West Virginia Employer Compliance Kit 2027: State Checklist, Deadline Calendar and Excel Tracker

Who it is for

Owners, office managers and bookkeepers who run payroll for employees working in West Virginia, from the first hire to the year-end forms.

Not the right fit if

Your employees work outside West Virginia: get that state's kit, or the 2027 Employer Compliance Bundle for several states. Not a payroll service, and not a legal review of your policies.

Why it is different

• Built only from our West Virginia data files, checked November 2026 against 21 official pages, among them WorkForce West Virginia; WorkForce West Virginia: UI Tax Information FAQ; West Virginia Legislature: copy of Form WV/IT-104; West Virginia Tax Division: withholding certificates, including Form WV/IT-104NR (Rev. 03/2023); Official page; West Virginia Division of Labor: Required Posters; West Virginia Division of Labor: Minimum Wage; U.S. Department of Labor: State Minimum Wage Laws (updated November 5, 2026), plus NCSL (a vetted secondary source, marked in the kit) where no official page could be read.
• Every checklist item is confirmed and linked to its source: an official page, or where none could be read, a vetted secondary source marked as such.
• The workbook recalculates with zero formula errors and dates the West Virginia new-hire steps for you.

What is inside

• Start here. How to use the kit, the 19 confirmed West Virginia rules at a glance and the 0 items to confirm.
• West Virginia 2027 checklist. Eight steps from unemployment tax registration to year-end filing, each confirmed rule with its source link and check date, from WorkForce West Virginia, West Virginia New Hire Reporting Center, West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner. What it confirms: open a state unemployment tax account: Apply online with the Employer's Initial Statement at business4.wv.gov (WorkForce WV FAQ); taxable wage base for 2027: $9,500 per employee in 2027 ($9,500 in 2026); new employer tax rate: 2.7% for a new employer; quarterly wage reports and payments: WorkForce WV: reports and contributions are due within one month after the quarter and become delinquent after January 31, April 30, July 31 and October 31; state income tax withholding: State income tax applies; workers who live in a neighboring state: Reciprocity partners named by the state: Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia; report each new hire to the state: Within 14 days of the date of hiring; e-Verify for private employers: No state law requires private employers in West Virginia to use E-Verify: NCSL's State E-Verify Action summary (secondary source, checked November 2026) lists West Virginia among the states that require it of most public employers, not among the nine that require it of all employers; minimum wage now (2026): $8.75 an hour; minimum wage change in 2027: $8.75 an hour; no scheduled change in our data; tipped employees: Cash wage of at least $2.62 an hour in 2027, with tips making up the rest; paid sick leave: No statewide paid sick leave law for private employers; meal breaks for adults: At least 20 minutes for a meal break in a workday of 6 or more hours, unless the employee already gets a lunch or break period or may eat while working; rest breaks for adults: no state rule; No state rest-break requirement: West Virginia isn't in the US DOL table of state paid rest-period rules (revised January 1, 2023), which says states not listed don't require paid rest periods; breaks for workers under 18: 16- and 17-year-olds get the same meal break as adults: at least 20 minutes after 6 or more hours; workers' compensation insurance: All employers must maintain coverage; final pay when you let someone go: On or before the next regular payday on which the wages would otherwise be due; final pay when an employee quits: On or before the next regular payday on which the wages would otherwise be due; state copies of W-2s and 1099s: 1099s and W-2Gs are required only when they reflect West Virginia withholding.
• 2027 deadline calendar. 10 dates our West Virginia files state: 4 quarterly due dates from WorkForce West Virginia; 1 state W-2 and 1099 filing dates from West Virginia Tax Division, with weekend dates flagged and a month-by-month planner for your own.
• New hire and pay change checklist. One page per hire, with the report to West Virginia New Hire Reporting Center (new hires reported in 14 days) and the I-9 steps, and one per pay change against the $8.75 minimum wage.
• West Virginia compliance workbook (Excel). The West Virginia dates in a deadline tracker with days left and status, a new-hire sheet that dates each step from the start date (new hires reported in 14 days), and a pay-change sheet that flags any rate below the 2027 floor.