FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: February 09, 2026
Time Requested: 04:40 PM |
| Agency: |
Tax & Revenue Department, WV State |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 3927 |
Introduced |
SB866 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Taxation |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
General Revenue Fund
Sources of Revenue:
General Fund
Legislation creates:
Decreases Existing Revenue, Increases Existing Expenses
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
The stated purpose of this bill is to exempt capital gains tax on gold, silver, and cryptocurrency.
This bill would exempt capital gains from gold, silver, and cryptocurrency by creating a decreasing modification from gross income. Cryptocurrency is defined as a digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralized system, rather than by a centralized authority. Precious metal bullion is defined as coins, bars, or rounds containing primarily refined gold and silver that is marked and valued primarily by its weight, purity, and content. There is no data available concerning the capital gains from gold, silver, and cryptocurrency in West Virginia. Therefore, we cannot reasonably estimate the revenue loss from this bill.
Additional administrative costs incurred by the State Tax Department would be $29,150 in FY2027 and $11,000 in subsequent fiscal years.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2026
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2027
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
29,150 |
11,000 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
11,000 |
11,000 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
1,650 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
16,500 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
This bill would exempt capital gains from gold, silver, and cryptocurrency by creating a decreasing modification from gross income. Cryptocurrency is defined as a digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralized system, rather than by a centralized authority. Precious metal bullion is defined as coins, bars, or rounds containing primarily refined gold and silver that is marked and valued primarily by its weight, purity, and content. There is no data available concerning the capital gains from gold, silver, and cryptocurrency in West Virginia. Therefore, we cannot reasonably estimate the revenue loss from this bill.
Additional administrative costs incurred by the State Tax Department would be $29,150 in FY2027 and $11,000 in subsequent fiscal years.
Memorandum
The stated purpose of this bill is to exempt capital gains on gold, silver, and cryptocurrency.
The bill purports to create a capital gain tax exemption on gold, silver, and cryptocurrency. However, West Virginia does not have a specific capital gains tax and instead taxes capital gains as regular income.
Subsection (b) states, “Gross income does not include any net capital gain derived from the exchange of precious metal bullion and cryptocurrency and shall be exempt from income tax under this article.” This provision appears to create a decreasing modification from gross income but also claims the specified capital gains are exempt from income tax. If the bill creates a decreasing modification removing the specified capital gains from gross income, an exemption from income tax has no purpose because the specified capital gains would already be excluded from the taxable income. One method to resolve the ambiguity would be to rework the bill to include only a decreasing modification from adjusted gross income without the exemption language.
There is no effective date.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Mark Muchow
Email Address: RADfiscal@wv.gov