West Virginia: Who Pays? 7th Edition
West Virginia
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All figures and charts show 2024 tax law in West Virginia, presented at 2023 income levels. Senior taxpayers are excluded for reasons detailed in the methodology. Our analysis includes nearly all (99.3 percent) state and local tax revenue collected in West Virginia. These figures depict West Virginia’s personal income tax at its 2024 levels. Due to a tax trigger that could decrease the rate to zero over time, we also model full elimination of this tax. As seen in Appendix E, this will decrease the overall tax rate paid by the top 1 percent of households by 4.0 percentage points and cause the state to move 17 spots in the ITEP Inequality Index rankings, from 28th to 11th most regressive.
State and local tax shares of family income
| Top 20% | |||||||
| Income Group | Lowest 20% | Second 20% | Middle 20% | Fourth 20% | Next 15% | Next 4% | Top 1% |
| Income Range | Less than $18,100 | $18,100 to $35,600 | $35,600 to $62,000 | $62,000 to $112,600 | $112,600 to $187,800 | $187,800 to $363,000 | Over $363,000 |
| Average Income in Group | $10,000 | $25,800 | $47,100 | $85,300 | $142,500 | $238,600 | $729,600 |
| Sales & Excise Taxes | 7.3% | 6.2% | 5.2% | 4.1% | 3.2% | 2.4% | 1.3% |
| General Sales–Individuals | 2.7% | 3.1% | 2.7% | 2.2% | 1.8% | 1.3% | 0.6% |
| Other Sales & Excise–Ind | 3.5% | 2% | 1.4% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Sales & Excise–Business | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.5% |
| Property Taxes | 2.9% | 2% | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.3% |
| Home, Rent, Car–Individuals | 2.2% | 1.4% | 1.1% | 1% | 1% | 0.8% | 0.5% |
| Other Property Taxes | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.8% |
| Income Taxes | 0.6% | 2% | 2.4% | 3.3% | 3.9% | 3.9% | 4% |
| Personal Income Taxes | 0.6% | 2% | 2.4% | 3.3% | 3.8% | 3.9% | 4% |
| Corporate Income Taxes | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Other Taxes | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.6% |
| TOTAL TAXES | 11.6% | 10.9% | 10% | 9.6% | 9.3% | 8.6% | 7.2% |
| Individual figures may not sum to totals due to rounding. | |||||||
ITEP Tax Inequality Index
ITEP’s Tax Inequality Index measures the effects of each state’s tax system on income inequality. According to this measure, West Virginia has the 28th most regressive state and local tax system in the country. Income disparities are larger in West Virginia after state and local taxes are collected than before. (See Appendix B for state-by-state rankings and the report methodology for additional detail.)
Tax features driving the data in West Virginia
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Requires combined reporting for the corporate income tax; some foreign tax haven income is partially taxed through GILTI inclusion
Graduated personal income tax structure, though top rate kicks in at $60,000 so a large share of families face top rate
Refundable property tax “circuit breaker” credit to low-income taxpayers via the income tax
State sales tax base excludes groceries
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Real estate transfer tax does not include higher rate on high-value sales
Does not levy a tax on estates or inheritances
No Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
No Child Tax Credit (CTC)
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