CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – West Virginia has completed the phaseout of state income taxes on Social Security benefits, making all such benefits fully deductible for every resident beginning Jan. 1.
Under the change, taxpayers may now claim a 100% deduction for Social Security income regardless of earnings, finishing a three-year rollout designed to extend relief to higher-income seniors who previously did not qualify for a full exemption.
The final step primarily affects single filers with incomes above $50,000 and married couples filing jointly earning more than $100,000.
Those taxpayers saw their allowable deduction increase incrementally—from 35% in 2024 to 65% in 2025—and can now deduct the entire amount of their Social Security benefits from their West Virginia adjusted gross income.
The deduction applies to all benefits paid under Title 42 of the U.S. Code, including Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance as well as Supplemental Security Income for the aged, blind, and disabled.
Lower-income residents have already qualified for a full deduction under rules in effect since tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2022.
The full exemption also interacts with other senior tax provisions. State law generally allows residents age 65 and older, or those certified as permanently and totally disabled, to claim an $8,000 deduction from gross income.
However, that deduction is unavailable if total income modifications from sources such as Social Security, military retirement, or public employee pensions exceed $8,000. For many seniors, the newly expanded Social Security exemption will surpass that amount, effectively streamlining their tax filings.
With the Jan. 1 effective date, Social Security income now joins several other forms of retirement income already exempt from the state personal income tax, including military retirement pay for active-duty and reserve components, certain federal uniformed services pensions, and benefits from West Virginia police and fire retirement systems and the state police death, disability, and retirement fund.
State officials have said the legislation was aimed at simplifying the tax code, removing outdated language, and improving the state’s appeal to retirees.
