Sources checked:
Quick answer. West Virginia: $9,500 SUTA wage base (2026); 2.7% new employer rate; new hires reported in 14 days; $8.75 minimum wage; no statewide paid sick leave law; meal breaks required; final pay by the next payday if fired. 16 of 20 checklist items are confirmed on official pages; 4 are marked not confirmed, with the page to check.
West Virginia 2027 employer checklist
1. Register for unemployment tax and withholdingBefore the first payroll.
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ConfirmedOpen a state unemployment tax account
Apply online with the Employer's Initial Statement at business4.wv.gov (WorkForce WV FAQ).
Source: WorkForce West Virginia, checked November 2026 · More: Unemployment tax wage bases by state
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Not confirmedTaxable wage base for 2027
Not confirmed — check WorkForce West Virginia: UI Tax Information FAQ.
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ConfirmedTaxable wage base for 2026 (the latest published)
$9,500 per employee in 2026.
DOL table, effective January 2026.
Source: WorkForce West Virginia: UI Tax Information FAQ, checked November 2026 · More: Unemployment tax wage bases by state
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ConfirmedNew employer tax rate
2.7% for a new employer.
2.70% per the DOL table; WorkForce WV assigns new businesses a rate once they've applied.
Source: WorkForce West Virginia: UI Tax Information FAQ, checked November 2026 · More: Unemployment tax wage bases by state
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ConfirmedQuarterly wage reports and payments
WorkForce WV: reports and contributions are due within one month after the quarter and become delinquent after January 31, April 30, July 31 and October 31.
Source: WorkForce West Virginia: UI Tax Information FAQ, checked November 2026 · More: Unemployment tax wage bases by state
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Not confirmedState income tax withholding
The state has an income tax (confirmed); the employee withholding certificate is not confirmed in our files. Not confirmed — check WV Tax Division: Electronic File Specifications 1099 & W-2G, WV/IT-105.1 (9/2025).
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ConfirmedWorkers who live in a neighboring state
Reciprocity partners named by the state: Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Their residents can give you Form WV/IT-104NR (West Virginia Certificate of Nonresidence).
The employee is a bona-fide resident of Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Virginia
Source: West Virginia Tax Division: TSD-381, Withholding Information for Employers, checked November 2026 · More: West Virginia tax reciprocity
2. Report new hires and check work eligibilityFor every hire, rehire and, where the state says so, contractor.
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ConfirmedReport each new hire to the state
Within 14 days of the date of hiring.
- Who: Newly hired and re-hired employees in West Virginia.
- Independent contractors: yes, report them too. Independent contractors are reported when payment for the services is $2,500 or more; the 14 days start at the earlier of reaching $2,500 in a year or signing a contract for at least that amount.
- How: online. The Bureau for Child Support Enforcement links to the West Virginia New Hire Reporting Center.
Source: Official page, checked November 2026 · More: First hire checklist for West Virginia
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Not confirmedE-Verify for private employers
Not confirmed — check HB 4198 (2026), committee substitute, engrossed.
3. Set pay at the minimum wage: January 1 and mid-yearCheck every hourly and tipped rate against the floor.
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ConfirmedMinimum wage now (2026)
$8.75 an hour.
$8.75 where there are 6 or more non-exempt employees at one location (WV Division of Labor).
Source: West Virginia Division of Labor: Minimum Wage, checked November 2026 · More: Minimum wage by state 2027
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ConfirmedMinimum wage change in 2027
$8.75 an hour; no scheduled change in our data.
No scheduled increase on the US DOL table.
Source: West Virginia Division of Labor: Minimum Wage, checked November 2026 · More: Minimum wage by state 2027
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ConfirmedTipped employees
Cash wage of at least $2.62 an hour in 2027, with tips making up the rest.
