According to the State Tax Office, the city doesn’t receive taxes collected in error

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Citizens that were incorrectly charged the 1 percent City of Morgantown Sales and Use Tax while shopping at businesses located outside of city limits are encouraged to seek reimbursement through the State Tax Department.

Citizens can seek reimbursement of the municipal sales and use tax by contacting the State Tax Department at 800-982-8297 or by visiting its website and completing the state tax form CST-240.

The City of Morgantown Finance Department has been working with the State Tax Department to correct discrepancies in the collection of the municipal sales tax, which went into effect on July 1. All municipal sales and use tax are collected by the State Tax Department and distributed to the city. According to the State Tax Department, the city does not receive sales and use tax collected in error by businesses located outside of city limits. 

One of the primary issues identified by city officials when reviewing the implementation of the sales and use tax is the use of the State’s “zip code plus four” system. The zip code plus four system includes businesses and residential dwellings that straddle the city boundary. In these cases, the city did not include these properties in the data it submitted to the State Tax Department.

The zip plus code four system also means that any business not located within the city with an official mailing address in city limits, i.e. a post office box, was included in the data submitted to the State Tax Department. These situations will be addressed as they are identified.

If any business has received notice to collect the municipal sales tax or have been charged the municipal sales tax by another business and they are not located in city limits, they should contact the Finance Department at 304-284-7408. 

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