service fee. Section 7 explains why nothing on your state return will tell you.
And if you are a retired public safety officer, confirm you are taking the full exemption rather than the $2,000 tier — the two are separate provisions and the difference is the whole bill.
Frequently asked questions
What is West Virginia's income tax rate? Five brackets: 2.11%, 2.81%, 3.16%, 4.22% and 4.58%, with the top rate beginning at $60,000 of taxable income. The thresholds are identical for single and married-joint filers.
What is take-home pay on $85,000 in West Virginia? $65,624 for a single filer, after $9,870 federal income tax, $6,503 FICA and $3,004 West Virginia income tax.
Does West Virginia tax Social Security? Not for tax year 2026. The exemption reached 100% this year, having run 35% in 2024 and 65% in 2025 for filers above the income thresholds. Filers below $50,000 single or $100,000 joint have had a full exemption since 2022.
Does West Virginia have a standard deduction? No. A $2,000 personal exemption per person is the only across-the-board subtraction, plus $2,000 per dependent.
How much is the joint filing benefit? $92 a year — 4.58% of the second $2,000 exemption. West Virginia's bracket thresholds are identical for single and joint filers, so nothing else doubles.
Does West Virginia tax my pension? It depends entirely on which one. Police, deputy sheriff and firefighter retirement from a West Virginia system is exempt in full, including survivorship annuities. Teachers, PERS and federal retirement get $2,000. Private pensions and 401(k)s get only the general $8,000 age-65 modification.
Can a West Virginia city tax my income? Not as a percentage. But a number of municipalities charge flat city service fees per week worked in the city — a few dollars a week, collected by ordinance, invisible on your state return.
Is West Virginia cheaper than Virginia? Yes, substantially — $3,004 against $4,073 at $85,000, and $7,126 against $9,248 at $175,000. Neither state has a local income tax, so the comparison is clean.
What to do next
West Virginia's income tax is lower than its reputation, its Social Security exemption is newly complete, and its public safety pension treatment is among the most generous in the country. The city service fee is the one thing your return will not tell you about.
- West Virginia take-home pay calculator — your salary with every deduction shown separately.
- Your Paycheck in the USA in 2026 — all fifty states on one salary.
- Take-Home Pay in Virginia — the neighbour that costs over a thousand dollars more.
- Take-Home Pay in Ohio — cheaper on the state figure, with a municipal layer West Virginia lacks.
- 50/30/20 budget calculator — built on take-home rather than salary.
Every figure on this site is sourced and dated. How we source every number.
Figures in this article are illustrations computed by this site's own tax engine for tax year 2026, on a single filer with no dependents or pre-tax deferrals unless stated. Federal figures come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 and the Social Security Administration; West Virginia's brackets, exemption, Social Security phase-in and retirement rules from this site's sourced 50-state dataset, citing W. Va. Code chapter 11 article 21 and the West Virginia Tax Division. Municipal city service fees are flat dollar charges set by local ordinance and are deliberately not modelled; sales tax and property tax are discussed qualitatively rather than computed. This is general education and not tax advice; consult a licensed tax professional for your own situation.