West Virginia Estimated Tax Payments: Deadlines, Penalties, and Refunds

If you earn West Virginia income that isn’t covered by paycheck withholding and you expect to owe at least $600 in state tax when you file, you need to make West Virginia estimated tax payments four times a year using Form IT-140ES. The installments are due April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 of the following year. Miss them and the state charges 11.5% interest on what you should have paid.

Who Has to Pay

Two rules decide whether you’re on the hook. Under West Virginia’s administrative regulations, you must file a declaration of estimated tax if your adjusted gross income from sources not covered by employer withholding is reasonably expected to exceed $400 for the year.¹ The practical threshold on the payment form itself is $600 in expected tax liability after withholding.²

If your employer withholding already covers at least 90% of your annual personal income tax liability, you’re exempt from making estimated payments even when your non-wage income exceeds $400.

The income that most often creates an estimated payment obligation includes self-employment earnings, freelance and gig work, interest, dividends, capital gains, rental income, and pension distributions with no state withholding. Whether the IRS requires a federal declaration from you has no bearing on your West Virginia obligation.¹

Quarterly Deadlines

When you file your declaration by April 15, you owe four equal installments:³

First installment: April 15
Second installment: June 15
Third installment: September 15
Fourth installment: January 15 of the following year

If any of those dates lands on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.⁴ For mailed payments, the postmark date governs. For online submissions, the electronic timestamp does.

One useful shortcut on the final installment: if you file your annual return and pay the full balance by February 1, the January 15 payment is treated as timely even if you never made it.⁵

Calculating What You Owe

Project your total income for the year, apply any West Virginia credits you expect to claim, and run the result through the state’s rate schedule. Last year’s return is usually the cleanest baseline. Form IT-140ESI walks through the calculation step by step.⁴

The current brackets took effect January 1, 2025, under SB 2033 and remain in place for 2026, with any further reductions to be assessed for a potential January 2027 effective date.⁶ For single filers, joint filers, and heads of household:

Up to $10,000: 2.22%
$10,001 to $25,000: $222 plus 2.96% of the amount over $10,000
$25,001 to $40,000: $666 plus 3.33% of the amount over $25,000
$40,001 to $60,000: $1,165.50 plus 4.44% of the amount over $40,000
Over $60,000: $2,053.50 plus 4.82% of the amount over $60,000

Married couples filing separately use halved thresholds of $5,000, $12,500, $20,000, and $30,000 at the same rates.⁶

Subtract whatever your employer will withhold during the year from your projected tax. The remainder is what you owe through quarterly payments, divided into four. You don’t need to hit the number exactly as long as you clear one of the safe harbors below.

If You Live Outside West Virginia

Nonresidents who earn West Virginia income are still subject to the estimated tax rules. Apply the rate schedule to your total income, then multiply the resulting tax by a fraction: West Virginia source income over total federal income. Source income includes anything earned while you were a resident plus income from West Virginia sources while you were a nonresident.⁴

How to Send Your Payment

Three options, each with different costs.

The cheapest is the state’s MyTaxes portal at mytaxes.wvtax.gov, which pulls funds directly from your bank account via ACH debit. You enter routing and account numbers, authorize the transfer, and keep the confirmation number as your receipt. No fee.⁷

Credit card payments go through the State Treasurer’s Office and carry a 2.5% convenience fee (minimum $1). The tax and the fee post as two separate charges. If the payment is returned, a $15 fee is added.⁸

To mail a check or money order, complete the paper IT-140ES voucher and send it to the State Tax Department, Tax Account Administration Division – EST, P.O. Box 342, Charleston, WV 25322-0342.² Write the tax year and your Social Security number on the check so the payment is credited correctly.

Avoiding the Underpayment Penalty

You don’t need to predict your tax to the dollar. Several safe harbors protect you.

The simplest: if your total tax for the year minus withholding is less than $600, there’s no penalty, period.⁵

Beyond that, two prepayment methods qualify as safe harbors:⁴

Pay at least 90% of the tax shown on your current year’s return by the due dates.
Pay 100% of the tax shown on your prior year’s return.

When your income swings year to year, the prior-year method is usually easier because the number is already known. Divide last year’s tax by four, pay each installment on time, and you’re protected even if you end up owing more at filing.

If your income arrives unevenly through the year, the annualized income installment method lets you base each payment on income actually earned by that point rather than assuming a smooth quarterly flow.⁹ It uses prescribed cumulative percentages of 22.5%, 45%, 67.5%, and 90% at the four installment dates. The math is heavier, so it mainly pays off when the savings justify the work.

You can also request a waiver even when a penalty technically applies by checking the designated box on Form IT-210 and attaching a written explanation.⁵ Waivers are discretionary. A natural disaster or similar hardship beyond your control strengthens the case. When the IRS declares a federal disaster area in West Virginia, state estimated tax deadlines for affected taxpayers are typically postponed along with federal ones, and penalties within the postponement window are waived.¹⁰

What the Penalty Costs

Interest on underpayments runs at 11.5% for 2026.¹¹ It accrues from the date each installment was due until you pay or until the annual filing deadline, whichever comes first. The state uses Form IT-210 to figure the amount owed.⁵

At 11.5%, the cost compounds quickly. A $5,000 underpayment carried for a full year adds roughly $575 in interest. Even partial payments on time shrink the accrual period and the bill.

If You Farm or Fish

When at least two-thirds of your estimated West Virginia gross income comes from farming or fishing, the quarterly schedule doesn’t apply. Qualified farmers can make a single payment, and the IT-210 worksheet uses a 66⅔% multiplier when calculating the required annual payment.⁵ File your annual return and pay the full tax by March 1, and you can skip estimated payments entirely for that year.

If You Overpay

When your estimated payments plus withholding come in higher than your actual tax, you have two choices at filing: take the overpayment as a refund or credit it to next year’s estimated tax. Crediting it forward effectively covers your first installment without a separate transaction, which is handy when next year’s income looks similar.⁴

If you realize mid-year that your running total already covers the full projected liability, you’re not required to keep making payments. Stop, file as usual, and claim the refund.⁴

1
Legal Information Institute. West Virginia Code R 110-21-55 – Declarations of Estimated Tax
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West Virginia State Tax Department. West Virginia Individual Estimated Income Tax Payment Form
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West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-21-56 – Payments of Estimated Tax
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West Virginia Tax Division. IT-140 ESI Estimated Tax Payments Instructions
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West Virginia State Tax Department. West Virginia Form IT-210 – Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals
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West Virginia Tax Division. 2026 Income Tax Rate Cut
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West Virginia Tax Division. West Virginia Tax Division
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West Virginia Tax Division. Credit Card Payments
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West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-10-18a
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Internal Revenue Service. IRS Announces Tax Relief for Taxpayers Impacted by Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides in West Virginia
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West Virginia Tax Division. TSD 365 How Interest and Additions to Tax are Assessed