West Virginia Sales Tax

West Virginia Sales Tax Guide (2026)

6% at state level with an optional 1% municipal layer, applied to a base where services are taxable unless someone has carved them out.[1]

5 min read • Reviewed by Tax Advisory Team • Verified • Sources: WV Tax Division & W. Va. Code
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Quick Facts

Sales Tax at a Glance

State rate
6% [1]
Municipal rate
1% where adopted [2]
Combined rate range
6%–7% [2]
County sales tax
None [2]
Services
Taxable unless exempted [3]
Groceries
Exempt from both layers [4]
Streaming services
Taxable [5]
Economic nexus
$100k OR 200 sales [6]
Registration fee
$30 [7]
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Services are taxable here unless the law carved them out

West Virginia taxes the furnishing of all services except professional and personal services, so the default answer for any service is taxable and the burden of finding an exemption sits with the taxpayer.[3]

All services in scope by default Professional services carved out Personal services carved out Public Service Commission regulated services excluded Capital improvement contracting excluded Everything else presumptively taxable
Exempt professionals are still taxpayers. Doctors, lawyers and accountants charge no tax on their fees, but owe sales or use tax on the equipment, supplies and materials they consume in delivering those services.[8]
Estimate

West Virginia sales tax calculator

West Virginia · state rate 6%
There is no county sales tax; the local layer is municipal only.
Rate applied–
Estimated sales tax–
Total with tax–

Estimate only. Municipal tax is sourced to where goods are received or services are rendered, not to where the seller is located.[9] Talk to CrownGlobe about municipal exposure.

Rates & Registration

West Virginia Sales Tax Rates, Nexus & the municipal layer

West Virginia rate components

State consumers sales & service tax6%
State use tax6%
Municipal sales & use tax, where adopted1%
County sales taxNone
Maximum combined rate7%

A new municipal ordinance takes effect only on a 1 January or 1 July falling at least 180 days after the city files its ordinance and boundary database with the state.[2]

Who must register

Either trigger applies: economic nexus at $100,000 in gross revenue from sales into the state or 200 or more separate transactions in the preceding or current calendar year, or any physical presence. Registration is required of all remote sellers regardless of whether the collection thresholds are met.[6]

Municipal exemptions mirror the state’s: a transaction exempt from state sales tax is also exempt from municipal tax, with one narrow exception for the special district excise tax. Exempt groceries therefore bear neither layer.[9]

Compliance

Sales Tax Registration and Filing

A Business Registration Certificate costs $30 and is permanent.

How to register

  • Confirm nexus→
  • Business registration application→
  • Pay the $30 fee→
  • Permanent certificate issued→
  • File electronically

Certificates have been permanent since 2010 with no renewal fee, but the $30 is due again each time one is reissued or reinstated after cancellation or revocation.[7]

Filing & due dates

FrequencyThresholdDue
MonthlyOver $250 tax a month20th of next month
Quarterly$250 or less a month20th after quarter
Annual$600 or less a year20th after year end

Failure to file costs 5% of the tax per month up to 25%, and failure to pay 0.5% per month subject to the same cap, with interest set annually by formula.[10]

Pricing

Sales Tax & Nexus Pricing

Multi Tax Filing – $50 Per State/Month

ServiceWhat’s Included
Multi-state registrationNexus tracking, permit setup, and state agency coordination.
Monthly filingSales tax returns filed in every registered state.
Exemption & audit supportCertificate handling and notice response.
Get Started with Multi-State Filing
Taxability

Taxable vs. exempt

West Virginia taxes goods, software, streaming and services generally, and relieves only professional services, personal services, capital improvement contracting and specific statutory exemptions.[3]

Generally taxable

  • Services generallyW. Va. Code 11-15-8
  • Prewritten computer softwareW. Va. Code 11-15B-2
  • Custom softwareW. Va. Code 11-15-8
  • Streaming servicesPublication TSD-445
  • Prepared food, soft drinks & vending foodW. Va. Code 11-15-3b
  • Real property repair & maintenanceNot a capital improvement

Generally exempt

  • Professional servicesW. Va. Code 11-15-8
  • Personal services to an individualW. Va. Code 11-15-2
  • Food for home consumptionW. Va. Code 11-15-3a
  • Capital improvement contractingPublication TSD-310
  • Prescription drugs & medical equipmentW. Va. Code 11-15-9(a)(11)
  • Electronic data processing servicesW. Va. Code 11-15-9(a)(21)
Worth flagging: municipal use tax turns on where an item is first used, not where the buyer is based. Equipment or supplies bought tax free elsewhere and first used at a job site inside a taxing city generate a self-assessed municipal liability that appears on no vendor invoice.[11]
Reference

Glossary of key terms

Consumers Sales and Service Tax
West Virginia’s name for its sales tax, signalling that the base reaches services as a class rather than only goods.
Personal service
A statutory term for services rendered to the person of an individual, such as barbering or manicuring; not a synonym for consumer services.
Capital improvement rule
The test separating non-taxable contracting from taxable real property services, based on permanence and added value.
Municipal use tax
A city levy triggered by first use of property or services within its boundaries, independent of the buyer’s location.
Per se exemption
An exemption that applies automatically without the purchaser presenting a certificate.
Direct pay permit
Authority to remit sales and use tax directly to the state instead of paying it to vendors at the point of sale.
FAQ

Sales Tax FAQs

6% at state level. Municipalities may add an optional 1%, and every city on the state’s list imposes exactly 1%, so the combined rate is either 6% or 7%. There is no county sales tax.

Yes, as a general class. The statute taxes the furnishing of all services except professional and personal services, plus services regulated by the Public Service Commission. That is the reverse of the enumerated-services model most states use.

Professional services such as those of doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects and accountants, and personal services rendered to the person of an individual such as barbering, hairstyling, manicuring and massaging. Contracting that produces a capital improvement is also outside the base.

No. Food and food ingredients for consumption off the premises are not taxed, and because every state exemption flows through to the municipal tax, exempt groceries bear neither the 6% nor the 1%. Prepared food, soft drinks and vending machine food remain taxable at both.

Yes, in both directions. A service provider performing taxable work inside a city must collect that city’s 1%, and a seller delivering into it must too. Separately, municipal use tax attaches where property or services are first used inside a taxing city, whatever the buyer’s own location.

$100,000 in gross revenue from sales into the state or 200 or more separate transactions in the preceding or current calendar year. Either prong triggers collection, and registration is required of remote sellers even where the collection thresholds are not met.

Verification

Sources & methodology

  1. WV Tax Division – Sales & Use Tax
  2. WV Tax Division – Municipal Sales & Use Tax
  3. W. Va. Code 11-15-8 – Services
  4. WV Tax Division – Publication TSD-420 Food
  5. WV Tax Division – Publication TSD-445 Streaming
  6. W. Va. Code 11-15A-6b – Remote Sellers
  7. WV Tax Division – Publication TSD-100 Business Taxes
  8. WV Tax Division – Publication TSD-378 Professionals
  9. WV Tax Division – Municipal Tax Guidelines
  10. WV Tax Division – Publication TSD-300 Exemptions
  11. W. Va. Code 8-13C-4 – Municipal Tax Authority
  12. WV Tax Division – Publication TSD-310 Capital Improvement
  13. WV Tax Division – Municipalities Imposing Tax
  14. WV Tax Division – Remote Sellers
Methodology: Every rate, threshold and exemption is taken from the West Virginia Tax Division’s publications or the West Virginia Code directly. Pre-2018 publications that predate the economic nexus regime are excluded from nexus statements.
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