Need to Know Tax › West Virginia
West Virginia · 2027 and beyond
West Virginia in 2027 and beyond: what is already law, and what is still open
No tax measure on the ballot. Rates were cut 5% for 2026; the 2027 rates have not been announced. What is on the 2026 return, what starts with tax year 2027, and what is scheduled or conditional after that.
By Charles Trautman, EA, editor
Need to Know Tax · written from West Virginia Tax Division (Department of Revenue) sources and the unofficial November 3 election returns, November 12, 2026 · not yet reviewed by a West Virginia practitioner
No tax measure on the ballot. Rates were cut 5% for 2026; the 2027 rates have not been announced. This page keeps apart three things that get mixed together in the news: what is on the 2026 return you file in early 2027, what begins with tax year 2027, and what is scheduled, conditional or still undecided after that. Election figures are the unofficial November 3, 2026 returns and are not final until the state certifies them.
What the voters decided on November 3, 2026
No statewide tax measure was on the November 3, 2026 ballot in West Virginia. Nothing voted on that day changes a West Virginia return.
This return, next year, and later
| When | What applies |
|---|---|
| The 2026 return, filed in early 2027 | Rates run from 2.11% to 4.58%, a 5% cut signed March 31, 2026. |
| SB 400 adopted the 2025 federal law, but the IT-140 starts from federal AGI, so the deductions taken after AGI still do not reach it. | |
| Starting with tax year 2027 | The 2027 rates are to come. A revenue test each August 15 can cut rates up to 10% more for a later year; assume the 2026 schedule for 2027 estimates until the Department says otherwise. |
| 2028 and later, or conditional | The statute applies a triggered cut beginning the second taxable year after the determination. |
Items under 2027 and later do not change the 2026 return. They matter for 2027 withholding, estimated payments and planning. The detail behind each line is in the other West Virginia articles.
The 2025 federal law and the West Virginia return
West Virginia conforms to the Internal Revenue Code as of a fixed date and moves the date forward each year; SB 400 was the 2026 update.
That is the reason a change on the federal return, such as the deductions for tips, overtime and people 65 and older, may or may not show up on the West Virginia return. The federal side is in The new deductions for tips, overtime and seniors.
What to watch
The Tax Division’s announcement of 2027 rates. When something on this page changes, the change is logged on the updates page with its date.
What to bring
- Your 2026 federal and West Virginia returns, once filed, to set 2027 withholding and estimated payments against them
- Your last pay stub of 2026 and the first of 2027, to see whether withholding changed
- Any notice from the state about a 2027 rate, credit or filing change
Questions people ask
Does anything here change the West Virginia return I file in early 2027?
Only what is listed under the 2026 return. Everything listed under 2027 or later affects withholding, estimated payments and planning, not the return for 2026.
How will I know if this page changes?
Every change is logged on the updates page with its date and the article it affects. State legislatures meet in early 2027 and some act before the filing deadline.
West Virginia, after the election
No tax measure on the ballot. Rates were cut 5% for 2026; the 2027 rates have not been announced.
Written by Charles Trautman, EA, editor · Need to Know Tax, Lone Tree, Colorado
Questions about this article in West Virginia are answered by [your practice name] · [your phone] · [your email address]. We’re looking for an EA or CPA in each West Virginia city to hold that city’s seat and take this spot — is that you?
An invitation to West Virginia EAs and CPAs
These West Virginia pages were written by the editor from the West Virginia Tax Division (Department of Revenue)’s own publications, and they need a West Virginia practitioner’s eye. One enrolled agent or CPA in each West Virginia city holds that city’s seat: reads these pages before the filing season and is credited as a reviewer, is named on every page of their city’s edition, and answers its readers’ questions. $1,000 for the 2026 season, the charter price. Take your city’s seat (a two-minute form and a card), tell us you’re interested, write to editor@needtoknowtax.com, or read how it works.
Sources and where to check
- WV Tax Division: 2026 Income Tax Rate Cut (S.B. 392 rate schedules and withholding tables)
- WV Tax Division: 2025 Tax Rate Schedules
- WV Tax Division: Social Security Modification (H.B. 4880 phase-in and the $8,000 modification)
- WV Legislature: Enrolled Committee Substitute for S.B. 392 (2026)
- WV Legislature: Enrolled Committee Substitute for S.B. 400 (2026), conformity date
- WV Tax Division: Income Tax Filing Season
- WV Tax Division: Tax forms and letters rebranding