US DOL tipped table: tip credit up to 70% ($6.13), cash wage $2.62.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (revised July 1, 2026), checked November 2026 · More: Minimum wage by state 2027
4. Paid sick leaveAccrual, limits and notice.
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ConfirmedPaid sick leave
No statewide paid sick leave law for private employers.
The Division of Labor says state law does not require employers to provide any type of fringe benefit; its fact sheet counts sick leave, vacation and personal leave as fringe benefits, which need a written policy once offered.
Source: Wage Payment & Collection FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor), checked November 2026 · More: Paid sick leave laws by state
5. Meal and rest breaksAdults and workers under 18.
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ConfirmedMeal breaks for adults
At least 20 minutes for a meal break in a workday of 6 or more hours, unless the employee already gets a lunch or break period or may eat while working.
at least twenty minutes for meal breaks, at times reasonably designated by the employer.
Source: West Virginia Code 21-3-10a, checked November 2026 · More: West Virginia meal break laws
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Not confirmedRest breaks for adults
Not confirmed — check West Virginia Code 21-3-10a.
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ConfirmedBreaks for workers under 18
16- and 17-year-olds get the same meal break as adults: at least 20 minutes after 6 or more hours. (Ages: 16 and 17.)
a minimum of twenty minutes after working six or more hours in one day or shift.
- Waivers: Doesn't apply where the employee already has a lunch or break period or is allowed to eat while working.
Source: West Virginia Code 21-3-10a, checked November 2026 · More: West Virginia meal break laws
6. Workers' compensationCoverage, posters and proof.
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ConfirmedWorkers' compensation insurance
All employers must maintain coverage.
All WV employers are statutorily required to maintain workers' compensation insurance coverage.
- Check a policy: The Employer Coverage Unit verifies coverage through its proof of coverage (POC) system for agencies and the public.
Source: Employer Coverage (West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner), checked November 2026 · More: Workers' comp requirements by state
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ConfirmedIf there's no coverage
The Employer Coverage Unit assesses fines and revokes licenses of noncompliant employers; no amounts are given.
Source: Employer Coverage (West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner), checked November 2026 · More: Workers' comp requirements by state
7. Final payWhen someone leaves.
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ConfirmedFinal pay when you let someone go
On or before the next regular payday on which the wages would otherwise be due.
On or before the next regular payday on which the wages would otherwise be due and payable
Source: WV Division of Labor: WPCA Fact Sheet 6, Requirements for paying final wages (July 2016), checked November 2026 · More: Final paycheck laws by state
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ConfirmedFinal pay when an employee quits
On or before the next regular payday on which the wages would otherwise be due.
On or before the next regular payday on which the wages would otherwise be due and payable
- Unused vacation: Earned fringe benefits are generally included in final wages unless a written agreement sets other conditions or timing; the fact sheet doesn't name vacation specifically.
- If it's late: An employer that fails to pay as required owes the unpaid amount plus two times that amount as liquidated damages.
Source: WV Division of Labor: WPCA Fact Sheet 6, Requirements for paying final wages (July 2016), checked November 2026 · More: Final paycheck laws by state
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ConfirmedFor a laid-off employee: the state's work search rule
At least 4 work search activities each week.
Source: WorkForce West Virginia: Benefit Rights Information (Rev. 12.25), checked November 2026 · More: Unemployment work search rules by state
8. Year-end W-2 and 1099 filingState copies, due in early 2027 for 2026 pay.
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ConfirmedState copies of W-2s and 1099s
1099s and W-2Gs are required only when they reflect West Virginia withholding.
- W-2s: January 31 (a copy of each W-2 goes to the State Tax Department with Form IT-103)
- 1099s: January 31 (with Form IT-103)
- Annual reconciliation: WV/IT-103 Year-End Reconciliation, due January 31.
- Electronic filing: Form IT-103 says employers filing for 25 or more employees must file all data electronically; the 2025 1099 specifications (9/2025) say 10 or more employees. A payroll service filer must also file electronically. Ask the Tax Division which applies.
