CHARLESTON, W.Va. — March was another strong month for revenue collections in West Virginia. State revenue officials reported collections of $458 Million for the month. It was $39 Million ahead of estimate and 4.4 percent above the collections for March 2025. The year-to-date collections exceed estimates by $199 Million and are 3.1 percent ahead of last year’s year-to-date collections at this point.
The only lagging area of collections for March was Personal Income Tax. The totals were $121 Million for March which was $17 Million below estimate and 10.9 percent behind the figures from last March. But State Revenue Secretary Eric Nelson said part of the reason was quicker processing of personal income tax refunds.
“A lot of that is due to higher refunds. We’ve had 10,000 more refunds year-to-date and that’s basically an extra $12 Million that has been refunded,” said Nelson in an appearance on MetroNews Talkline.
He expected April would be much higher as those who have to pay their taxes will get them paid in April along with corporate taxes starting to trickle in.
The rest of the collections portfolio looked this way:
Consumer Sales Tax collections totaled $155 million in March. March collections were above both the estimate by $1 million and the prior year by $12 million. Year-to-date collections of $1.456 billion are $33 million, or 2.3%, above the year-to-date estimate.
Severance Tax collections of more than $84 million were $41 million above estimate and more than 35% ahead of prior March collections. Year-to-date General Revenue Fund Severance Tax collections of $346 million are $48 million above estimate and $90 million ahead of last year.
Corporation Net Income Tax collections totaled $9 million in March and $188 million for the year-to-date. March collections were $4 million below estimate. Year-to-date collections are $6 million above estimate and $40 million below the prior year-to-date collections.
Tobacco Excise Tax collections totaled $7 million in March and $98 million for the year-to-date. Year-to-date receipts are $6 million below estimate and $7 million below prior year-to-date collections; shifting consumption trends from cigarettes to other products continue to place downward pressure on tobacco collections.
General Revenue Fund Insurance Premium Tax collections totaled $38 million in March. Collections exceeded the monthly estimate by $14 million and prior year’s March receipts by $10 million. Much of this increase is due to February collections spilling over into March, causing February to be below estimate and March to be above. Year-to-date collections are $2 million above estimate, reflecting that these taxes remain on track.
Interest Income totaled $9 million in March and $111 million for the year-to-date. Year-to-date collections were $27 million above estimate and $34 million below prior year’s receipts due to lower investment balances and interest rates.
Nelson expected to finish the year strong.
“We’re up $200 Million year-to-date and we fully expect that to be north of $250 Million and it could be much higher than that. We’re in a good position right now,” he said.
Nelson added the five-percent income tax cut recently approved by lawmakers will also soon start to be reflected in everyone’s paycheck.
“Sixty-seven percent of our personal income tax comes from withholdings. As the corporations update their withholding tables for employees, you’ll start to see that money going into the consumer’s pocket starting here in April or next month. That’s a five percent improvement for everybody across the board,” he said.