CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Most West Virginians have already filed their income tax returns with the state tax department with the deadline to file approaching.
State Tax Commissioner Matt Irby said a large majority of the returns are already in.
“We’ve received close to 90 percent of returns already,” Irby told MetroNews. “With the tax deadline coming up, we expect to receive that last wave of returns next week.”
The deadline to file both state and federal returns is midnight next Tuesday. April 18. The normal April 15 deadline was pushed back a few days because April 15 falls on a weekend this year and Monday, April 17, is a holiday in Washington, D.C.
Irby said the tax department sees an initial wave of returns in January when residents receive their W-2s. He said a second wave happens around the deadline with a third wave later this year for those who have sought extensions.
The state tax department has been able to process and turnaround the returns at a fairly good pace, Irby said.
“For the average taxpayer, about 80%-85% of refunds, we pay out within about three weeks.”
As taxpayers file their returns before the Tuesday deadline, also ramping up around this time of year are fraud schemes. Irby said they typically implement new tactics to combat this every year.
“We’re constantly trying to learn what it is they’re doing, so we institute new things pretty much every year,” Irby said. “Folks that are engaged in fraud continue to find new ways to try identity fraud.”
State lawmakers passed and Gov. Jim Justice signed a tax cut bill into law earlier this year. Irby said taxpayers should start noticing a little more in their paychecks from income tax reductions. He says new withholding tables have been produced by the state. He said adjustments have already been made for state government workers. He said other employers around the state will decide on their own when the reductions begin.
Irby said the personal income tax rate changes will impact tax returns filed next year for the 2023 tax year. The new law also creates a rebate plan for some personal property taxes including the vehicle tax but that doesn’t go into effect until 2024, making it part of the tax returns that will be filed in 2025.