West Virginia Pass-Through Entity Tax: Election, Filing, and Credits

West Virginia’s pass-through entity tax election lets an S corporation or partnership pay state income tax at the business level by filing Form EPT-100 instead of the standard PTE-100. Filing the EPT-100 is the election; there is no separate election form. The choice is made year by year, and once you file either return for a tax year, it is locked in. The point of electing is federal: when the entity pays the tax, it becomes a deductible business expense that bypasses the federal SALT deduction cap for the owners.¹

Who Can Elect

The election is open to S corporations and partnerships with West Virginia source income. West Virginia Code § 11-21-3A governs the elective tax and defines an “electing pass-through entity” as a qualifying pass-through entity that chooses to be subject to the tax for a given year.

Single-member LLCs treated as disregarded entities for federal tax purposes generally do not qualify, because they are not recognized as separate from their owner for income tax purposes. A single-member LLC that has elected S corporation treatment federally is eligible. C corporations cannot elect; they already pay tax at the entity level under the corporate net income tax, so the workaround does not apply.

How the Election Is Made: PTE-100 vs. EPT-100

West Virginia has two separate pass-through entity returns, and filing one of them is how the election is made or declined for the year.

The PTE-100 is the standard S corporation and partnership return. The entity withholds and remits tax only for nonresident owners; resident owners handle their own tax on personal returns.
The EPT-100 is the elective pass-through entity tax return. The entity pays West Virginia tax on every owner’s share of state-source income, resident and nonresident alike.

The two returns are mutually exclusive. An entity that files the EPT-100 does not also file the PTE-100 for the same year, and the choice cannot be revoked once a return is filed.² Filing the EPT-100 also replaces any nonresident withholding or composite return the entity would otherwise handle through the PTE-100 for that year.

To set up the account, log into the MyTaxes portal, open the pass-through entity account, and select “Request Elective Pass Through” to create the EPT account. The EPT-100 can be filed through MyTaxes or through an approved electronic filing software provider.²

Because the election is made annually and controls how every owner’s tax is reported, review the operating or shareholder agreement before filing. Some agreements require member or shareholder consent for a decision that shifts tax liability to the entity.

You will need the federal employer identification number, a full list of owners with their taxpayer identification numbers, and West Virginia source income figures that match the federal return. The entity-level tax base is the sum of all owners’ shares of West Virginia income, so accurate records of distributive shares matter.

Deadlines, Estimated Payments, and Extensions

For calendar-year filers, the EPT-100 is due on or before March 15. Fiscal-year filers must file by the 15th day of the third month after their tax year closes.²

Electing entities also make quarterly estimated payments:

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

If the election decision has not been finalized when a payment comes due, the state advises directing estimated payments to the standard PTE account for the time being.²

Extensions are available by filing Form PTE-100EXT before the original due date, and any S corporation or partnership that received a federal extension automatically gets the same extension for West Virginia. An extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay. The full estimated tax is due by the original deadline, and late payments carry a penalty of 0.5% per month, up to 25% of the unpaid tax.³

What the Entity Pays

The entity pays at the same personal income tax rates that would apply to the owners. For tax year 2026, the rates for most filers run from 2.11% on the first $10,000 of taxable income to 4.58% on income over $60,000:

Up to $10,000: 2.11%
$10,001 to $25,000: $211 plus 2.81% of the amount over $10,000
$25,001 to $40,000: $632.50 plus 3.16% of the amount over $25,000
$40,001 to $60,000: $1,106.50 plus 4.22% of the amount over $40,000
Over $60,000: $1,950.50 plus 4.58% of the amount over $60,000

The rates apply to the combined West Virginia taxable income of all owners’ shares, not to each owner separately.

How Owners Claim the Credit

After the entity files the EPT-100 and pays, it issues each owner a Schedule EK-1 showing that owner’s share of the tax paid. The EK-1 must be provided to every partner or shareholder on or before the date the EPT-100 is filed.²

Each owner files a personal West Virginia return (Form IT-140), encloses the EK-1, and claims the amount as a credit on the RECAP schedule at Line 26. The credit is not refundable. It offsets West Virginia tax liability dollar for dollar, and any excess carries forward for up to five years rather than generating a cash refund.⁴ Report the EK-1 amount as a credit, not as withholding; the state treats the two differently.²

The election does not relieve any individual owner of the obligation to file a West Virginia personal return. Every owner, resident or nonresident, must still file Form IT-140 with the EK-1 attached.² Nonresident owners taxed on the same income in their home state should check whether that state recognizes the West Virginia PTET credit, because treatment varies.

Why Entities Elect

When an individual owner pays West Virginia income tax on a personal return, that payment counts against the federal SALT deduction cap. When the entity pays, the IRS treats it as an ordinary business expense of the entity, deductible against entity income before anything flows through to owners. Notice 2020-75 confirms that entity-level state income tax payments are not subject to the SALT limitation for any partner or shareholder.¹ The owner still receives credit on the West Virginia personal return for tax the entity paid on their behalf, so the income is not taxed twice at the state level. The federal cap is $40,400 for most filers in 2026, up from the original $10,000 set by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and is scheduled to return to $10,000 after 2029.⁵ The election is worth the most to owners whose combined state and local taxes exceed the cap, or who want insulation from the scheduled drop.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2020-75
2
West Virginia Tax Division. Elective Pass-Through Entity Tax
3
West Virginia Tax Division. Withholding Help and General Information
4
West Virginia Tax Division. West Virginia Tax Division – Individuals
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 164 – Taxes