Gambling winnings tax in West Virginia

West Virginia allows gambling losses only if you itemize on your federal return. It lets you deduct them up to the amount you won and no further.

Checked against West Virginia’s own sources on 2026-09-11.

In short

Only gambling losses from West Virginia count. If you live in West Virginia and bet through an out-of-state or offshore book, those losses do not reduce your West Virginia tax.1
To keep the loss deduction, attach the first two pages of your federal 1040, your federal Schedule A, and all your Forms W-2G. If you do not, West Virginia denies it.5
You can amend your 2020 through 2022 returns to claim the loss deduction, and the law voids the resulting penalties.1

How West Virginia treats gambling losses

1, 4, 10

West Virginia allows the deduction only to filers who itemize on the federal return. Take the federal standard deduction and the offset disappears, so gross winnings are taxed even in a year you finished down.

The two examples below are the same numbers the calculator uses, worked at West Virginia rates.

Two examples, worked at 2026 West Virginia rates

A single filer with $60,000 of other income who takes the standard deduction on everything except gambling losses.

A losing year

You win $50,000 and lose $52,000, so you finish down $2,000.

Federal: $3,596
West Virginia: $0
Total: $3,596

You finished the year down and still owe tax.

Federally you itemize, so your losses offset your winnings, but the 2026 rule caps that deduction at 90 percent and leaves $3,200 taxable. West Virginia allows the loss deduction only to filers who itemize federally, which you do. It lets you deduct losses up to the amount you won and no further, so none of it is taxed by West Virginia.

A winning year

You win $50,000 and lose $10,000, so you finish up $40,000.

Federal: $10,350
West Virginia: $2,283
Total: $12,633

Federally you take the $16,100 standard deduction, which is worth more than itemizing, so your gambling losses do not reduce your federal tax at all. West Virginia allows the loss deduction only to filers who itemize federally. You do not, so the full $50,000 is taxed at 4.58 percent, less $7 because your personal exemption comes off your income first, so the win starts lower in the rate bands, which comes to $2,283.

West Virginia income tax rates, 2026

Single filer thresholds. Married filing separately uses different bands. Married filing jointly and head of household use the single bands.

Taxable income	Rate
$0 to $10,000	2.11 percent
$10,000 to $25,000	2.81 percent
$25,000 to $40,000	3.16 percent
$40,000 to $60,000	4.22 percent
$60,000 and above	4.58 percent

The calculator also applies what this table leaves out: a personal exemption of $2,000 a person, taken before the table.

Withholding on winnings

West Virginia withholds 4.58 percent. The payout that triggers it depends on the wager, and the lowest trigger is $2,000. The rules in the state's sources:

the state lottery, other lotteries, sweepstakes and wagering pools, sports wagering and other wagers: above $5,000, measured after the stake comes off.
poker tournaments: above $5,000, measured after the stake comes off (backup withholding only, where the winner gives no taxpayer identification number).
slot machines, keno and bingo: nothing is withheld under the regular withholding rules, whatever the payout.
slot machines, keno and bingo: $2,000 or more, measured after the stake comes off (backup withholding only, up to five thousand dollars, where the winner gives no taxpayer identification number).
the state lottery, other lotteries, sweepstakes and wagering pools, pari-mutuel wagering, sports wagering and other wagers: $2,000 or more, and only where the payout is at least 300 times the stake, measured after the stake comes off (backup withholding only, up to five thousand dollars, where the winner gives no taxpayer identification number).

Withholding is a credit against the bill, not the bill itself. It does not settle what you owe.

The federal 90 percent loss limit in West Virginia

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From tax year 2026 the federal deduction for gambling losses is cut to 90 percent of what you lost, and never more than what you won. Public Law 119-21 did it, at section 70114(a), by rewriting 26 U.S.C. 165(d).

West Virginia does not apply the federal 90 percent limit, so a loss deduction on your state return is not cut to 90 percent.

West Virginia follows the federal code as it stood on 2025-12-31. The paragraph above says what this means for the federal 90 percent limit.

If you do not live in West Virginia

For a nonresident, West Virginia source income reaches gambling only through West Virginia State Lottery prizes. Casino and sportsbook winnings of a nonresident are not listed as West Virginia source income, though the operator may still apply backup withholding.

The calculator works the bill for somebody who lives in West Virginia. It does not apportion income between states, so a nonresident return is not what the figure above describes.

More about West Virginia

Which losses count

Only gambling losses from West Virginia count. If you live in West Virginia and bet through an out-of-state or offshore book, those losses do not reduce your West Virginia tax.1

If you already deducted losses to reach your federal adjusted gross income, as a professional gambler does, you cannot deduct them again in West Virginia. Losses from unlawful gambling do not count. Costs and expenses do not count.1

What you must attach

You must attach the first two pages of your federal 1040, your federal Schedule A, and all your Forms W-2G. If you do not, West Virginia denies the loss deduction.5

Withholding

Two West Virginia sources give different withholding rates. The Tax Division’s TSD 432 (June 2026) says payers withhold 4.58 percent. The statute, W. Va. Code 11-21-77, still says 6.5 percent for Lottery prizes over $5,000 and for backup withholding. Your Form W-2G shows the amount actually withheld.5, 6

The rate table

Single, joint and head of household filers use the same rate table. Only married filing separately is different, with half the thresholds.2

Claiming losses for 2020 to 2022

The loss deduction applies back to tax year 2020. The law gives you an express right to amend your 2020 through 2022 returns to claim it, and it voids the resulting penalties.1

About this estimate

The calculator takes off your $2,000 personal exemption, or $4,000 on a joint return. It leaves out $2,000 for each dependent.

It also leaves out the Family Tax Credit and the low-income exclusion for earned income. If your income is near the poverty line, the credit can remove all the tax on both returns, so the real cost of the win can be $0 where the calculator shows tax.

Sources

Every figure above traces to a primary source: a statute, an administrative code, a state agency page, or official form instructions.

1. W.Va. Code 11-21-12n, decreasing modification for West Virginia gambling losses (checked 2026-09-16)
2. W.Va. Code 11-21-4j, rate of tax for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2026 (checked 2026-09-11)
3. W.Va. Code 11-21-9, conformity and the express carve-out from the amended wagering rule (checked 2026-09-11)
4. W.Va. Code 11-21-11, West Virginia taxable income, no state itemized deductions (checked 2026-09-11)
5. TSD 432, backup withholding and substantiation for gambling winnings (checked 2026-09-11)
6. W.Va. Code 11-21-77, withholding on lottery prizes and backup withholding on gambling prizes (checked 2026-10-12)
7. W.Va. Code 11-21-32, West Virginia source income of a nonresident (checked 2026-09-11)
8. W. Va. Code 11-21-16, personal exemptions of $2,000 each (checked 2026-10-11)
9. W. Va. Code 11-21-22, low-income family tax credit (checked 2026-09-24)
10. 2025 Form IT-140 instructions, gambling losses only if you itemized on your federal 1040 (checked 2026-09-27)

The federal rule, for the parts of this page that rest on it

11. Public Law 119-21 section 70114(a), which rewrote 26 U.S.C. 165(d) on wagering losses from tax year 2026 and sets out its text (checked 2026-10-18)

We could not confirm these from an official source: whether any city or county tax applies.