WV Paycheck Calculator (West Virginia 2026)

Under Senate Bill 392 (W. Va. Code § 11-21-4j), West Virginia features five progressive tax brackets: 2.11% on taxable income from $0 to $10,000; 2.81% from $10,001 to $25,000; 3.16% from $25,001 to $40,000; 4.22% from $40,001 to $60,000; and 4.58% on income over $60,000. Married filers filing separately use the same percentages on halved income brackets ($5k, $12.5k, $20k, $30k).

Total deductions on a West Virginia paycheck typically range between 15% and 28% of gross wages depending on your income level. A standard paycheck includes: Federal Income Tax (0% to 37% progressive), West Virginia State Tax (2.11% to 4.58% progressive), Social Security (6.2% up to $184,500), Medicare (1.45% plus 0.9% over $200k), and any applicable municipal City Service Fee ($2.00 to $5.00 weekly in cities like Charleston, Huntington, and Morgantown).

A City Service Fee is a flat weekly fee levied by specific West Virginia municipalities to fund municipal police, fire, emergency services, and street maintenance. Employers are legally required to deduct this fee from the wages of anyone who works within corporate city limits, regardless of whether the employee lives in that city. Rates include $3.00/week ($156/yr) in Charleston and Morgantown, $5.00/week ($260/yr) in Huntington, $2.50/week ($130/yr) in Parkersburg, and $2.00/week ($104/yr) in Wheeling, Weirton, and Fairmont.

Dependents reduce your taxes on two separate levels: (1) On Federal Form W-4 Step 3, you enter $2,000 for each qualifying child under age 17 and $500 for other dependents. This tax credit directly reduces your federal income tax withholding dollar-for-dollar across the year ($76.92 per bi-weekly check per child). (2) On West Virginia Form IT-104, each dependent claimed as an allowance deducts $2,000 from your annual taxable gross income, reducing state income tax withholding by approximately $42 to $92 annually ($1.62 to $3.52 per bi-weekly check).

West Virginia's statutory minimum wage is $8.75 per hour under W. Va. Code § 21-5C-2 for employers with six or more employees behind the same location. For tipped employees, the cash wage minimum is $2.62 per hour (30% of standard minimum wage), provided tip credits bring total earnings up to at least $8.75 per hour. Federal minimum wage remains $7.25 per hour, but West Virginia employers subject to state law must pay the higher $8.75 rate.

Under West Virginia law, non-exempt hourly employees are entitled to 1.5 times their regular hourly rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 during a designated 7-day workweek. For example, an employee earning $20.00/hour earns $30.00/hour for overtime hours. Overtime earnings do not carry a special 'overtime tax rate'; they are added to your gross earnings for that pay period, which may temporarily place a portion of that check in a higher withholding bracket under IRS and state percentage tables.

Form IT-104 is the state equivalent of the federal W-4. Because West Virginia does not provide a standard deduction, taxpayers use Form IT-104 to claim personal exemptions for themselves, their spouse, and their dependents. Each allowance exempts $2,000 of annualized gross pay ($76.92 per bi-weekly paycheck) from state income tax withholding. Line 5 also allows two-earner households to choose standard withholding to prevent under-withholding at year-end.

Yes. West Virginia has formal reciprocal personal income tax agreements with five states: Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. If you reside in one of these states but commute to work in West Virginia, you can submit Form WV/IT-104NR (Nonresident Exemption Certificate) to your employer to be 100% exempt from West Virginia state income tax withholding. Your employer will withhold income tax for your home state instead. Municipal City Service Fees (e.g., Charleston or Huntington) still apply.

Pre-tax deductions reduce your gross pay before taxes are calculated. Traditional 401(k) and 403(b) contributions reduce both federal and West Virginia state taxable income. Section 125 cafeteria plans — such as qualifying health insurance, dental, vision, and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) — reduce federal income tax, WV state income tax, AND FICA taxes (Social Security 6.2% and Medicare 1.45%), generating an immediate 25% to 35% in combined tax savings on every dollar contributed.

Bonuses, commissions, and supplemental wages in West Virginia are subject to federal and state withholding. Federally, employers typically withhold a flat 22% on supplemental wages under $1 million. For West Virginia state income tax, employers may withhold using the aggregate method (combining regular wages and bonus into one payment and calculating graduated tax) or a flat supplemental rate aligned with the state's progressive tax brackets (up to 4.58%). Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) also apply.

Under the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act (WPCA, W. Va. Code § 21-5-4), an employer must pay all wages due to an employee on or before the next regular payday on which wages would ordinarily be paid, whether the employee was discharged, laid off, or voluntarily resigned. Payment may be made through regular pay channels or by mail if requested by the employee.

Generic national calculators like SmartAsset, ADP, and PaycheckCity frequently produce inaccurate results for West Virginia workers for two key reasons: (1) They do not support West Virginia's flat weekly municipal City Service Fees ($2.00 to $5.00/wk), incorrectly showing $0.00 local tax in cities like Charleston, Huntington, and Morgantown. (2) They are often slow to update state tax brackets, omitting the 2026 across-the-board 5% tax reduction enacted under Senate Bill 392 (which lowered rates from 2.22%–4.82% down to 2.11%–4.58%). Our calculator is built specifically for West Virginia to guarantee 100% localized compliance.

The Social Security tax (6.2%) only applies to wages up to the annual federal statutory wage base of $184,500 in 2026. Once an employee's year-to-date earnings exceed $184,500, Social Security withholding stops completely for the remainder of the calendar year, resulting in an immediate 6.2% bump in net take-home pay. Medicare tax (1.45%) continues on all earnings with no ceiling, and an additional 0.9% Medicare surtax applies to wages exceeding $200,000 for single filers ($250,000 married).

Under municipal ordinances in Charleston, Huntington, and Morgantown, the City Service Fee is levied on individuals who physically work within corporate limits. If you work 100% remotely from home outside the city boundary, the City Service Fee does not apply to you. However, if you work on a hybrid schedule (commuting into an office inside city limits for one or more days per week), employers are required to withhold the full weekly fee.