West Virginia Form IT-140 is the annual personal income tax return for state residents, part-year residents, and nonresidents with West Virginia income. You start with your federal adjusted gross income, apply West Virginia’s own additions and subtractions on Schedule M, subtract exemptions, calculate tax using the state’s graduated rates, apply any credits, and file with the West Virginia Tax Division by April 15.
Who Has to File
West Virginia requires a return from every resident who is also required to file a federal return, and from any resident whose West Virginia adjusted gross income exceeds the total of their personal exemptions at $2,000 each.1West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-21-51 – Returns and Liabilities
You’re a resident if West Virginia is your permanent home for the entire tax year. You’re also treated as a resident if you keep a permanent place of abode in the state and spend more than 183 days here, even if you consider another state home. Both parts of that second test have to be met; visiting for 184 days without maintaining a residence doesn’t trigger it.2West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-21-7 – Resident and Nonresident Defined
Part-year residents who moved into or out of the state during the year use IT-140 and complete Schedule A to allocate income between the resident and nonresident periods. If you don’t meet either residency test but earned West Virginia income, you file Form IT-140NPR instead.
What to Gather Before You Start
Pull these together before you open the form:
- Social Security numbers for you, your spouse if filing jointly, and every dependent.
- Your completed federal Form 1040. Line 1 of the IT-140 pulls directly from your federal AGI, so the federal return has to be done first.
- W-2s from every employer showing wages and West Virginia withholding.
- 1099s for freelance income, interest, dividends, retirement distributions, and other non-wage payments.
- Property tax receipts if you plan to claim the Senior Citizen Tax Credit or the Homestead Excess Property Tax Credit.
- Records of income tax paid to any other state, if you plan to claim a credit on Schedule E.
Working Through the Form
The IT-140 is available as a free download from the Tax Division at tax.wv.gov. Fill in the header with your legal name, mailing address, and Social Security number, then add your spouse’s name and SSN if filing jointly.
Filing Status and Exemptions
Pick one of five filing statuses: single, head of household, married filing jointly, married filing separately, or qualifying surviving spouse with a dependent child. Your state status should match your federal status.3West Virginia Tax Division. 2025 West Virginia Personal Income Tax Forms and Instructions
List your dependents in the exemptions section. Each exemption, including one for you and one for your spouse on a joint return, is worth $2,000. If you claim zero exemptions, you still get a flat $500 reduction. Multiply your exemptions by $2,000 and put the result on Line 6.
Income and Tax
Line 1 is your federal AGI. Lines 2 and 3 bring in the totals from Schedule M, where you add certain income back and subtract others. The result on Line 4 is your West Virginia adjusted gross income.
Line 5 is the low-income earned income exclusion, calculated using a worksheet in the IT-140 instructions. Line 7 is your West Virginia taxable income: Line 4 minus Lines 5 and 6. Apply that to the state’s graduated rate schedule, or to the tax table if you’re under $100,000, and put the tax on Line 8.
West Virginia uses five brackets running from 2.22% at the bottom to 4.82% above $60,000, with married-filing-separately taxpayers using the same rates on half-size brackets.4West Virginia Tax Division. 2026 Income Tax Rate Cut The rates have been dropping in recent years, with potential future reductions assessed each August for a January effective date two years later.
Line 9 subtracts credits from the Tax Credit Recap Schedule on page 5 of the instructions. Line 10 is total tax due. Lines 15 through 21 handle withholding, estimated payments, and refundable credits. Line 22 shows an overpayment and Line 26 shows a balance due.
Schedule M Adjustments
Schedule M is where the state return parts ways with the federal one. It has two sides: additions that raise your federal AGI for state purposes, and subtractions that lower it. Skip the schedule and the Tax Division won’t apply the adjustments, which almost always means paying more than you owe.5West Virginia Tax Division. 2025 IT-140 Schedule M
Additions
The common one is interest or dividend income from bonds issued by other states. The federal government doesn’t tax that interest, but West Virginia does, and it goes on Line 52 of Schedule M.6Legal Information Institute. West Virginia Code R. 110-21-12 – West Virginia Adjusted Gross Income of Resident Individual Non-qualifying withdrawals from West Virginia prepaid tuition or ABLE accounts also get added back.
Subtractions
Several subtractions make a real difference:
- Social Security benefits included in your federal AGI can be fully subtracted, as long as federal AGI doesn’t exceed $100,000 on a joint return (with proportional limits for other statuses).
- Military retirement income from the Armed Forces, Reserves, and National Guard has been fully exempt since 2019.7West Virginia Tax Division. TSD 443 – Military Retirement Income
- Interest on U.S. government obligations such as Treasury bills and savings bonds is exempt from state tax.
- Contributions to West Virginia 529 prepaid tuition and college savings plans qualify as subtractions.
