If a service member dies while serving in a combat zone, or later dies from wounds, disease or injuries received there, no West Virginia income tax is owed for the year of death or for any earlier year ending on or after their first day in the combat zone. Tax still unpaid at death is not assessed, and tax already collected is credited or refunded as an overpayment. A service member declared missing in action qualifies from the date they were listed as missing until they are returned to U.S. control or until two years after hostilities officially end.
Contact the West Virginia Tax Division, or ask the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance for help, to have the tax abated and any tax already paid refunded. Call a Taxpayer Services Representative at 304-558-3333 or 800-982-8297, or email taxhelp@wv.gov.
The death certificate or report of casualty, or the official notice listing the service member as missing in action, plus orders or documentation showing combat zone service.
