West Virginia Form NRAE
Application for Certificate of Full or Partial Exemption
Applies to reduce or eliminate the 2.5% withholding on a nonresident's West Virginia property sale, before closing.
Hosted by the West Virginia Tax Division at tax.wv.gov. We link the live file rather than mirroring it, so you always get the current revision.
Do you need Form NRAE?
- You live outside West Virginia and are selling property here.
- Your actual gain is far smaller than 2.5% of the sale price — for example you are selling at a loss.
When it's due
Before closing. Filing after the sale means waiting for a refund instead of avoiding the withholding.
Where it goes
West Virginia Tax Division, ahead of the closing.
Forms that go with NRAE
NRSR
Return of Income Tax Withholding for Nonresident Sale of Real Property
The return the closing agent files to remit the tax withheld from a nonresident seller.
NRER
Application for Early Refund of Withholding on Sales of Real Property by Nonresidents
Gets the over-withheld amount back before the next filing season, instead of waiting to claim it on a return.
RC
Certification of Exemption from Withholding upon Disposition of West Virginia Real Estate
The seller's certification that no withholding is required — typically because the seller is in fact a West Virginia resident.
TSD-389
Withholding Requirements for Sales of Real Property by Nonresidents
The overview explaining when the 2.5% nonresident withholding applies and which of the four forms above you need.
Nonresidents selling West Virginia real estate. This page is a plain-English guide to Form NRAE, not tax advice, and it is not affiliated with the West Virginia Tax Division. Deadlines can shift and the state revises forms — always check the official instructions before filing. Back to all West Virginia tax forms.