West Virginia State Revenue Falls Short in October

West Virginia general revenue collections missed the state’s October estimate by $7,700,683. Total collections for the month reached $380,374,317, a figure lower than the projected $388,075,000.

Corporate net income tax drove the shortfall more than any other category. Revenue Secretary Eric Nelson stated that this specific tax line was down more than $17 million compared to estimates. He noted the category was also $7 million lower year-to-date and $20 million lower than the previous year.

Nelson attributed the drop to heavy refunds and recent tax adjustments. He explained that the state issued large refunds totaling over $18 million in October. Although gross collections were stronger than estimated, these refunds outpaced incoming funds, resulting in a negative month for corporate net income tax. Nelson linked these tax effects to the Big Beautiful Bill.

Other revenue streams showed mixed results. Personal income tax and consumer sales tax both exceeded their monthly targets. Severance tax also beat its projection, a notable performance given that October usually yields the lowest estimates due to annual local resource distributions.

Despite the October miss, the state’s fiscal year-to-date collections remained positive at $1.79 billion. This cumulative total surpassed expectations by more than 3 percent. Nelson described the overall collections as steady for the month and the year-to-date period. Categories including tobacco products tax, insurance tax, and interest income hovered near their respective targets despite market uncertainties.