West Virginia Estate & Inheritance Tax

What the West Virginia Estate Data Reveals

West Virginia imposes no state estate tax, so federal law under IRC § 2001 is the only estate-level levy that applies. With the federal exemption at $13,990,000 per decedent in 2025, the vast majority of West Virginia estates clear probate without owing estate tax at any level — though the scheduled 2026 sunset of the TCJA could cut that exemption roughly in half. There is no separate inheritance tax, so beneficiaries receive their share without a second state-level deduction at distribution.

Federal Statistics of Income filings for West Virginia in the IRS SOI series are limited or suppressed at the state level for recent years, which typically reflects either a small number of returns (below the IRS disclosure threshold) or a reporting lag. Absence of reported data does not mean no estates were taxed — it means West Virginia filings fell below SOI's publication cutoff.

Probate itself typically runs 6–12 months in West Virginia (roughly 9 months on average), with court filing fees of $50–$300. Attorney compensation is set by statute at approximately 5% of the estate, which is a material fixed cost even for uncontested estates. West Virginia does offer a simplified small-estate track for estates under $50,000, which most families use to bypass full formal probate. Because West Virginia has not adopted the UPC, probate practice can vary materially by county and judicial district. As a common-law (separate property) state, West Virginia treats each spouse's holdings individually unless jointly titled, so titling choices drive what actually enters the probate estate.