West Virginia Stopped Taxing Social Security. What It Takes To Retire In Charleston, West Virginia

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Retirees who grew up along the Kanawha River and built careers in Columbus or northern Virginia often find themselves wondering what it would take to move home to Charleston, West Virginia, and this piece looks at exactly that.

The math improved this year because West Virginia eliminated its Social Security tax, with a complete elimination in 2026 and beyond. Below are the budget and portfolio figures for a move home.

What West Virginia Still Taxes After the Social Security Break

The state phased it in. The tax was cut 35% in 2024 and 65% in 2025, then went away entirely. Lawmakers also passed a 5% income tax cut for all West Virginians retroactive to January 1, 2026. That puts rates at 2.11% on the first $10,000 of taxable income, rising to 4.58% on income over $60,000. Pensions and IRA withdrawals are still taxed.

Residents 65 and older can each exclude $8,000 of retirement income, though. The state sales tax is 6%, and Charleston’s combined rate comes to 7%. Those 65 and older who own their homes can claim a $20,000 homestead exemption. Those who qualify for it may also get a refundable income tax credit.

West Virginia already started exempting benefits for lower-income seniors in 2022, so the 2026 change will mostly benefit higher-income seniors. If you’re on a modest Charleston budget, you probably weren’t paying much to begin with.

A Charleston Budget for One or Two

Housing is the big win. Charleston’s median listing price is about $171,312. In the South Hills ZIP code (25314), homes sold for a median of $327K. Prices are climbing fast, though.

The metro’s FHFA index rose 10.54% in a year and 40.14% over five. One big-city comparison put Charleston’s property tax rate 15% below the average. Statewide, the cost-of-living index is 89.497, where 100 is the national average.

This budget assumes you own your home outright near the city median and Medicare at the standard $202.90 Part B premium per person.

Income taxes round to roughly zero here. For couples, the federal standard deduction of $32,200 covers most of the taxable income at this spending level, and the $8,000 state exclusions cover most of the rest.

Turning That Budget Into a Portfolio Number

The average aged couple receives $3,208 a month in Social Security. The average retired worker collects $2,071. That leaves the couple a gap of about $18,600 a year. Using a 4% withdrawal rate over a 30-year retirement starting at 67, that works out to about $464,000. A single retiree’s gap is about $10,300, or roughly $257,000.

Delaying the higher earner’s claim to 70 reduces both numbers, and that bigger check carries over as the survivor benefit. One good sign on inflation: the 3.6% COLA for 2027 matches the 3.6% yearly rise in the BLS price index, which reflects how older households spend.

Coming Home at 60 Doubles the Target

Leave before Medicare and health insurance become the main cost. West Virginia has by far the most expensive unsubsidized ACA premiums in the country at over $1,300 per person on average.

If you swap the Medicare lines for full-price ACA coverage, a couple would require about $384,000 just to get from 60 to 65. Add two years without Social Security and a core portfolio at a lower 3.5% rate, and the total hits about $1.03 million.

The fix is to pay for those bridge years out of a taxable brokerage account, Roth money, and a Treasury ladder. That keeps reported income low enough to qualify for subsidies.

You get cheap housing, river and mountain views, and CAMC, which has been rated the top hospital in West Virginia for five years running. On the downside, retirees may find fewer direct flights and specialists than in a big city, and winter driving on steep hills can get harder with age.

The state did post a net domestic gain of 3,137 people in the latest IRS data, though that statewide figure may not reflect every nearby town.

What It Really Takes

If you retire at 67 owning your home outright, the target is about $464,000 for a couple or $257,000 for one person. Either way, you’d take 4% a year and keep taxes close to zero.

If you come home at 60, plan on about $1 million, with a separate bridge fund that keeps ACA subsidies within reach. Before you decide, spend a week there in January. That will show the practical conditions, including the hills, the drive to the doctor, and the winter weather.

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