Updated October 4, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, with a senior modification. West Virginia taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals and prints no general exclusion for private retirement accounts. A taxpayer 65 or older, or certified permanently and totally disabled, can subtract up to $8,000 of income: the booklet says “Taxpayers MUST be at least age 65 OR certified as permanently” and totally disabled, and its example counts IRA distributions inside that amount.
State retirement-income forms, line by line: West Virginia Schedule M.
Inherited an IRA? What the state’s own documents say about taxing those withdrawals: West Virginia tax on inherited IRA withdrawals.
Hold a 403(b) or 457(b)? What the state’s own documents say about taxing those withdrawals: does West Virginia tax 403(b) and 457(b) withdrawals.
Withdrawing from an IRA or 401(k)? Whether the state withholds tax from it, from its own documents: West Virginia tax withholding on IRA and 401(k) withdrawals.
Inheriting from, or planning for, someone in this state? Whether the state has an inheritance tax, from its own tax documents: Does West Virginia have an inheritance tax?.
Contributing to an HSA? How the state taxes it, from its own tax documents: Does West Virginia tax HSA contributions?.
What West Virginia does with 401(k) and IRA withdrawals
The booklet says the modification applies to “an individual who was 65 before the end of the taxable year” and that its example “enters the maximum amount of $8,000 in column (c)”. Public-pension rules do not reach private accounts. For West Virginia Teachers’ Retirement, West Virginia PERS and federal retirement, the modification is “limited to a maximum of $2,000 and entered on Schedule M”. The booklet does not mention Roth distributions.
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Treatment | Taxable; an $8,000 senior or disability modification covers any income |
| Senior modification | Up to $8,000 at 65 or older, or if certified permanently and totally disabled |
| Public pensions | Police, firemen, military and Railroad Retirement benefits not taxed; WV Teachers, WV PERS and federal retirement limited to $2,000 |
| State rates | 4.82% top rate for 2025; 4.58% top rate for 2026 |
| Source | West Virginia State Tax Department, 2025 IT-140 booklet and rate schedules; 2026 Income Tax Rate Cut page |
A $40,000 withdrawal
For a taxpayer 65 or older, up to $8,000 of income is subtracted, so a $40,000 withdrawal leaves $32,000 (computed as $40,000 minus $8,000) in West Virginia income. The modification is reduced by amounts already subtracted on other Schedule M lines.
What changes in 2026
The Tax Division’s rate-cut page describes an “income tax cut for all West Virginians retroactive to January 1, 2026”, and prints a top-bracket row of “$1,950.50 plus 4.58% of excess over $60,000”. It prints no 2026 change to the senior modification.
Federal rules
The state’s treatment sits on top of the federal one. The IRS explains the federal tax on these withdrawals in Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements and Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income.
Related: whether West Virginia taxes pensions, how West Virginia taxes retirement income, whether West Virginia taxes Roth conversions, and the state-by-state table of 401(k) and IRA withdrawal tax.
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Answer againSources
- 2025 West Virginia Personal Income Tax Information and Instructions (IT-140 booklet): https://tax.wv.gov/Documents/PIT/2025/it140.PersonalIncomeTaxFormsAndInstructions.2025.pdf
- 2025 Tax Rate Schedules: https://tax.wv.gov/Documents/PIT/2025/it140.TaxRateSchedules.2025.pdf
- 2026 Income Tax Rate Cut: https://tax.wv.gov/Individuals/Pages/PersonalIncomeTaxReductionBill.aspx
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 4, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the plan administrator or the agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.