Does West Virginia Tax Social Security and Retirement Income?

West Virginia stops taxing Social Security in 2026

For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, 100% of the Social Security benefits included in federal adjusted gross income is subtracted in computing West Virginia income. The statute reaches this in two parts. Since 2022 the full subtraction has applied when federal adjusted gross income does not exceed $50,000, or $100,000 on a joint return. A second provision, for households above those figures, allowed 35% for 2024, 65% for 2025 and 100% from 2026. (W. Va. Code 11-21-12, West Virginia adjusted gross income of resident individual (modifications for Social Security, pensions, military retirement and the $8,000 senior deduction))

The Tax Division describes the same schedule: taxpayers over the $50,000 and $100,000 thresholds took a 35% modification for tax year 2024 and 65% for 2025, and in tax year 2026 it becomes a 100% decreasing modification, while taxpayers under the thresholds continue to receive 100%. The change came from House Bill 4880 of the 2024 regular session. (West Virginia Tax Division: Social Security Modification)

On the return, the subtraction is taken on Schedule M, line 34, in a column for each spouse, and flows to Form IT-140, line 3. The line numbers here are from the 2025 booklet, the latest published. In our three example households the amounts are $25,500, $46,750 and $59,500. Railroad Retirement Board benefits are subtracted separately on line 40 and have never been taxed by West Virginia. (West Virginia Tax Division, 2025 Personal Income Tax Forms and Instructions (Form IT-140, Schedule M, Schedule A, tax table))

The federal government is a separate matter. Up to 85% of a benefit can be taxed on a federal return once other income passes fixed thresholds, wherever you live. Our taxable Social Security calculator shows how much of yours is counted.

Private pensions are taxed; military and public-safety pensions are exempt

A pension from a private employer has no exclusion of its own in West Virginia. It is part of federal adjusted gross income, which is where the West Virginia return starts, and the only subtraction that can reach it is the general $8,000 deduction for people 65 or older described below. A 62-year-old with a $30,000 corporate pension pays West Virginia tax on all of it less the $2,000 exemption. (W. Va. Code 11-21-12, West Virginia adjusted gross income of resident individual (modifications for Social Security, pensions, military retirement and the $8,000 senior deduction))

Military retirement income is subtracted in full. The statute covers retirement income from the uniformed services, including the reserves and National Guard and any survivorship annuities, to the extent it is included in federal adjusted gross income. It is entered on Schedule M, line 32, and a Form 1099-R must accompany the return even if no tax was withheld. (W. Va. Code 11-21-12, West Virginia adjusted gross income of resident individual (modifications for Social Security, pensions, military retirement and the $8,000 senior deduction))

Retirement income from any West Virginia state or local police, deputy sheriffs’ or firemen’s retirement system is also subtracted in full at any age, on line 31, and qualifying federal law enforcement retirement goes on line 30. Benefits from the West Virginia Public Employees’ Retirement System, the West Virginia Teachers’ Retirement System and federal retirement systems are treated less generously: the subtraction on line 33 is limited to $2,000 per person for all of them combined. (West Virginia Tax Division, 2025 Personal Income Tax Forms and Instructions (Form IT-140, Schedule M, Schedule A, tax table))

IRA and 401(k) withdrawals and Roth conversions are taxed

West Virginia adjusted gross income is federal adjusted gross income with the modifications listed in the statute, and none of them is specific to IRA or 401(k) distributions. Whatever is taxable on the federal return is taxable in West Virginia, at rates of 2.11% to 4.58% in 2026. Qualified Roth withdrawals are not in federal adjusted gross income and so are not taxed. (W. Va. Code 11-21-12, West Virginia adjusted gross income of resident individual (modifications for Social Security, pensions, military retirement and the $8,000 senior deduction))

A Roth conversion is taxed the same way, as income in the year it is included on the federal return. The statute has no modification for conversions. For someone already above $60,000 of taxable income, a $50,000 conversion costs $2,290 in West Virginia tax. The one offset is the $8,000 senior citizen deduction, which covers income from any source, including a conversion, when it has not been used up by other subtractions. (W. Va. Code 11-21-12, West Virginia adjusted gross income of resident individual (modifications for Social Security, pensions, military retirement and the $8,000 senior deduction))

The Tax Division’s worked example for the senior citizen deduction includes IRA distributions in each spouse’s income, alongside wages and jointly held interest, when it measures what the $8,000 can be applied to. Income from property held jointly is divided between spouses by their percentage of ownership. (West Virginia Tax Division, 2025 Personal Income Tax Forms and Instructions (Form IT-140, Schedule M, Schedule A, tax table))

To size a conversion against federal brackets and Medicare surcharges, see the Roth conversion calculator; for required withdrawals, the RMD calculator.

