House 4571

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 4571

By Delegates Dean, Flanigan, Pritt, Shamblin, Vance, Ferrell, Stephens, Bell, Heckert, and Worrell

[Introduced January 20, 2026; referred to the Committee on Finance]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new section, designated §11-21-11a, relating to taxable income of residents; and creating an "ABC" test designed to ensure that individual taxpayers are not misclassified; and clarifying when a taxpayer is not an independent contractor.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 21. PERSONAL INCOME TAX.

§11-21-11a. Taxpayer Protection Act.

(a) In order to prevent the misclassification of resident individual taxpayers as independent contractors and ensure the state rightfully receives taxes from employment, the Tax Commissioner shall implement an "ABC" test for an independent contractor as follows:

(1) Absence of Control – Is the worker taxpayer free from the direction or control of the employer;

(2) Business of Worker – Is the worker taxpayer's task unusual, with regards to the hiring employer's business; and

(3) Customarily Engaged -- Is the worker taxpayer customarily independent from the employer and does the worker taxpayer have their own business identity on the open market?

(b) A worker taxpayer is presumed to be an independent contractor unless a hiring entity or employer can demonstrate all three of the following:

(1) The worker taxpayer is subject to the type and degree of control a business typically exercises over employees;

(2)  The worker taxpayer performs the work under the direction of, and is economically responsible to, the principal; and

(3) The work is performed under the direction of, and is economically responsible to, the principal.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to ensure individual taxpayers are not misclassified.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.