Miscellaneous
West Virginia Social Security Income Exemption
Fully exempt for every taxpayer from the 2026 tax year, the end of a three-year phase-in that only ever applied to higher incomes.
Also called: social security, 11-21-12, phase-in, $50,000, $100,000, 2026, SSDI, decreasing modification.
For: Veteran or service member.
Where it applies
Written for the jurisdictions listed here.
- West VirginiaState
From the 2026 tax year forward, West Virginia exempts one hundred percent of Social Security benefits from the personal income tax for every taxpayer, regardless of income. This matters to older veterans and to any veteran drawing Social Security Disability Insurance alongside VA compensation.
The structure is worth understanding because guidance written during the phase-in reads as though the exemption were partial for everyone, and it never was.
There are two tracks in West Virginia Code 11-21-12(c)(8), separated by income.
If your federal adjusted gross income is $100,000 or less on a joint return, or $50,000 or less filing single or married filing separately, Social Security has been fully exempt since the 2022 tax year under subparagraphs (A) and (B). Nothing was ever phased for you.
If your income exceeds those thresholds, subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E) phased the exemption in: thirty-five percent for 2024, sixty-five percent for 2025, and one hundred percent for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. Subparagraph (F) is the clause that confines the phase-in to the above-threshold group.
So the phase-in is finished. For the 2026 tax year and after, both tracks reach one hundred percent and the income thresholds stop mattering for this modification.
Two notes for a veteran specifically.
Social Security Disability Insurance is inside this. The statute names Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Benefits under 42 U.S.C. 401 and Supplemental Security Income under 42 U.S.C. 1381, so a veteran drawing SSDI gets the same treatment as a retiree drawing old-age benefits.
VA disability compensation is not Social Security and does not need this modification. It is not included in federal adjusted gross income to begin with, so it never reaches a West Virginia return. A veteran whose income is entirely VA compensation and Social Security may have no West Virginia taxable income at all, which is also the situation in which the refundable disabled veteran property tax credit is worth the most, because that credit pays out even when there is no tax to offset.
Thresholds
| Gate | Rule |
|---|---|
| No rating and no veteran status required | This is a general income tax modification available to every West Virginia taxpayer with Social Security benefits. The rating filter never hides this entry. |
| Fully exempt for everyone from the 2026 tax year | For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, one hundred percent of Social Security benefits are a decreasing modification for taxpayers above the income thresholds, matching the full exemption that taxpayers at or below the thresholds have had since 2022. The phase-in of thirty-five percent for 2024 and sixty-five percent for 2025 is complete. |
| The thresholds only mattered during the phase-in | Federal adjusted gross income of $100,000 on a joint return, or $50,000 filing single or married filing separately, divided the two tracks. At or below, benefits have been fully exempt since 2022. Above, the exemption phased from thirty-five percent in 2024 to one hundred percent in 2026. |
| Social Security Disability Insurance is included | The modification names Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Benefits under 42 U.S.C. 401 and Supplemental Security Income under 42 U.S.C. 1381, so a veteran drawing SSDI is treated the same as a retiree drawing old-age benefits. |
Sources
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Disclaimer
VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.