Clear Money Guide
What this state guide covers
A quick view of the questions, practical details and source notes below.
Updated August 12, 2026. Quick answer: Yes. West Virginia taxes conversion income at its graduated 2026 rates (top 4.58%), and no retirement-income exclusion reaches it. The only potential shelter is the age-65-or-disabled modification of up to $8,000 of income from any source, and it is reduced dollar for dollar by your other Schedule M subtractions — including the now fully exempt Social Security — so many seniors have little or none of it left.
Confidence note: high. The $8,000 modification is written as an any-source amount rather than a retirement exclusion, and it is reduced by the other modifications claimed on the same schedule.
Why a conversion is a different question from a withdrawal
Almost every state summary answers “how does West Virginia tax retirement income?” That is a question about distributions. A Roth conversion is not a distribution in the ordinary sense — it is a voluntary election to recognise income now in exchange for tax-free growth later. Whether a state’s retirement exclusion reaches that election is a separate question, and it is the one that decides your bill.
There is no retirement exclusion to argue about here. The $8,000 modification is not a retirement rule — it applies to income from any source at 65 or older — and because Social Security is now fully exempt in West Virginia, that subtraction often consumes the $8,000 before a conversion ever reaches it.
Because the state cost is close to certain, the lever that matters in West Virginia is when and how much — splitting a conversion across tax years, or converting in a year of unusually low income, changes the bill in a way the $8,000 modification cannot.
What West Virginia does with the converted amount
State income tax: graduated; TY2026 rates cut ~5% across the board retroactive to Jan 1, 2026 – top rate 4.58% (was 4.82% in 2025, 5.12% in 2023, 6.5% pre-2023); further trigger-based cuts possible
How West Virginia treats IRA and plan income: Pensions, 401(k) and IRA withdrawals generally taxable; age 65+ may exclude up to $8,000 of any income ($16,000 MFJ both 65+) via the senior citizen modification — but W. Va. Code §11-21-12(c)(9) allows that $8,000 only to the extent the modifications claimed under subdivisions (1), (2), (5), (6), (7) and (8) of the same subsection come to less than $8,000, and subdivision (8) is the Social Security modification, 100% from TY2026 — so a 65+ filer drawing $8,000 or more of benefits has none of the senior modification left; first $2,000 of WV state/federal civil service pensions exempt; WV police/firefighter/deputy sheriff pensions fully exempt.
The state bill is only half the decision
What a conversion costs depends on the federal bracket it fills as well as the state you are resident in when you make it, and an adviser can price both together before you decide how much to convert.
Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide is paid when you submit the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
The Kapitalwise form opens here. You stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions (age, investable assets, location), then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button. Submitting the form does not guarantee an adviser or a match. This matching form is not tax or legal advice.
What to ask a preparer about West Virginia
None on eligibility — it is taxable. Ask instead how much of the $8,000 senior modification my other Schedule M subtractions already use.
Converting around a move
Converting in the year you move into West Virginia is the case that catches people. Residency at the moment of conversion is what generally determines which state gets to tax it, so a conversion executed a week before a move and one executed a week after can produce different bills.
Four separate taxes change when you move, not one: income tax on withdrawals, treatment of Social Security, estate tax, and inheritance tax. A state that looks good on conversions can be worse on the other three.
The state bill is the smaller half
Whatever West Virginia does, the conversion is federal ordinary income first. The federal bracket you land in, and whether the conversion pushes you over an IRMAA threshold two years later, will usually move more money than the state line does. The state answer tells you whether to convert here; the federal answer tells you how much to convert at once.
Paying the tax from outside the account matters more than either. Using converted dollars to pay the bill shrinks the balance that was the entire point of converting.
Sources
Authority: W. Va. Code § 11-21-12(c) (modifications incl. SS phase-out, $8,000 senior modification, military exemption); WV Tax Division: Senior Citizen Social Security Modification page; WV Tax Division: 2026 Income Tax Rate Cut page.
Compiled from state statutes, session laws and revenue-department publications and adversarially verified in July 2026. Dataset confidence for West Virginia: high.
This page states what the cited authority says. It is not tax advice, and a conversion large enough to matter is worth putting in front of a preparer who can see your whole return.