Interest, dividends and capital gains are taxed as ordinary income

West Virginia has no separate rate or exclusion for capital gains or qualified dividends. They are in federal adjusted gross income and are taxed at the same graduated rates as everything else, so a long-term gain realized by someone in the top bracket is taxed at 4.58%. The example households’ long-term gains and qualified dividends are taxed in full. (W. Va. Code 11-21-12, West Virginia adjusted gross income of resident individual (modifications for Social Security, pensions, military retirement and the $8,000 senior deduction))

Interest on obligations of the United States is subtracted, as are interest and dividends on federal or West Virginia securities that the state is barred from taxing, including the federal-interest share of a mutual fund’s dividends. Interest on bonds of other states and their political subdivisions, which is exempt on the federal return, is added back to income. (W. Va. Code 11-21-12, West Virginia adjusted gross income of resident individual (modifications for Social Security, pensions, military retirement and the $8,000 senior deduction))

Premiums paid for long-term care insurance are subtracted from income as well. The Tax Division describes the modification as covering a policy for the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s spouse, parent or dependent. (West Virginia Tax Division, Tax Expenditure Study: Personal Income Tax, January 2026 (rate history and modifications))

For taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2026 the rates are 2.11% on the first $10,000 of taxable income, 2.81% from $10,000 to $25,000, 3.16% from $25,000 to $40,000, 4.22% from $40,000 to $60,000 and 4.58% above $60,000. Senate Bill 392 was signed on March 31, 2026 and cut each rate by 5%, retroactive to the start of the year. (West Virginia Tax Division: 2026 Income Tax Rate Cut (Senate Bill 392, W. Va. Code 11-21-4j rate schedules))

The same schedule applies to single filers, heads of household and married couples filing jointly, so a couple reaches the 4.58% rate at $60,000 of combined taxable income, not $120,000. Married couples filing separately use a schedule with each threshold halved. The 2025 schedule in the latest booklet ran from 2.22% to 4.82%. Filers with taxable income under $100,000 use a tax table that works in $100 bands and taxes each band at its midpoint; the examples here do the same with the 2026 rates, since the 2026 table had not been published when this page was reviewed. (West Virginia Tax Division, 2025 Personal Income Tax Forms and Instructions (Form IT-140, Schedule M, Schedule A, tax table))

West Virginia allows neither a standard deduction nor itemized deductions. What it allows is an exemption of $2,000 for each person on the return, and a surviving spouse gets one additional $2,000 exemption for the two taxable years after the year of death. There is no additional exemption for age. (West Virginia Tax Division, Publication TSD-413: West Virginia Tax Tips for Senior Citizens (exemptions, property tax assessment and due dates))

A person who is 65 by the last day of the taxable year, or permanently and totally disabled at any age, may subtract up to $8,000 of income from any source. The amount is per person, so a couple who are both 65 can subtract up to $16,000, but only the income of the spouse who qualifies counts toward that spouse’s $8,000. (W. Va. Code 11-21-12, West Virginia adjusted gross income of resident individual (modifications for Social Security, pensions, military retirement and the $8,000 senior deduction))

The $8,000 is a ceiling on a group of subtractions, not an addition to them. The statute reduces it by what the same person subtracts for U.S. government interest, public pensions, military retirement and Social Security, and allows nothing once those reach $8,000. The Tax Division compares it to the federal standard deduction: a taxpayer gets the higher of $8,000 or the sum of those itemized modifications, and it notes that with the full Social Security subtraction in 2026, taxable benefits will in many cases be more than $8,000. (West Virginia Tax Division: Social Security Modification)

That is the case in all three example households. Each person’s share of federally taxed Social Security is at least $17,000, so none of them receives any senior citizen deduction, and the only subtraction they take is Social Security. The deduction still helps a person 65 or older who is not yet drawing Social Security, or whose benefits are mostly untaxed on the federal return; at the 4.58% rate the full $8,000 is worth $366. (W. Va. Code 11-21-12, West Virginia adjusted gross income of resident individual (modifications for Social Security, pensions, military retirement and the $8,000 senior deduction))

