2026 tax year · cross-border wages
Crossing a state line into or out of West Virginia
West Virginia taxes its residents on income earned anywhere, and taxes non-residents on work done inside it. Which return you file depends on which direction you commute.
West Virginia borders 5 states. All of them work the same way for a commuter, so there is one rule to learn.
Where West Virginia has a reciprocity agreement
West Virginia has wage reciprocity with Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Work in one of these and it will not tax your wages at all: you file its exemption certificate with your employer there, which stops its withholding, and report everything to West Virginia. There is no nonresident return.
| Work state | Exemption certificate | Its tax on your wages |
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 42A809 | $0 |
| Maryland | MW507 | $0 |
| Ohio | IT 4NR | $0 |
| Pennsylvania | REV-419 | $0 |
| Virginia | VA-4 | $0 |
Kentucky attaches conditions to its agreements, not all of which apply to every partner state: Virginia residents must commute daily; Ohio residents cannot own 20%+ of an S corporation. Check which clause covers a West Virginia resident before relying on it.
Reciprocity covers wages paid by an employer. It does not cover self-employment income, so a 1099 worker in West Virginia generally still sources income to where the work was done.
What West Virginia itself takes across a salary range
A single filer, taking the standard deduction. This is the figure every arrangement above is measured against, the tax West Virginia charges a resident, whether the work happened inside the state or over a line:
| Wages | West Virginia tax | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| $45,000 | $1,318 | 2.93% |
| $70,000 | $2,409 | 3.44% |
| $120,000 | $4,699 | 3.92% |
What West Virginia charges as your home state
West Virginia taxes income on 5 graduated brackets for 2026, from 2.11% up to 4.58%. Because wages stacks on top of any other income, a second source can push part of it into the next bracket.
On the 2026 rate itself: phased rate reductions in progress.
West Virginia is one of the twelve states that still taxes Social Security benefits, which matters if you are drawing benefits alongside wages.
State income tax on wages only, 2026 rates. Not tax advice, what this does and doesn't cover.