What shapes your West Virginia take-home pay
Federal income tax and FICA come out of every U.S. paycheck the same way; the state layer is what makes a West Virginia paycheck specific. West Virginia cut its income tax in 2023 and again for 2025, so the rates now run 2.22% to 4.82%, down from a 6.5% top a couple of years ago. It has no standard deduction but allows a $2,000 personal exemption per person. West Virginia has no local income tax (some cities charge a small flat weekly service fee instead).
Your take-home (net) pay is your gross minus federal tax, FICA, those West Virginia taxes, and any pre-tax deductions. The calculator above applies them in order, so the figure you see reflects what actually reaches your account each payday.
The deductions, step by step
- Pre-tax deductions, traditional 401(k), HSA, and pre-tax health premiums come out first and lower your taxable income (your 401(k) still counts for Social Security and Medicare, though).
- Federal income tax, applied to income after the standard deduction using the 2026 progressive brackets for your filing status.
- FICA, Social Security at 6.2% (up to the annual wage base) plus Medicare at 1.45% on all wages, with an extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000.
- West Virginia tax, West Virginia cut its income tax in 2023 and again for 2025, so the rates now run 2.22% to 4.82%, down from a 6.5% top a couple of years ago. It has no standard deduction but allows a $2,000 personal exemption per person. West Virginia has no local income tax (some cities charge a small flat weekly service fee instead).
Biweekly vs. monthly, does it change your taxes?
No. Your total annual tax depends on what you earn in a year, not how often you're paid. A biweekly schedule (26 checks) simply slices the same annual take-home into smaller, more frequent amounts than a monthly schedule (12 checks). Switch the pay-frequency selector above and you'll see the per-paycheck figure change while the annual totals stay put.
Make your estimate more accurate
- Set your real 401(k) percentage and HSA amount, pre-tax contributions can noticeably raise take-home-adjusted savings.
- Choose the filing status that matches your W-4; married filing jointly widens the brackets.
- Add your pre-tax health premium if your employer deducts it before taxes.
This is an estimate of annual tax liability, not exact per-paycheck withholding (which follows IRS Pub 15-T tables and your specific W-4). It uses 2026 federal and FICA figures and applies each state's latest published income-tax schedule (2025 for most states until 2026 rates are released); it doesn't model local city taxes, post-tax deductions, or tax credits. Treat the result as a close ballpark, and check your actual pay stub for the precise numbers.