Sales Tax in West Virginia: A Complete Guide for Ecommerce Sellers

West Virginia is an SST member state with a 6% flat rate that applies to most addresses in the state. County-level sales taxes do not exist in West Virginia, and only a small number of municipalities have adopted local additions. For ecommerce sellers, West Virginia is operationally simple, most orders are at 6%, registration is through SST, and the taxability rules follow standard patterns.

Quick reference

Economic nexus

West Virginia’s OR threshold: $100,000 in gross sales OR 200 or more separate transactions into West Virginia in the current or prior calendar year. Either condition alone triggers registration.

West Virginia enacted its economic nexus rules effective January 1, 2019.

Physical nexus

Physical presence in West Virginia creates nexus without any threshold:

• Warehouse, office, or storage facility in West Virginia
• Amazon FBA inventory in West Virginia fulfillment centers
• Employees, agents, or independent contractors in West Virginia
• Sales representatives in West Virginia

Registration

West Virginia is an SST member state. Register through a Certified Service Provider for simultaneous registration in West Virginia and all other SST states at no charge.

Sellers can also register directly with the West Virginia State Tax Department through MyTaxes (mytaxes.wvtax.gov). Registration is free.

Tax rates

State rate: 6%

No county additions: West Virginia counties do not levy sales taxes.

Municipal additions: A small number of West Virginia municipalities have adopted local sales taxes:

• Charleston: 1% municipal tax = 7% combined

Most West Virginia addresses (including Huntington, Morgantown, Parkersburg, and Wheeling) are at the 6% state rate with no local addition.

What’s taxable

Generally taxable: Electronics, clothing, furniture, sporting goods, toys, most tangible personal property.

Generally exempt:

• Prescription medications
• Food for human consumption (groceries — West Virginia broadly exempts food for home consumption)
• Agricultural equipment and supplies
• Manufacturing equipment

Notable West Virginia rules:

• Clothing: Taxable in West Virginia, no clothing exemption
• Digital products: West Virginia taxes specified digital products, including downloaded software and digital audio/audiovisual works
• SaaS: West Virginia taxes remotely accessed software (SaaS) as a taxable service
• Food: West Virginia broadly exempts food for home consumption. Prepared food, candy, and soft drinks are taxable

Shipping taxability

West Virginia taxes delivery charges when the shipped goods are taxable. When all goods in a shipment are exempt, the delivery charge is also exempt.

Marketplace facilitator rules

West Virginia enacted marketplace facilitator legislation effective January 1, 2019. Qualifying marketplace facilitators collect and remit West Virginia sales tax on marketplace-facilitated sales.

Remote sellers with no West Virginia physical nexus whose only West Virginia sales are through marketplace facilitators may not need to separately register. Sellers with West Virginia physical nexus must register regardless.

State-specific notes

Near-flat rate for ecommerce: West Virginia’s county-free structure and limited municipal additions make it operationally simple. For most deliveries, 6% applies uniformly. Sellers can generally configure 6% as the West Virginia rate and rely on their calculation engine to capture Charleston’s 7%.

SST membership: West Virginia’s SST membership enables efficient multi-state registration through a single CSP application.