Source: WV Tax Division: Electronic File Specifications 1099 & W-2G, WV/IT-105.1 (9/2025), checked November 2026 · More: 1099 and W-2 deadline finder
Key dates for 2027
Only the dates our files state. A date on a weekend or holiday is flagged, not moved, unless the agency's page says it moves.
| Date | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, January 31, 2027 | Unemployment tax report and payment for the fourth quarter of 2026 Falls on a Sunday. This is the date as the agency states it; check its rule for weekend due dates (see step 1). | |
| Sunday, January 31, 2027 | Form IT-103 with 1099 data showing West Virginia withholding Sunday, January 31, 2027 is a Sunday. The agency's page we opened doesn't say whether it moves to the next business day; file by the Friday before to be safe, or ask the agency. | |
| Monday, February 1, 2027 | Form W-2 Copy A (with W-3) to SSA, and employee copies (federal) | |
| Monday, February 1, 2027 | Form 1099-MISC copies to payees (federal) | |
| Monday, February 1, 2027 | Form 1099-NEC to the IRS and to each payee (federal) | |
| Monday, March 1, 2027 | Form 1099-MISC to the IRS on paper (federal) | |
| Wednesday, March 31, 2027 | Form 1099-MISC to the IRS electronically (federal) | |
| Friday, April 30, 2027 | Unemployment tax report and payment for the first quarter of 2027 | |
| Saturday, July 31, 2027 | Unemployment tax report and payment for the second quarter of 2027 Falls on a Saturday. This is the date as the agency states it; check its rule for weekend due dates (see step 1). | |
| Sunday, October 31, 2027 | Unemployment tax report and payment for the third quarter of 2027 Falls on a Sunday. This is the date as the agency states it; check its rule for weekend due dates (see step 1). |
Still to confirm
- Taxable wage base for 2027: check WorkForce West Virginia: UI Tax Information FAQ
- State income tax withholding: check WV Tax Division: Electronic File Specifications 1099 & W-2G, WV/IT-105.1 (9/2025)
- E-Verify for private employers: check HB 4198 (2026), committee substitute, engrossed
- Rest breaks for adults: check West Virginia Code 21-3-10a
West Virginia kit
West Virginia Employer Compliance Kit 2027
This checklist as a printable document with every source link and check date, a 2027 deadline calendar, a start-here guide, and an Excel workbook with a deadline tracker and new-hire and pay-change checklists, all built from the same data as this page.
Get the kit, $19 Or the 2027 Employer Compliance Bundle (7 Kits), $59
General information, not legal, tax or payroll advice. We are not lawyers, and MCC Solutions is not a law firm or a payroll service. Nothing here guarantees compliance. Rules change, cities and counties can add their own, and the agency's own page has the final word.
Common questions
What is the West Virginia unemployment tax wage base for 2027?
Not confirmed in our data files. Check WorkForce West Virginia: UI Tax Information FAQ (https://workforcewv.org/businesses/unemployment-tax-information/frequently-asked-questions/). The latest published base is $9,500 per employee in 2026.
How soon must a West Virginia employer report a new hire?
Within 14 days of the date of hiring.
What is the West Virginia minimum wage in 2027?
$8.75 an hour; no scheduled change in our data. No scheduled increase on the US DOL table.
Does West Virginia require paid sick leave?
No statewide paid sick leave law for private employers.
When is a final paycheck due in West Virginia?
If the employer ends the job: On or before the next regular payday on which the wages would otherwise be due. If the employee quits: On or before the next regular payday on which the wages would otherwise be due.
Does West Virginia require state W-2 or 1099 filing?
1099s and W-2Gs are required only when they reflect West Virginia withholding. W-2s: January 31 (a copy of each W-2 goes to the State Tax Department with Form IT-103) 1099s: January 31 (with Form IT-103)
Do West Virginia employers need workers' comp?
All employers must maintain coverage.
Related: Employer compliance by state · 2027 changes for employers