West Virginia’s version of the federal W-4 is Form WV/IT-104, the Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate. You give it to your employer, not to the state, and it tells payroll how much West Virginia income tax to take out of each check. The form uses an exemption system: each exemption you claim shelters $2,000 of wages from withholding, so the count you enter directly changes your take-home pay.1West Virginia Tax Division. West Virginia Personal Income Tax Forms and Instructions
When to Fill Out a New WV/IT-104
Every new employee working in West Virginia should complete the form and give it to their employer before the first paycheck. The form itself warns that if you don’t, the amount withheld “may not be sufficient to cover the total amount of tax due” when you file your annual return, and you may owe a penalty on the balance.2West Virginia Tax Division. WV IT-104 Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate
File a fresh form any time your tax picture changes. Marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, or a spouse starting or leaving a job can all shift the correct number of exemptions. Submitting an updated form promptly keeps your paycheck matched to your current situation rather than last year’s.
One deadline to know: if you claim complete exemption from withholding, that claim expires December 31. You must submit a new WV/IT-104 by February 15 of the following year, or your employer will start withholding at the default rate.2West Virginia Tax Division. WV IT-104 Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate
How to Complete the Form
Pick Your Filing Status
The top of the form asks whether you are Single, Married, or Head of Household. This choice determines which column of West Virginia’s withholding tables your employer uses, so picking the wrong one skews every paycheck for the rest of the year.
The form also includes a checkbox for employees who are single, head of household, or married with only one spouse working one job. Checking it tells your employer to use a lower-rate withholding table. Only check the box if those conditions genuinely apply. If both spouses work, leave it blank.2West Virginia Tax Division. WV IT-104 Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate
Count Your Exemptions on Lines 1–4
West Virginia still uses the numbered-exemption system the federal W-4 abandoned in 2020. The form walks you through the count:
- Line 1 (personal exemption, single filers): Enter 1 if you claim yourself, or 0 if someone else, such as a parent, claims you as a dependent.
- Line 2 (married filers): Claim up to two exemptions, one for yourself and one for your spouse, provided your spouse hasn’t already claimed theirs on a separate WV/IT-104 at another job. Enter 2, 1, or 0.
- Line 3 (dependents): Enter the number of dependents you expect to claim on your state return, not counting yourself or your spouse.
- Line 4 (total): Add lines 1 through 3. This is the figure your employer plugs into the withholding tables.
More exemptions means less tax withheld from each check. Fewer exemptions means more withheld, and typically a refund when you file. If you tend to owe at tax time, dropping your exemption count by one or two is the simplest fix.2West Virginia Tax Division. WV IT-104 Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate
If Both Spouses Work
Under-withholding is the usual problem for two-earner households. Each employer withholds as though its job is the only income in the home, so combined withholding often falls short of the actual joint liability. West Virginia’s withholding tables include a separate “Two Earner/Two or More Jobs” schedule that applies higher amounts at each wage bracket.3West Virginia Tax Division. Employer’s Withholding Tax Tables
To have that schedule used, leave the single-earner checkbox unchecked. Then avoid double-counting exemptions: if one spouse claims both personal exemptions on their form, the other should claim 0 on Line 2. If the numbers still come out short, use Line 6.
Add Extra Withholding on Line 6
Line 6 lets you request a flat additional dollar amount of West Virginia tax to be withheld from every paycheck. It’s useful if you have income that doesn’t flow through payroll, such as freelance work, rental income, or investment gains. It’s also the cleanest way to fine-tune your withholding when the exemption count alone doesn’t match your real liability.
Because the amount comes out of every check, think in terms of your pay frequency. Paid biweekly and want an extra $1,300 withheld over the year? Enter $50 on Line 6.
Claiming Full Exemption
The bottom of the form has a section for employees who expect to owe no West Virginia income tax at all. To qualify, you certify two things: you had no state tax liability last year, and you expect none this year. In practice this applies to very low earners, since West Virginia requires you to file a return once your adjusted gross income exceeds $2,000 for each exemption you’re entitled to claim.1West Virginia Tax Division. West Virginia Personal Income Tax Forms and Instructions
Don’t claim exemption if you don’t qualify. Nothing will be withheld all year, you’ll owe the full amount when you file, and West Virginia adds a failure-to-pay penalty of half a percent per month on the unpaid balance, up to 25%.4West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-10-18 – Additions to Tax And remember the annual refile: an exemption claim expires December 31, and you have to submit a new form by February 15 to keep it active.
If You Live in Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Virginia
If you live in one of those five states and work in West Virginia, don’t use the WV/IT-104. West Virginia has reciprocal agreements with each of them, meaning your wages are taxed only by your home state.2West Virginia Tax Division. WV IT-104 Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate
Give your employer Form WV/IT-104NR, the Certificate of Nonresidence, and they’ll stop withholding West Virginia tax from your pay. The reciprocity only covers wages and salaries; other West Virginia-source income, such as rental income from property in the state, is not covered. If you later move to West Virginia or otherwise lose your nonresident status, you must tell your employer within 10 days so withholding can start.
Submitting the Form and Checking Your Pay
Hand the completed WV/IT-104 to your employer’s payroll or HR department. The form doesn’t go to the West Virginia State Tax Department. Your employer keeps it on file.
Once payroll has the form, the change has to take effect no later than the start of the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day from the day they received it. Many payroll departments process it faster, but 30 days is the legal outer limit.2West Virginia Tax Division. WV IT-104 Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate
Look at your next two pay stubs. Find the West Virginia state tax line and confirm the amount moved in the direction you expected. If it didn’t change, or the new figure looks wrong, tell payroll right away. An error caught in January is a small fix. The same error caught in November is ten months of wrong withholding to settle up on your return.