A surviving spouse may take a one-time subtraction of up to $8,000 for the taxable year after the year of the spouse’s death, if the person who died was 65 or older or permanently and totally disabled and the survivor has not remarried. It is reduced in the same way by the survivor’s other subtractions. (West Virginia Tax Division, 2025 Personal Income Tax Forms and Instructions (Form IT-140, Schedule M, Schedule A, tax table))

The same three households appear on every state page, so the figures can be compared across states. Each is a full-year resident taking the standard deduction, with no dependents. The figures are state income tax only: any county, city or school district income tax is described on this page but not added in. Pension income is from a private employer, and IRA figures are taxable withdrawals from traditional accounts. The state tax is our calculation from West Virginia's published 2026 rules; it is an illustration, not a return.

These households also owe federal income tax, which is the same wherever they live. The tax bracket calculator and the guide to taxes in retirement cover that side.

As a comparative measure, Tax Foundation figures drawn from Census data put West Virginia property taxes at 0.51% of owner-occupied home value in 2024, 42nd among the states. Its county figures are 0.63% in Kanawha County, 0.62% in Cabell County, 0.53% in Berkeley County, 0.52% in Jefferson County and 0.45% in Monongalia County. (Tax Foundation, Property Taxes by State and County, 2026 (comparative figures from Census ACS data))

Property is assessed at 60% of its fair market value as of July 1 for the following calendar tax year. County sheriffs mail the bills, called tax tickets, in July, and the tax is payable in two installments, the first due September 1 and the second March 1 of the next year. Personal property is taxed as well as real estate, though cash, bank accounts, household goods and personal effects are exempt. (West Virginia Tax Division, Publication TSD-413: West Virginia Tax Tips for Senior Citizens (exemptions, property tax assessment and due dates))

For levy purposes property is sorted into classes. Class II is property owned, used and occupied by the owner exclusively for residential purposes, along with owner-occupied farms. Other real and personal property is Class III when it lies outside a municipality and Class IV when it lies inside one, which is where a house that is rented out falls. (W. Va. Code 11-8-5, Classification of property for levy purposes)

Class II carries the lowest levy limits for real estate. The maximum regular levies of the state, county, school board and municipality add up to $1.00 per $100 of assessed value for Class II, against $1.50 for Class III and $2.00 for Class IV. Voters can approve excess levies above those limits, by up to 50% for counties and cities and up to 100% for school boards. (West Virginia Tax Division: Property Tax Rates (maximum levy rates by class))

The homestead exemption removes the first $20,000 of assessed value from tax for an owner-occupant who is 65 or older or permanently and totally disabled. At the 60% ratio that is about $33,300 of market value. The owner must have been a West Virginia resident for the two consecutive calendar years before the tax year, and cannot receive a similar exemption in another state. A returning resident who was away less than five years can qualify with two years of residency out of the previous ten. (W. Va. Code 11-6B-3, Twenty thousand dollar homestead exemption allowed)

Lower-income homeowners in the homestead program can also claim the refundable Senior Citizen Tax Credit. Eligibility depends on federal adjusted gross income and the number of people in the home. For 2026 the income limit, 150% of the federal poverty guideline, is $23,940 for a one-person household and $32,460 for two, and Social Security is not counted for a person who is not required to file a federal return. (West Virginia Tax Division, Publication TSD-411: Senior Citizen Tax Credit (2026 income guidelines))

Property tax paid on cars, trucks, motorcycles, trailers and similar vehicles is returned through the Motor Vehicle Property Tax Adjustment Credit, a refundable income tax credit for the tax actually paid. It has no age or income test, but the tax must be paid on time: the first half before October 1 and the second half before April 1. The credit is claimed for the year the payment was made, on Form IT-140 or, for those who do not file, through the MyTaxes website. (West Virginia Tax Division, Publication TSD-454: Motor Vehicle Property Tax Adjustment Credit)

The state sales tax is 6%. Food and food ingredients bought for home consumption are not taxed, while prepared food is taxed at the full 6%, a category that includes restaurant meals, heated food and items the seller has combined or supplies with utensils. (West Virginia Tax Division, Publication TSD-420: Sales Tax Regarding Prepared Foods)

