Quick answer: up to 4.58% for 2026, taxed exactly as ordinary income — and a rate that keeps falling automatically when state revenue clears its own trigger. See the full cost picture in the West Virginia probate real estate sale calculator.
No separate schedule for the gain itself
A rate cut that fires without a new vote
The 2023 tax cut law (House Bill 2526) delivered an initial 21.25% across-the-board reduction and built in an automatic revenue trigger: every August, the state checks whether general revenue collections cleared a statutory, inflation-adjusted threshold, and if they did, an additional rate cut kicks in for a future tax year with no new vote required.
A further cut just for 2026
Senate Bill 392, signed March 31, 2026 and effective retroactive to January 1, 2026, layered on an additional 5% rate reduction, bringing the top rate down to 4.58% for tax year 2026 from 4.82% in 2025.
Only West Virginia-source gains are taxed here
Capital gains from sources outside the state are not taxed by West Virginia — only gains from West Virginia sources, which would ordinarily include the sale of a West Virginia house.
A local probate attorney can review your estate — many offer a free consultation.
The graduated bracket schedule applies identically whether the sale closes in any of West Virginia's 55 counties.