CHARLESTON – March collections for West Virginia’s general revenue budget came in above estimates despite personal income and corporate net income tax collections being down, as Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed his bill providing an across-the-board 5% cut in personal income tax rates.

According to the monthly general revenue fund report released Wednesday by the Senate Finance Committee, March tax collections of $458.9 million were 9.4% above the $419.3 million estimate by the state Department of Revenue, providing a $39.5 million surplus for the month.

Fiscal year-to-date tax collections for the first three quarters of fiscal year 2026 beginning last July were $4.072 billion, which was 5.1% above the $3.873 billion revenue estimate, providing the state with nearly $199 million in surplus revenue with three months left in the current fiscal year.

Contributing to March surplus were positive consumer sales and use tax collections and collections for the severance tax on coal, oil and natural gas.

March sales tax collections of $155.6 million were 1.3% more than the $153.7 million revenue estimate. Fiscal year-to-date sales tax collections of $1.457 billion were $2.3% more than the $1.424 billion revenue estimate, providing $33.2 million towards the $199 million fiscal year-to-date surplus.

March severance tax collections of $84.9 million were 93.9% more than the $43.8 million revenue estimate, providing $41.1 million – the bulk of March’s tax revenue surplus. Fiscal year-to-date severance tax collections of $346.2 million were 16.4% more than the $297.5 million revenue estimate, providing a $48.7 million surplus.

Personal income tax and corporate net incoming tax collections both came in below estimates for March. According to the Senate Finance Committee report, March personal income tax collections of $121.1 million were 12.1% below the $137.8 million revenue estimate. However, fiscal year-to-date personal income tax collections of $1.526 billion were 3.9% above the $1.469 billion revenue estimate, providing $57.4 million towards the state’s revenue surplus.

March corporate net income tax collections of $8.4 million were 35.5% below the $13.1 million revenue estimate. But fiscal year-to-date corporate net income tax collections of $187.1 million were 3% more than the $181.6 million revenue estimate, adding $5.5 million to the fiscal year-to-date surplus.

West Virginia’s March tax collection report comes one day after Morrisey announced the signing of Senate Bill 392, cutting personal income tax rates by a combined 5% across all five brackets, which will return $125 million to taxpayers when fully implemented. The tax cut is retroactive to Jan. 1.

“West Virginians sent us to tackle real problems and deliver real results,” Morrisey said in a statement Tuesday. “By securing this 5% income tax cut, we are returning money to the people who earned it and ensuring our state remains the most competitive place in the region to live, work and raise a family.”

Earlier during the 2026 legislative session, Morrisey signed Senate bills 393 and 400, which made changes to West Virginia’s tax code to conform with changes made to the federal tax code through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – also called the Working Families Tax Cut Act – passed by Congress last summer and signed into law by President Donald Trump.

According to Morrisey, the 5% cut in personal tax rates and the two tax conformity bills – all of which are retroactive for tax year 2026 – will provide more than $230 million in tax relief to West Virginians.

“This session, we made meaningful progress reducing taxes, strengthening our workforce and advancing policies that position our state for long-term growth,” Morrisey said.