Payroll in West Virginia: A Step-by-Step Guide for Employers

Last reviewed: July 2026

Setting up payroll in West Virginia isn't especially complicated once you know the sequence. Skip a registration, though, and your first pay run stalls while you wait on an account number. Here's the order that works, from your first application to your first W-2 season.

Step 1: Get Your Federal EIN

Before you touch a state form, apply for an Employer Identification Number through the IRS EIN application. It's free, the online application takes a few minutes, and you get the number immediately. Both state registrations below ask for it, so it needs to come first.

Step 2: Register With West Virginia State Agencies

With an EIN in hand, register with two separate West Virginia agencies:

• The West Virginia Tax Division for a withholding tax account, used to remit the state income tax you hold back from employee paychecks.
• WorkForce West Virginia for a state unemployment insurance (SUI) account.

From the Payroll Desk

Register with both agencies before your first payroll, not after. Account numbers can take a week or two to arrive, and you need them on file before your first tax deposit comes due.

Step 3: Collect Form WV/IT-104

Every new employee completes Form WV/IT-104, the West Virginia Employee's Withholding Exemption Certificate. It works alongside the federal W-4 and tells you how many exemptions to apply when calculating state withholding. An employee can claim one exemption for themselves, one for a spouse, and one for each dependent they expect to claim on their return.

West Virginia uses a graduated income tax with five brackets, so withholding is calculated from the state's published tables rather than a single flat percentage. If an employee doesn't turn in an IT-104, withhold as if they claimed zero exemptions. Our W-4 Helper walks through both the federal and West Virginia pieces so you can see how a given IT-104 translates into a paycheck.

Step 4: Set Up Your SUI Account

Once your WorkForce West Virginia account is active, you'll be assigned an employer number and a tax rate. New employers pay a standard rate of 2.7% on the first $9,500 of each employee's wages for the year. That wage base is fixed by state law and doesn't reset each January the way some states' caps do. After a few years on the books, WorkForce West Virginia moves you to an experience-based rate tied to your claims history, generally somewhere between 1.5% and 8.5%.

SUI wage reports and payments are filed quarterly through the WorkForce West Virginia employer portal. Put the due dates on the same calendar as your federal deposits so a busy quarter doesn't push one past its deadline.

Step 5: Set Your Pay Frequency and Final Pay Rules

West Virginia law requires employers to settle with employees at least twice a month, with no more than 19 days between paydays. Weekly and biweekly schedules both satisfy this comfortably. A true monthly schedule does not, so if you're used to paying salaried staff once a month in another state, that habit doesn't transfer here.

When you discharge an employee, West Virginia gives you a firm deadline: full wages are due within 72 hours of separation. For an employee who quits, the safer practice is to pay everything owed by the next regular payday. Fringe benefits that are earned and payable under your written company policy generally count as part of that final wage payment unless the policy says otherwise.

Step 6: Build Your Deposit and Filing Calendar

Once payroll is running, keep three calendars in sync:

• Federal deposits: monthly or semiweekly, based on your lookback period, plus quarterly Form 941. See our Form 941 Guide if you're filing it for the first time.
• West Virginia withholding: deposits on the schedule the Tax Division assigns based on your withholding volume, usually monthly or quarterly.
• West Virginia SUI wage reports and payments, filed quarterly through WorkForce West Virginia.

A shared calendar, whether it's a spreadsheet or a built-in feature of your payroll software, keeps these three from colliding during a busy month.

Step 7: Year-End W-2s

By January 31, employees need their W-2s and the Social Security Administration needs its copy. Reconcile every paycheck against your quarterly withholding filings before you generate W-2s. A mismatch caught in January is a quick fix; the same error found two years later during an audit is not.

Running West Virginia payroll by hand works for a single employee, but the withholding table lookups and the two-agency filing calendar add up once you have a handful of people on the books. Gusto calculates federal and West Virginia withholding automatically, files your quarterly SUI reports and state withholding returns, and sends W-2s at year-end without extra spreadsheets. Run the numbers yourself first with our Paycheck Calculator, then decide whether handing the filings off is worth it for your business.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the first step to doing payroll in West Virginia?

Get a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS first. Every state registration after that, including your West Virginia Tax Division withholding account and your WorkForce West Virginia unemployment account, is built on that number.

What is West Virginia Form WV/IT-104 used for?

Form WV/IT-104 is the West Virginia Employee's Withholding Exemption Certificate. New employees complete it so you know how many exemptions to apply when calculating state income tax withholding, similar to how the federal W-4 works for federal withholding.

What is the SUI new employer rate in West Virginia?

New employers in West Virginia pay a standard SUI rate of 2.7% on the first $9,500 of each employee's wages for the year. WorkForce West Virginia moves employers to an experience-based rate after a few years on the books.

How often must West Virginia employers pay employees?

West Virginia law requires employers to settle with employees at least twice a month, with no more than 19 days between paydays. A discharged employee must be paid in full within 72 hours of separation.

How soon must a new hire be reported in West Virginia?

Within 14 days of the hire or rehire date. Reports go to the West Virginia New Hire Reporting Center, which shares the data with child support enforcement agencies nationwide.