Dash of SALT

West Virginia State Tax Updates

For the latest news and updates on West Virginia state and local tax

February 27, 2024

West Virginia Updates Conformity to the Internal Revenue Code

Authored by: Brandon Mejia and Bonnie Susmano, JD, MBA

On February 7, 2024, Governor Jim Justice signed S.B. 483 into law, which generally adopts the state’s conformity to the Internal Revenue Code to reflect amendments made after December 31, 2022, but before January 1, 2024. The law states for tax years that began prior to January 1, 2024, the law in effect for those years would be “fully preserved as to that year.”

For more information please see S.B. 483.

If you have questions about how state IRC conformity affects your business, please reach out to a member of the Withum SALT Team.

February 20, 2024

West Virginia Updates Its IRC Conformity Date

Authored by: Katie Nguyen, CPA and Leroy Solis, MBA

West Virginia released guidance with regard to its revised IRC conformity date. As of January 29, 2024, the state generally conforms to amendments made to the IRC between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023. Any updates made to the IRC on or after January 1, 2024, should be considered nonconforming by the state unless expressly declared otherwise. The previous IRC conformity date was December 31, 2022.

If you have questions about how State IRC conformity dates affect your business, please reach out to a member of the Withum SALT Team.

March 31, 2023

West Virginia Issues Cannabis Excise Tax Regulations

Authored by: Katie Szymanski, CPA and Katerine Velasquez

On March 23, West Virginia Governor Justice enacted SB 220 related to the state’s excise tax on hemp derivatives, cannabinoids, and kratom products effective June 9, 2023. Guidance can be found here West Virginia Legislature. The law’s key provisions include:

  • Imposing an 11% excise tax on retail sales of specific hemp and kratom products.
  • The Tax Commissioner will collect the tax quarterly from taxpayers engaged in the retail sale of hemp and kratom products.
  • Retail sellers of hemp and kratom products must be filed with excise tax reports through the Tax Commissioner’s online portal.

If you have questions about whether your business is obligated to collect sales or excise taxes on the sale of cannabis products, please reach out to a member of the Withum SALT Team.

September 10, 2021

West Virginia – Clarification of Taxation of Streaming Services

West Virginia’s State Tax Department issued a public announcement on the state’s sales tax treatment of streaming services on September 1st.

  1. Streaming service providers are generally characterized as suppliers of entertainment or content that is delivered electronically via the internet, television, mobile device, etc.
  2. Streaming services do not fall under the definition of digital products.
  3. West Virginia does not allow for sales tax exemption for streaming services.
  4. Additional municipal sales tax cannot be imposed at a greater percentage than 1 percent.

Streaming services are treated as taxable by the state as any other sale of service in the state. Generally, services in West Virginia are subject to sales tax unless a specifically enumerated exemption applies. services can be exempt from sales and use tax. (West Virginia Taxpayer Services Division Publications No. TSD-445, 09/01/2021.)

March 23, 2021

West Virginia Update on Extension of Filing Deadline

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced that he directed the West Virginia Tax Department to extend the individual income tax filing and payment deadline to May 17, 2021, to correspond with the federal government’s recent extension for the 2020 tax year. The extension is automatic and taxpayers do not need to take action to receive it. However, the extended filing and payment deadline does not apply to estimated tax payments; those estimated tax payments that are due on April 15, 2021, remain due on April 15, 2021. Additional guidance is expected shortly. ( Press Release: Gov. Justice announces extension of state tax filing deadline for individuals to May 17, 2021, West Virginia Office of the Governor, 03/18/2021.)

April 1, 2020

Individual and Corporate Filing Deadline

The individual income and corporate tax return filing and payment deadline has been extended to July 15, 2020. This includes estimated tax payments due between April 15, 2020 and July 15, 2020. The due date for the second-half 2019 ad valorem property tax will now become delinquent on May 2, 2020, instead of April 1.

Disclaimer: Please note this is the information that is readily available at this time, it is subject to change so please consult your Withum tax advisor.

Contact Us

The State and Local Tax (SALT) laws vary from state to state and are constantly changing. Reach out to Withum’s SALT Team for guidance on how to navigate your state’s local tax laws.