West Virginia uses graduated (progressive) state income tax brackets in 2026, so the rate rises with income much like the federal system. This calculator applies an estimated effective rate of about 4.8% for a middle income — on a $75,000 salary a single filer pays roughly $3,615 in state tax and nets about $57,978 a year (77.3% of gross). Your exact rate depends on where your income lands across the brackets.

Because West Virginia is a graduated-rate state, your top marginal rate is higher than your effective rate — you only pay the top rate on income above each threshold, not on your whole salary. Use the interactive calculator below and adjust the state-rate field to match your income for a precise figure. The 4.8% estimate here is above the 4.8% average across taxing states.

Remember that FICA is separate from income tax and is not affected by your state. Every worker pays 6.2% for Social Security on the first $184,500 of wages (the 2026 wage base) plus 1.45% for Medicare on all wages. Pre-tax 401(k) and HSA contributions lower your federal and state income tax but do not reduce FICA — a detail that trips up a lot of first-time budgeters.

West Virginia enacted its largest tax cut ever in 2023 — an across-the-board reduction of over 20% — with automatic trigger mechanisms that keep cutting rates when revenue growth allows, several of which have already fired. Combined with the lowest median home prices of any state, West Virginia's after-tax, after-housing math is among the most favorable in the country, a fact the state actively markets to remote workers through cash relocation incentives.