SERVING WEST VIRGINIA REMOTELY · SINCE 2005
West Virginia Bookkeeping Services
Last Updated: October 6, 2026West Virginia is one of the few states where cities levy their own gross-receipts tax. Beyond the 6% state sales tax and the municipal sales taxes many cities add, a number of West Virginia municipalities charge a Business and Occupation tax — charged on gross receipts, at rates set by business classification, with no deduction for costs. It is the same structure as Washington State’s B&O, operating at city level. A contractor working in several West Virginia municipalities can face B&O in each, at different rates, classified differently.
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West Virginia owners and their CPAs come to us because municipal B&O is charged on gross receipts by classification, which makes revenue coding by city and activity the tax calculation itself. Dedicated bookkeepers, monthly reconciliations, and tax-ready financials — plans from $75/month, extra hours at $15/hour, and wholesale $10/hour rates for CPA firms — backed by a 100% money-back guarantee on your 1st retainer, refundable on the unused balance.
On This Page
- West Virginia’s small-business tax landscape
- Municipal B&O taxes revenue, not profit
- Contractors face it city by city
- Extraction, severance and net-cheque accounting
- West Virginia cities we serve
- West Virginia FAQs
West Virginia’s Small-Business Tax Landscape
| Tax / Filing | Rate / Fee | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| State sales and use tax | 6%, with many municipalities adding their own on top | Monthly or by assignment |
| Municipal B&O tax | Levied by a number of West Virginia cities on gross receipts, at rates by business classification, with no deduction for costs | On each municipality’s schedule |
| Income tax | Graduated individual income tax; corporate net income tax for C corporations | Annually, with estimated payments |
| Severance tax | Levied on extraction of coal, natural gas and other natural resources | On the assigned schedule |
| Annual report | Filed with the Secretary of State to keep the entity in good standing | Annually, by 1 July |
West Virginia State Tax Department and individual municipalities, checked 4 October 2026. Municipal B&O rates, classifications and municipal sales taxes are set by each city and change — confirm with the municipality or your CPA.
Municipal B&O Taxes Revenue, Not Profit
Where a West Virginia municipality levies B&O, it is charged on gross receipts — no deduction for materials, labour, subcontractors or overhead — at a rate determined by your business classification.
That means two businesses with the same profit can owe very different amounts, and a low-margin contractor or distributor can owe a meaningful sum in a year it lost money. It also means classification is the calculation: contracting, retail, service and rental activity carry different rates, and a business doing more than one needs the split.
For contractors the position is harder still, because B&O can apply in each municipality where work is performed. Revenue therefore needs coding by both activity and city — a configuration decision made when invoices are raised, not a reconstruction attempted later.
Contractors Face It City by City
A contractor working across several West Virginia municipalities can have B&O exposure in each one where work was performed, at that municipality’s rate for contracting activity.
The bookkeeping requirement is job-level records that carry a location, so revenue can be attributed to the right municipality. Businesses that track jobs only by customer, or that record revenue in a single account, cannot produce those figures and end up either over-reporting to be safe or guessing.
Job costing with location attached sits on our Enterprise plan at $300/month for 20 hours, with retainage tracked on both sides and margin visible per job. Which municipalities you owe is a determination for your CPA; the data is ours.
Extraction, Severance and Net-Cheque Accounting
West Virginia’s coal and natural gas activity brings severance taxes and the same net-cheque problem that affects resource royalties everywhere: payments arrive after deductions and taxes withheld, and the easy mistake is to record the amount that landed as revenue.
Doing that hides the gross figure, hides the deductions, hides the severance tax withheld, and makes it impossible to check whether the operator’s statement is correct.
We book these gross, with deductions and taxes withheld in their own accounts, so the revenue line is real and the statements can actually be reconciled rather than filed on trust.
West Virginia Cities We Serve
Dedicated local guide: Charleston — plus Huntington, Morgantown, Parkersburg, Wheeling and Martinsburg, and every corner of the state, all served remotely. Browse all locations.
West Virginia Bookkeeping FAQs
What is the West Virginia municipal B&O tax?
A tax levied by a number of West Virginia cities on gross receipts, at rates set by business classification, with no deduction for costs. It is structurally the same as Washington State’s B&O tax but operating at municipal level, which means a business working in several cities can face it in each. Confirm rates and classifications with the relevant municipality or your CPA.
Can I deduct my costs from municipal B&O?
No. Like other gross-receipts taxes, B&O is charged on revenue with no deduction for materials, labour, subcontractors or overhead. That is why a low-margin business can owe a meaningful amount in a year it made no profit.
I am a contractor working in several WV municipalities. What do I need?
Job-level records that carry a location, so revenue can be attributed to the right municipality and classified correctly. Without that you are either over-reporting defensively or estimating. Job costing with location attached is on our Enterprise plan at $300/month for 20 hours.
How should royalty or production payments be recorded?
Gross, with deductions and severance tax withheld recorded in their own accounts, rather than booking the net amount received as revenue. Recording the net cheque hides what was actually earned and deducted, and makes the operator’s statement impossible to verify.
Do you have offices in West Virginia?
No, and we would rather say so plainly than imply otherwise. We are a fully virtual bookkeeping company — founded in Vienna, Virginia on May 25, 2005 and headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico today, US-registered with delivery centers in India, which we disclose on our About page. We have served West Virginia businesses remotely since 2005. You get a dedicated bookkeeper with plans from $75/month, monthly reconciliations, and a 100% money-back guarantee on your 1st retainer, refundable on the unused balance.
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Dedicated West Virginia bookkeeping from $75/month — with a 100% money-back guarantee on your 1st retainer, refundable on the unused balance.