How West Virginia withholds on a bonus
West Virginia's withholding instructions give no single supplemental rate: a bonus is added to regular wages and withheld on the combined amount under the annual-table method, which is the aggregate approach for state purposes. West Virginia's brackets reach 4.44% at $40,000 and 4.82% at $60,000 of taxable income for every filing status, so a bonus paid to a middle earner is withheld at 4.44% to 4.82%. On a $10,000 bonus that is about $475 of state withholding, alongside $2,200 federal, $620 Social Security and $145 Medicare under the percentage method, leaving roughly $6,560. City service fees in Charleston, Huntington and a few other cities are flat weekly amounts that a bonus does not change.
The state line is the same whichever federal method the employer uses; the federal line rises to about $2,700 under the aggregate method for a $60,000 earner paid every two weeks.
What the withholding means for your West Virginia return
Because West Virginia withholds under its actual brackets, the state line on a bonus is close to the tax owed. Any refund is federal: a $60,000 single filer's marginal federal rate is 12% up to $50,400 of taxable income and 22% above, so a $10,000 bonus is really taxed at about $1,450 federal against $2,200 withheld, and roughly $750 returns. Residents of Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia who earn a bonus in West Virginia are withheld for their home state under reciprocity. The West Virginia paycheck calculator shows the marginal rates for any salary.