- Benefits from West Virginia public employee retirement systems, certain federal retirement systems, and state law enforcement retirement plans each have their own subtraction lines.
Put the addition total on IT-140 Line 2 and the subtraction total on Line 3, and attach Schedule M to the return.
Credits
Credit for Taxes Paid to Another State
If you earned income in another state and paid income tax there, Schedule E gives you a credit against your West Virginia tax for the amount paid. File a separate Schedule E for each state.8West Virginia Tax Division. 2024 West Virginia Personal Income Tax Forms and Instructions
Senior Citizen Tax Credit
This refundable credit is for homeowners enrolled in the Homestead Exemption program through their county assessor, with property taxes paid and household income below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines for their household size. Claim it on Schedule SCTC-A, attached to the IT-140.9West Virginia Tax Division. Senior Citizens Tax Credit
Homestead Excess Property Tax Credit
Low-income homeowners whose property taxes exceed 4% of their gross household income can claim a refundable credit of up to $1,000. Federal AGI must be at or below 300% of the federal poverty guideline for your household size. File Schedule HEPTC-1 with your Class II property tax receipt.10West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-21-23 – Homestead Excess Property Tax Credit Any amount you claim through the Senior Citizen Tax Credit reduces what you can claim here on the same property taxes.
Other Credits
The state also offers a Family Tax Credit (Schedule FTC-1), a Non-Family Adoption Tax Credit (Schedule WV NFA-1), and property tax adjustment credits for motor vehicles, disabled veterans’ real property, and small business property. Each feeds into the Tax Credit Recap Schedule, and the recap total goes on Line 9.
How to File and Pay
The Tax Division calls electronic filing the fastest and most accurate method. You can e-file through IRS-approved software that supports the West Virginia return, or through the state’s MyTaxes portal at mytaxes.wvtax.gov.11West Virginia Tax Division. Electronic Filing for Individuals Most commercial tax software handles the state return alongside the federal one.
If you file by mail, the address depends on whether you’re owed a refund or owe a balance:12West Virginia Tax Division. Individuals
- Refund returns: West Virginia Tax Division, PO Box 1071, Charleston, WV 25324-1071.
- Balance-due returns: West Virginia Tax Division, PO Box 3694, Charleston, WV 25336-3694.
Sending it to the wrong box won’t void the return, but it can slow processing.
You can pay a balance due by electronic funds withdrawal when you e-file, through the MyTaxes portal, or by credit card through the State Treasurer’s Office website. Card payments carry a 2.5% convenience fee with a $1.00 minimum, and returned electronic payments cost $15.13West Virginia Tax Division. Credit Card Payments If you prefer paper, mail a check or money order with Form IT-140V (the payment voucher) to the balance-due address, with your Social Security number and “Form IT-140V” on the check.
After filing, track your refund through the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on the MyTaxes portal. E-filed returns are generally processed faster than paper.
Deadlines, Late Penalties, and Extensions
The filing deadline is April 15. Miss it without an extension and the penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month you’re late, up to 25%.14West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-10-18 – Additions to Tax The penalty applies to the net tax due rather than your total income or gross tax, and it can be waived for reasonable cause rather than willful neglect. Interest also runs on any unpaid balance from the original due date.
West Virginia grants a six-month extension on Form IT-140EXT, pushing the filing deadline to October 15. If you already have a federal extension and expect to owe no West Virginia tax, you don’t need to file the state form; just note the federal extension on your IT-140 when you eventually file.15West Virginia Tax Division. IT-140 WV-4868 Extension Request If you expect to owe, file IT-140EXT and pay the estimated amount by April 15. The extension buys time to file, not time to pay. Any unpaid tax after April 15 accrues interest even with an extension on file.
Quarterly Estimated Payments
If you expect to owe $600 or more in state income tax after withholding, you have to make quarterly estimated payments on Form IT-140ES.16West Virginia Tax Division. IT-140ES Individual Estimated Income Tax Payment This typically catches self-employed workers, landlords, and retirees whose income isn’t subject to employer withholding.
Calendar-year taxpayers follow the federal quarterly schedule: April 15, June 15, and September 15 of the current year, and January 15 of the following year. If your Line 8 tax minus credits and withholding exceeds $600, the IT-140 instructions for Line 12 calculate whether you owe an underpayment penalty.
Fixing a Return After You File
There is no separate amended-return form. To correct an earlier year, complete a new IT-140 for that year and check the “Amended Return” box at the top. Attach an explanation of what changed and any supporting documents.
You must file an amended West Virginia return if you corrected your federal return in a way that affected state tax, or if the IRS adjusted your federal return. The state gives you 90 days from the date the federal change becomes final; miss that window and you face additional penalties. If you’re switching between joint and separate filing, your spouse also has to file an amended return. The amended state return won’t be processed until the IRS has finished processing the corresponding amended federal return.