West Virginia veteran taxes

Military retired pay in West Virginia

Exempttax year 2025Sources 1, 2

West Virginia fully exempts military retirement income, including survivorship annuities, from the regular Armed Forces, Reserves and National Guard: it is subtracted on line 32 of the 2025 Form IT-140 to the extent included in federal adjusted gross income, with no cap, age or income test. Since tax year 2019 the statute also covers retirement income from the other uniformed services, including the Coast Guard, Public Health Service and NOAA (W. Va. Code § 11-21-12).

Survivor Benefit Plan annuities

ExemptSources 1, 2

The military retirement subtraction expressly includes survivorship annuities, so Survivor Benefit Plan annuities included in federal adjusted gross income are exempt (2025 Form IT-140 instructions, line 32; W. Va. Code § 11-21-12).

Property tax relief for disabled veterans

Exemption or creditSources 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

West Virginia’s Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit, passed in 2023, gives an honorably discharged veteran rated 90 percent or more service-connected disabled by the VA, or eligible for individual unemployability, a refundable personal income tax credit equal to the real property tax timely paid on the homestead (W. Va. Code §§ 11-13MM-2, 11-13MM-4). Any credit above the income tax owed is refunded.

• Property taxes must be paid on time (first half before October 1, second half before April 1); the credit is claimed on the state income tax return with Form DV-1, the tax receipts and the VA rating letter. Claimants cannot also take the Senior Citizen Tax Credit or the Homestead Excess Property Tax Credit.
• The homestead must be used or occupied exclusively for residential purposes, and by the owner for at least 6 months (TSD 455); the credit ends if the property is sold or no longer qualifies.
• Separately, the general homestead exemption removes the first $20,000 of assessed value from tax for an owner who is age 65 or older or certified as permanently and totally disabled and meets a two-year residency rule (W. Va. Code § 11-6B-3).

Vehicle registration for disabled veterans

Fee waiver or discountSources 8, 6, 9

West Virginia exempts from registration fees not more than one vehicle, not used for commercial purposes, owned by a veteran with a 100 percent total and permanent service-connected disability as certified by the Director of the West Virginia Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and any vehicle other than one used for hire owned by a disabled veteran as defined by Public Law 663 of the 79th Congress, Public Law 187 of the 82nd Congress or Public Law 77 of the 90th Congress (W. Va. Code § 17A-10-8).

• The Department of Veterans Assistance says special license plates and disabled veteran tags are provided without fee to veterans who qualify for VA auto grant benefits or have a 100 percent permanent and total service-connected rating.
• One vehicle owned by a former prisoner of war is also exempt from registration fees.
• A surviving spouse may keep using the deceased spouse’s military plate until death, remarriage or non-renewal (W. Va. Code § 17A-3-14b); the sources read do not say whether the fee exemption continues.