Drugs, durable medical goods, mobility-enhancing equipment and prosthetic devices dispensed on a prescription are exempt, and so is insulin sold to consumers. Nonprescription medications are taxable. (West Virginia Tax Division, Publication TSD-300: Sales and Use Tax Exemptions)

Cities may add their own sales and use tax, which the Tax Division collects with the state tax. Every municipality on the Division’s list, more than 100 of them, charges 1%, for a combined rate of 7%; Charleston, Huntington, Morgantown, Martinsburg, Wheeling and Parkersburg are among them. The municipal tax does not apply to sales of motor vehicles or motor fuel. (West Virginia Tax Division: Municipal Sales and Use Tax (municipalities imposing the tax and their rates))

As a comparative figure, the Tax Foundation puts West Virginia’s average local rate at 0.59% and its combined state and average local rate at 6.59% as of January 1, 2026, which ranks 31st. (Tax Foundation, State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2026 (comparative figures))

West Virginia’s tax on transfers at death is the West Virginia Estate Tax Act, and it taxes the estate, not the heirs. The tax is imposed only when a federal estate tax is payable and equals the portion of the federal credit for state death taxes that is attributable to property in West Virginia. (W. Va. Code 11-11-3, West Virginia Estate Tax Act: imposition of tax)

That federal credit no longer exists. Section 2011 of the Internal Revenue Code, which provided it, has been repealed, so the amount the West Virginia statute refers to is zero and no West Virginia estate tax is due, whatever the size of the estate. (26 U.S.C. 2011, Credit for State death taxes (repealed by Pub. L. 113-295))

The federal estate tax applies in every state. The estate tax calculator estimates both the federal tax and any state tax.

Senate Bill 392 of 2026 added the rate schedule now in force and reset the mechanism for future cuts. Each August 15, beginning in 2026, the Secretary of Revenue compares the prior fiscal year’s general revenue collections, excluding severance tax, with fiscal year 2019 collections adjusted for inflation. If collections are higher, rates are reduced by the excess divided by total personal income tax collections, rounded down to a whole percentage, beginning the second taxable year after the determination. The formula-driven rates apply to taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2027. (West Virginia Legislature, 2026 Regular Session, Enrolled Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 392 (W. Va. Code 11-21-4h and 11-21-4j))

The 2026 cut is the fourth in four years. Rates were reduced by 21.25% between 2022 and 2023. On August 15, 2024 the revenue formula triggered a 4% cut effective January 1, 2025, and a special session that year added a further 2% while delaying future triggered cuts by twelve months. The top rate was 5.12% for 2023 and 2024 and 4.82% for 2025, and is 4.58% for 2026. (West Virginia Tax Division, Tax Expenditure Study: Personal Income Tax, January 2026 (rate history and modifications))

The Social Security phase-in is complete with tax year 2026. Because the subtraction now usually exceeds $8,000 per person, the Tax Division points out that some taxpayers saw little benefit during the 35% and 65% years, when their subtraction was still below the $8,000 senior citizen deduction they already had, and see the full effect only in 2026. (West Virginia Tax Division: Social Security Modification)

A resident is a person domiciled in West Virginia, unless they keep no permanent place of abode in the state, keep one elsewhere and spend no more than 30 days of the year in West Virginia. A person domiciled elsewhere is also a resident if they maintain a permanent place of abode in West Virginia and spend more than 183 days of the taxable year there, so a second home used for more than half the year can make its owner a West Virginia resident. (W. Va. Code 11-21-7, Resident and nonresident defined)

Someone who moves in or out during the year is a part-year resident, taxed on income from all sources received while a resident and on West Virginia source income for the rest of the year, using Schedule A of Form IT-140. For a nonresident, West Virginia source income does not include annuities and pensions, or interest, dividends and gains on intangible property that is not part of a business carried on in the state. (West Virginia Tax Division, 2025 Personal Income Tax Forms and Instructions (Form IT-140, Schedule M, Schedule A, tax table))

Under federal law (4 U.S.C. 114) a state cannot tax the retirement income of a person who is not its resident or domiciliary. A pension or 401(k) earned in another state is taxed by West Virginia once the retiree lives there, and a pension earned in West Virginia is not taxed by it after the retiree has moved away. (4 U.S.C. 114, Limitation on State income taxation of certain pension income)