How West Virginia taxes retirement income

Some 2026 figures pending confirmation Tax year 2026 · research last updated October 2, 2026

West Virginia doesn't tax Social Security benefits.
Exclusions and subtractions for retirement income (details below):
- Senior citizen: from age 65, at most $8,000 per person.
- WV PERS / Teachers' Retirement / federal (civil service) retirement modification: at most $2,000 per person.
- Fully exempt pensions.
Rates for 2026: 2.11% to 4.58%, graduated.

At a glance

Income tax	Yes
Rates (2026)	2.11% to 4.58%, graduated
Starts from	Federal adjusted gross income (AGI)
Personal exemption	$2,000 per person
Social Security	Not taxed
Retirement income exclusions	3 (see below)
Roth conversions	Taxable
Capital gains	Taxed like other income
Local income tax	None

Tax rates

Brackets apply to West Virginia taxable income. Other filing statuses are in the rules reference.

Rate	Single: taxable income	Married filing jointly: taxable income
2.11%	$0 to $10,000	$0 to $10,000
2.81%	$10,000 to $25,000	$10,000 to $25,000
3.16%	$25,000 to $40,000	$25,000 to $40,000
4.22%	$40,000 to $60,000	$40,000 to $60,000
4.58%	$60,000 and up	$60,000 and up

West Virginia doesn't tax Social Security benefits.

For TY2026 and later, 100% of Social Security benefits included in federal AGI is subtracted at any income (W. Va. Code 11-21-12: 100% below $50k/$100k AGI since 2022; above those AGI levels 35% in 2024, 65% in 2025, 100% from 2026). NOTE: the SS subtraction (Schedule M line 34) counts against the $8,000 senior modification (see retirementExclusions).

Pensions, IRAs and 401(k)s

Senior citizen (or disability) modification (W. Va. Code 11-21-12)

Age: 65+ · Limit: $8,000 per person · Applies to: any income

Each person 65+ before the end of the tax year (or permanently and totally disabled) may subtract up to $8,000 of their own income from any source, REDUCED by that person's other retirement/interest modifications on Schedule M lines 29-34 (US obligation interest, federal law-enforcement/WV police-fire retirement, military retirement, the $2,000 WV PERS/TRS/federal pension modification, and Social Security). Joint income is split between spouses by ownership; only the eligible spouse's income counts. Because 100% of taxable SS is subtracted from 2026, a retiree whose taxable SS >= $8,000 gets $0 senior modification. A surviving spouse of a qualifying decedent may claim a similar up-to-$8,000 modification.

WV PERS / Teachers' Retirement / federal (civil service) retirement modification

Limit: $2,000 per person · Applies to: government pensions (WV PERS, WV TRS, federal retirement)

Up to $2,000 per person (combined 33a+33b) of taxable pension from these systems, any age. Counts against the $8,000 senior modification.

Fully exempt pensions (noted)

Applies to: military retired pay, wv police/deputy sheriff/firefighter retirement, federal law-enforcement retirement, railroad retirement

Fully subtracted; count against the $8,000 senior modification (railroad retirement is on line 40 and does not).

Roth conversions

A Roth conversion counts as taxable income for West Virginia. Whether a retirement income exclusion can cover part of it depends on the rules above.

Capital gains

Taxed like other income, at the rates above.

Credits and relief for older residents

Senior Citizen Tax Credit (property tax). Credit against income tax for property tax paid by low-income homeowners 65+ who qualify for the Homestead Exemption (Schedule SCTC-A); income test based on federal poverty guidelines.
Homestead Excess Property Tax Credit. Refundable up to $1,000 when real property tax on owner-occupied home exceeds 4% of gross household income (incl. SS); low-income = FAGI <= 300% of poverty guideline.
Low-Income Earned Income Exclusion. Earned income only ($10,000 max) — not relevant to a pure retirement household.

More detail from our research notes

SB 392 (2026, signed 2026-03-31, effective 2026-06-12) cut all rates 5% retroactive to 2026-01-01 (new 11-21-4j). Same bracket schedule for single, MFJ, HOH, surviving spouse; MFS brackets are halved. Base-tax form of 2026 schedule: over $10,000 $211.00 + 2.81%; over $25,000 $632.50 + 3.16%; over $40,000 $1,106.50 + 4.22%; over $60,000 $1,950.50 + 4.58%. No standard deduction and no itemized deductions; $2,000 personal exemption per taxpayer, spouse and dependent (surviving spouse gets an extra exemption for two years after death; $500 if exemptions would be zero). IRA distributions and Roth conversions are fully taxable but are 'any source' income that can use the $8,000 senior modification if not already used up by SS/pension modifications. WV taxes capital gains as ordinary income.

Pending confirmation

These points were still being confirmed against West Virginia's published 2026 forms when this page was built. Most are waiting on forms the state publishes around the turn of the year.

4 items

2026 rate schedule comes from the Tax Division's SB 392 page, not yet from 2026 IT-140 instructions/tax tables (not yet published).
2026 IT-140 booklet not yet published (expected January 2027 at https://tax.wv.gov/Individuals/Pages/IndividualsForms.aspx); the rates are confirmed by statute (SB 392 enrolled, new 11-21-4j) and the SS subtraction and $8,000 senior modification by the current 11-21-12 text, so only form layout is open.
Rates for TY2028+ may drop under 11-21-4h as rewritten by SB 392: the Aug 15, 2026 and later determinations reduce rates from the second taxable year after the determination (whole-percent steps, max 10%), so TY2027 keeps the 2026 schedule.
HEPTC 2026 income limits taken as 300% of the 2026 HHS poverty guideline (the 2025 booklet's $46,950/$63,450 + $16,500 equal 300% of the 2025 guideline); confirm on the 2026 Schedule HEPTC-1.

Sources

Every figure comes from these documents, mostly the state's own forms, instructions and statutes.

2026 rate schedules (all statuses incl. MFS), SB 392, retroactive to 2026-01-01https://tax.wv.gov/Individuals/Pages/PersonalIncomeTaxReductionBill.aspx
W. Va. Code 11-21-12: SS subtraction phase-in (35% 2024, 65% 2025, 100% 2026+), $8,000 senior modification reduced by other modificationshttps://code.wvlegislature.gov/11-21-12/
11-21-12 current text (PDF printed Oct 3, 2026): (c)(8)(E) 100% of taxable SS from TY2026; (c)(9) $8,000 at 65 by year end, reduced by modifications (1),(2),(5)-(8) incl. SShttps://code.wvlegislature.gov/pdf/11-21-12/
SB 392 (2026) enrolled: new 11-21-4j 2026 rates; 11-21-4h trigger, determination each Aug 15 from 2026, reduction from the second following taxable year ; Tax Division SB 392 pagehttps://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb392%20sub1%20enr.pdf
2025 IT-140 instructions: Schedule M lines 29-34 and 47 (senior deduction worked example), $2,000 exemption, $2,000 PERS/TRS/federal pension cap, creditshttps://tax.wv.gov/Documents/PIT/2025/it140.PersonalIncomeTaxFormsAndInstructions.2025.pdf

Taxtirement's West Virginia calculation is also checked against a second, independent implementation on 1,000 random households. How we check our numbers.

See your own years. Taxtirement applies these West Virginia rules, and the federal and Medicare rules, to your household for every year of retirement, and shows the calculation behind each number. Coming November 2026 for iPhone, iPad and Mac.

This page summarizes West Virginia's 2026 rules as Taxtirement applies them, for education and planning. It isn't tax advice, and it doesn't cover every situation (for example part-year residents, businesses or military-only provisions). Rules change; check the state's current instructions, or a tax professional, before you act. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.