High-Wage Growth Business Tax Credit

High-Wage Growth Business Tax Credit — Pre-Approval

Funds West Virginia employers with refundable tax relief when they grow payroll with high-wage roles.

The West Virginia High-Wage Growth Business Tax Credit is a refundable annual state tax credit available to for-profit employers that create ten or more new high-wage jobs in West Virginia. New positions must pay at least 2.25 times the state median salary and must be filled by West Virginia residents working at least 48 weeks per year. The employer must also offer health insurance to all full-time employees and pay at least 50% of premium costs. The credit is refundable — meaning the taxpayer can receive a cash refund if the credit exceeds their WV tax liability — up to a maximum of $100,000 per taxpayer per year. The statewide annual cap is $5 million, and the WV Division of Economic Development retains full discretion over allocations.

Pre-approval from the Division of Economic Development is a hard prerequisite: employers must apply and receive approval before the tax year in which they intend to claim the credit. Applications submitted after the relevant tax year begins are not eligible for that year's credit. The Division evaluates applications on a discretionary basis; there is no published scoring rubric or formal competitive ranking. Once approved, the credit is non-transferable — it cannot be sold or assigned to another party.

Because the statewide pool is capped at $5 million annually and the maximum per-employer benefit is $100,000, the program is most competitive for employers adding a relatively small number of high-paying positions rather than large hiring events. Sectors with a concentration of high-wage roles — technology, engineering, finance, healthcare management — are well positioned. Applicants should contact the Division of Economic Development in the calendar year before anticipated hiring to confirm pre-approval timelines and available capacity within the annual $5 million cap.