Updated August 7, 2026. Quick answer: every figure Clear Money Guide holds about West Virginia, on one page, each one copied from a dataset that cites its own statute or agency. Built for reporters on deadline — take any line, follow the link for the source.
What stands out about West Virginia
These are the figures where West Virginia differs most from the rest of the country — selected by counting how many jurisdictions share each value, not by editorial preference.
- Five year total: $225 — the only jurisdiction of the 48 we have data for
- Grace period days: 31 days — one of only 4 of 47
- Tax year: 2025 — one of only 16 of 47
- Contested: No — one of only 20 of 47
What dying costs here
- Small estate limit: 50000
- Small estate scope: covers_real
Source and full detail: the cost-of-dying index. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Estate and property law status
- Authorized: yes
- Statute or act: W. Va. Code 39-4-37, enacted S.B. 469 (2021 Regular Session)
- Effective date: 2021-06-17
- Conditions: Identity by personal knowledge, credible-witness oath, or two types of identity proofing; audiovisual recording retained 5 years (shorter than most states); certificate must note the technology used; special Out-of-State Commissioner rules when the signer is outside the US.
- Association name: West Virginia Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association
- Death benefit limit: $300,000
- Cash surrender limit: $100,000
- Annuity limit: $250,000
- Aggregate limit: $300,000
- Statute citation: W. Va. Code § 33-26A-3(c)(2)(A) (Scope of article; policies and contracts covered; exclusions; extent of liability)
- Extended windows: 30 days for replacement policies and annuity contracts
- Refund basis: for replacements: unconditional full refund of all premiums or considerations paid including policy fees and charges; for a VARIABLE or market-value-adjustment policy or contract, the cash surrender value plus the fees and other charges deducted from gross premiums
- Grace period days: 31 days
- Trigger: the due date of any premium after the first
- Coverage during grace: the policy continues in full force; if a claim arises during grace before the overdue premium is paid, that premium may be deducted from the policy proceeds
- Variations: industrial life: four weeks, except not less than 31 days for policies with premiums payable monthly
Source and full detail: notary rules by state · guaranty association limits · life insurance free-look periods · life insurance grace periods. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Working and earning here
- Quit deadline: On or before the next regular payday
- Fired deadline: On or before the next regular payday
- Statute citation: W. Va. Code 21-5-4
- Has law: No
- Disclosure trigger: none
- Salary history ban: No
- Local ordinances: none identified
- Contested: No
Source and full detail: final paycheck laws by state · pay transparency laws by state · paid family leave by state · the convenience-of-the-employer rule. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Renting here
- Return deadline: the ‘applicable notice period’: whichever is SHORTER of 60 days after termination of tenancy, or 45 days after a new tenant occupies the unit
- Interest required: no
- Statute citation: W. Va. Code §§ 37-6A-1 to 37-6A-5
Source and full detail: security deposit law by state. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Starting a business here
- Formation fee: $100
- Annual report: $25
- Franchise tax: none — repealed
- Publication requirement: none
- Expedite options: $25 24-hour; $250 2-hour; $500 1-hour
- Statute citation: W. Va. Code sec. 59-1-2 (formation fees); W. Va. Code sec. 59-1-2a (annual report fee and $50 late fee); W. Va. Code sec. 11-12-3(b) ($30 business registration tax); W. Va. Code sec. 11-23-6 (business franchise tax, no tax due after 1/1/2015)
- Five year total: $225
Source and full detail: LLC cost by state. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Tax treatment here
- Has law: Yes
- Treatment: ordinary income
- Rate: 4.82% top marginal (TY2025)
- Preferential mechanism: none
- Tax year: 2025
- Statute citation: W. Va. Code sec. 11-21-4g, as reduced under sec. 11-21-4h
Source and full detail: capital gains tax by state. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
For journalists: how to cite this
Clear Money Guide, West Virginia Money Statistics 2026. https://clearmoneyguide.com/state-money-statistics/west-virginia/. Every figure on this page is copied from a Clear Money Guide dataset that states its own primary source and the date it was read — follow the section links for the statute or agency behind any number. Free to reuse with attribution under CC BY 4.0.
What this sheet does and does not contain
This sheet aggregates; it does not research. Every figure is copied from the owning page linked in each section, and a figure we do not own is simply absent — not estimated, not inferred from a neighbouring state. That is why sheets differ in length: this one states 42 figures, and a state where we hold less will show fewer. A short sheet means we have less, not that the state has less.
Statutory law changes. Each linked owner page carries the date its figures were read; check there before relying on anything here. See also West Virginia financial adviser statistics and all 51 state money sheets.
General information about published law and public data, not legal, tax or investment advice. No advertising appears on this page and we earn nothing from it.