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Military Retirement Pay — 100% Exempt, Including USPHS and NOAA

West Virginia exempts military retirement income in full through a DECREASING MODIFICATION to federal adjusted gross income. The scope is wider than the phrase suggests: it covers the REGULAR ARMED FORCES, THE RESERVES, THE NATIONAL GUARD, AND UNIFORMED SERVICES THAT ARE NOT PART OF THE ARMED FORCES — including the COMMISSIONED CORPS OF THE U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE AND NOAA. Those last two are routinely left out of state exemptions and their retirees routinely assume they are excluded.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

West Virginia exempts military retirement income in full through a DECREASING MODIFICATION to federal adjusted gross income. The scope is wider than the phrase suggests: it covers the REGULAR ARMED FORCES, THE RESERVES, THE NATIONAL GUARD, AND UNIFORMED SERVICES THAT ARE NOT PART OF THE ARMED FORCES — including the COMMISSIONED CORPS OF THE U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE AND NOAA. Those last two are routinely left out of state exemptions and their retirees routinely assume they are excluded.

What it's worth: Military retirement income fully exempt from West Virginia income tax

  • FULL EXEMPTION via a DECREASING MODIFICATION to federal adjusted gross income.
  • Covers the REGULAR ARMED FORCES, the RESERVES and the NATIONAL GUARD.
  • AND UNIFORMED SERVICES NOT PART OF THE ARMED FORCES — including the COMMISSIONED CORPS OF THE U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE AND NOAA.
  • USPHS and NOAA retirees are routinely excluded elsewhere and routinely assume they are excluded here.
  • The saving depends on your retirement income and West Virginia's rates.
  • Guidance: WV Tax Division TSD-443.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are in one of the groups this reaches.
  • You receive military retirement income.
  • West Virginia income tax.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

Deadline: With the annual West Virginia return
  1. 1Take the decreasing modification on the West Virginia return.
  2. 2If you retired from the USPHS or NOAA commissioned corps, claim it — those services are inside the exemption.
  3. 3Guard and Reserve retirement is covered as well as regular armed forces retirement.
  4. 4Check earlier returns if the modification was missed, and ask the Tax Division about amending.
  5. 5Keep the 1099-R with the return.
Form
West Virginia personal income tax return, decreasing modification
File with
West Virginia Tax Division
Annual
Claimed once a year.
Worth knowingUSPHS and NOAA commissioned corps retirees are uniformed services retirees, and West Virginia says so. Most states' exemptions do not mention them either way, which leaves those retirees guessing.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.