Key figures
West Virginia payroll
2026, with sources
Withholding and unemployment
West Virginia withholds income tax at graduated rates that for 2026 run from 2.11% to 4.58%. Unemployment compensation through WorkForce West Virginia is paid on the first $9,500 of each employee’s wages. The statutory new-employer rate is 2.7% (7.5% for out-of-state construction employers), and from July 1, 2026 every employer’s otherwise applicable rate is reduced by 7%. The same 2026 law (SB 1053) adds a separate annual unemployment automation and administration fee, billed by March 31, which the statute sets at seven percent of the employer’s taxable wages for the year ending June 30; employers at a zero rate are exempt, and the Commissioner may lower the percentage to keep collections at or under $18 million a year.
There is no state paid leave or disability program, and the minimum wage is $8.75 an hour.
For a sense of scale: a new employer’s unemployment cost is 2.7% of the first $9,500, $256.50 per employee per year before the July 2026 reduction and the new fee.
Short deadlines
West Virginia’s new-hire window is 14 days, shorter than the federal default, and it covers rehires and contractors paid $2,500 or more. Wages must be paid at least twice a month, and a departing employee is paid by the next regular payday; an employer that pays late owes the employee two times the unpaid amount as liquidated damages.
An example: a remote employee in Morgantown starts on March 2. The company reports the hire by March 16, runs its first semimonthly payroll by the end of March with West Virginia withholding and unemployment, and, if the employee leaves in June, pays final wages on the next regular payday.
Neighbors
West Virginia borders five states and has reciprocal wage-withholding arrangements with neighbors including Pennsylvania and Virginia, whose own forms (Pennsylvania’s REV-419 and Virginia’s VA-4) let West Virginia residents working there be withheld for West Virginia. A West Virginia employer with staff living across the border checks the employee’s state of residence and the matching certificate.
The federal baseline
This page covers what West Virginia adds. The federal rules underneath it apply here too.
Common questions
How fast do we report a new West Virginia hire?
Within 14 days of the hire, rehire or return to work, not the 20 days most states allow. Electronic filers can instead send two monthly transmissions 12 to 16 days apart.
Is there a West Virginia paid leave payroll tax?
No. West Virginia has no state paid family leave or disability insurance program, so there is no paid leave payroll deduction.
Payroll next door
- KYKentucky payrollKentucky payroll is 3.5% state withholding plus local occupational taxes where employees work, unemployment insurance at 2.7% on $12,000 for new employers, and workers’ comp from the first employee.
- MDMaryland payrollMaryland payroll withholds state and county income tax, pays unemployment on the first $8,500, and adds FAMLI contributions of 0.9% from January 1, 2027. Montgomery and Howard counties set their own minimum wages.
- OHOhio payrollOhio payroll carries state, city and school district income taxes, UI on the first $9,000 plus a 0.15% fee for 2026, and no state paid leave program.
- PAPennsylvania payrollPennsylvania’s state payroll is light: 3.07% flat withholding and UC on the first $10,000. The work is local: earned income tax under Act 32, the Local Services Tax, and Philadelphia’s 3.735% Wage Tax.
- VAVirginia payrollVirginia payroll withholds up to 5.75%, pays unemployment on the first $8,000, and follows a minimum wage of $12.77 in 2026 that rises to $15.00 by 2028. Paid family leave contributions start April 1, 2028.
How West Virginia compares
- No tax on wagesStates with no state income tax on wagesWest Virginia: withholds state income tax. 9 of 51 states are on the list.
- Paid leave payrollStates with a paid leave or disability payroll programWest Virginia: no state program. 16 of 51 states are on the list.
- Local payroll taxStates with city, county or district payroll taxesWest Virginia: state-level only. 14 of 51 states are on the list.
Founder guides on this
- PeopleContractor or employee? Classification for startupsContractor or employee depends on control, not the contract. The IRS test, state rules, 1099s, payroll registration and the cost of getting it wrong.
- ComplianceFirst-year compliance calendar for a Delaware C-corpDelaware franchise tax, 1099s, the federal return, payroll filings, state annual reports and sales tax: the deadlines a young C-corp misses most, by month.
More of the West Virginia guide
- AccountingAccounting and state tax in West VirginiaCorporate tax, conformity to federal rules, apportionment and what it does to your books
- ReceivablesReceivables and sales tax in West VirginiaSales tax registration, economic nexus, whether SaaS is taxable, and collecting from customers
- PayablesPayables and contractors in West VirginiaPaying vendors and contractors: 1099 filing, use tax, contractor tests and withholding
- ComplianceCompliance and filings in West VirginiaRegistering to do business, annual reports, franchise tax and the filing calendar
- AdvisoryAdvisory: credits and decisions in West VirginiaCredits, incentives and the decisions that are cheaper to get right the first time
Sources
Checked against each agency’s own page on . Rates and thresholds change, usually on January 1.
- W. Va. Code § 11-21-4j — Personal income tax rates for 2026
- W. Va. Code § 21-5C-2 — Minimum wage
- W. Va. Code § 21A-1A-28 — Wages (taxable wage base)
- W. Va. Code § 21A-5-5 — Rate of contribution
- W. Va. Code § 48-18-125 — Employment and income reporting
- W. Va. Code § 21-5-3 — Payment of wages
- W. Va. Code § 21-5-4 — Employees separated from payroll
General information for US companies, not tax, legal or accounting advice for yours. Rules and thresholds change; confirm the specifics with a CPA or the agency before you act on them.