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West Virginia Sales Tax

On this page you will find handy sales and use tax information about West Virginia.

How to use this page:

We’ve pulled in the information from all our Charts for a consolidated view by state.  Here you can see the sales tax rates and if the state has remote seller nexus rules. You can also see any sales tax holidays or amnesty programs that may exist, though these do not apply to all states.

Below the chart you can find any News & Tip item we have published that relates to West Virginia that you can filter by topic. This will help you get informed on current and past legislation that has passed in the state.

State Sales Tax Rates
State Rate

6.000%
Range of Local Rates

0% – 1% Some local jurisdictions do not impose a sales tax.
Local Rates Apply to Use Tax

Yes
Remote Seller Nexus Rules
AFFILIATE NEXUS

1/1/2014
ECONOMIC NEXUS

1/1/2019 – see state notice
MARKETPLACE NEXUS

7/1/2019
Sales Tax Holidays
Annual Back to School Holiday

August 2-5, 2024

1. An item of clothing priced at $125 or less;
2. An item of school supplies priced $50 or less;
3. An item of school instruction material priced $20 or less;
4. Laptop and tablet computers, not purchased for use in a trade or business, priced at $500 or less; and
5. Sports equipment, not purchased for use in a trade or business, priced at $150 or less
Administration Information
Streamlined Sales Tax Status

Full Member
NUMBER OF TAXING AUTHORITIES

43 Sales Tax Jurisdictions

HOME RULE AUTHORITIES

N/A
Sales Tax Sourcing (Intrastate)

Destination
Sales Tax Return Due Date

The 20th of the month following the reporting period
Exemption Information
RESALE CERTIFICATE

West Virginia Resale Certificate
TYPES OF EXEMPTIONS

Product types of exemptions: generally, a manufacturer’s purchases of machinery, equipment, and materials used in manufacturing are exempt; construction related services are exempt if they result in a capital improvement

 

Entity types of Exemptions: government agencies; certain non-profits, schools and churches

 

West Virginia Exemption Certificate Forms
State Links
State Tax Web Page

West Virginia State Tax Department
Rate Look-Up Page

West Virginia Sales Tax Rate Look-Up
Registration Link

Register for West Virginia Sales Tax
History & Fun Facts
HISTORY

West Virginia first imposed a consumers’ sales tax effective April 1, 1934. The state later enacted a use tax, effective July 1, 1951.

 

West Virginia became a full member of Streamlined Sales Tax on October 1, 2005.
FUN FACTS
  • West Virginia is one of the few states that subjects sales of virtually all services to sales tax.
  • In West Virginia, you can be patriotic- but be safe! There is a safety fee of 12% charged on the sales of fireworks and filed on its own return.

West Virginia Instructs Vendors to Collect Tax on Delivery Charges

West Virginia has issued a notice informing vendors that they must collect consumer sales and service tax on the total cost of delivery services, including postage and handling fees, beginning October 1, 2009. The prior policy held that actual reimbursement…

Certified Electrical Inspector Services Taxable in West Virginia

A taxpayer recently petitioned that the services provided as a certified electrical inspector should be considered \”professional services\” and, therefore, exempt from West Virginia consumers\’ sales and service tax.

West Virginia Senate Approves Reduction in Food Tax Rate

During a recent special session, the West Virginia Senate approved a bill decreasing the sales and use tax rate on food and food ingredients from the current 5% to 4%, effective June 30, 2007, and then to 3% after June…

West Virginia to Reduce Tax on Certain Food Products.

West Virginia reduced the sales tax on food and food ingredients intended for food consumption to 5% beginning on January 1, 2006. The reduction does not apply to prepared food (excluding pasteurized food and baked goods), dietary supplements, soft drinks,…

West Virginia Amends High-Tech Research Zone Credit

The West Virginia High-Tech Research Zone tax incentives have been amended and re-enacted. Applicable to taxable years starting on or after January 1, 2005, any qualified educational institution or business in a designated high-tech research zone will be eligible for…

West Virginia Deems Federal Employee Benefits to be Taxable.

The West Virginia State Tax Department has issued a notice stating that receipts from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) will be taxable under the health care provider tax. This release is consistent with an August 7th decision by…

West Virginia announces 2004 amnesty details.

The West Virginia amnesty program, “Pay the Tax or Pay the Max” will be held from September 1, 2004 to November 1, 2004. All taxes, fees, and licenses accrued from January 1, 1986 through December 31, 2003 are eligible for…

West Virginia waives sales and use taxes for flood victims.

To aid in the reconstruction of property damaged or destroyed in the flooding of Spring, 2004, West Virginia governor Bob Wise has signed an executive order exempting all construction materials directly consumed in the rebuilding of flood-damaged structures. This exemption…

West Virginia exempts several computer related items.

On July 1, 2004, several computer related items will become exempt in the state of West Virginia. The most important of these exemptions include the sales of computer hardware and software directly incorporated into manufactured products, sales of electronic data…

West Virginia Truck Scales Deemed Taxable as Capital Improvement.

In a West Virginia Circuit Court, a petitioner, doing business selling and installing truck scales, was found liable for tax based on the definition of capital improvement and how it relates to this type of contract. “Capital Improvement” is defined…

West Virginia tax holiday enacted.

A sales tax holiday has been enacted starting August 6, 2004 and ending August 8, 2004. Purchases of clothing and footwear under $100, computers under $750, computer accessories under $100, and school supplies will all be exempt during this period.…

West Virginia amnesty program enacted.

A two-month tax amnesty program has been enacted in West Virginia. However, the exact dates are still being determined. The amnesty program will allow taxpayers with outstanding tax liabilities to take care of their obligations without penalties, additional tax, and…

West Virginia website advertising.

Website banner advertising was not exempt from tax under West Virginia Code Section 11-15-9(a)(12) which exempts outdoor advertising, the sale of radio and television time, and the preprinting of advertising circulars but does not include advertising on the Web. (West…

West Virginia new rate computation.

The method used for calculating the six percent sales and use tax has changed from the bracket system to a rounding system, effective January 1, 2004. Taxpayers may compute the tax due on a transaction on a per-item basis or…

West Virginia emergency rule clarifies.

An emergency rule was issued in West Virginia to clarify that durable medical goods, mobility enhancing equipment and prosthetic devices sold by prescription to or for a patient are exempt from sales and use tax after December 31, 2003. This…

West Virginia marketing incentive payment plan taxable.

In West Virginia, marketing incentive payment plans for tobacco products were subject to use tax because of the taxable services retailers were required to provide. Activities required of retailers included providing storage stocking and rotating products, accounting, executing promotions, assembling,…

West Virginia establishes back-to-school tax holiday.

In West Virginia, a three-day exemption from sales tax on purchases of clothes and school supplies, as well as computers under $750 and computer accessories costing less than $100. However, some conditions and exceptions may apply to make items subject…

In West Virginia, an inventory service company’s observation and electronic recordation of information about a customer’s inventory was subject to consumer’s sales and use tax since it was deemed the creation, and not the processing of data.

Because neither the items of the customer’s inventory nor the company’s employees’ observations qualified as “data”, the company did not qualify for the electronic data processing exemption. However, once the data has been created, the subsequent electronic processing of such…