At What Age Do You Stop Paying Property Taxes in Virginia?

There is no age at which you stop paying property taxes in Virginia. The state has no automatic cutoff that ends a homeowner’s tax bill at 65, 70, or any other birthday. What Virginia does offer is a relief program for homeowners who are at least 65 or permanently and totally disabled, which can reduce the bill or, in some cases, eliminate it entirely. Each city and county sets its own income limits, net worth caps, and relief amounts, so whether you qualify, and for how much, depends on where you live.

What Turning 65 Actually Gets You

Virginia’s Constitution lets the General Assembly authorize local governments to exempt or defer property taxes for residents 65 and older or permanently and totally disabled.¹ The authorizing statute, Virginia Code § 58.1-3210, gives each locality the option to create a program by ordinance.² The word “may” in the statute is the point: the state does not force localities to offer anything, though nearly all of them do.

A local program can take one of three forms, and some localities combine them:

An exemption, which forgives part or all of the tax outright.
A deferral, which postpones the tax. The deferred amount usually becomes a lien and is collected when you sell, transfer, or die.
A freeze on tax increases, which locks your bill at the level it was when you first qualified.²

A common setup pairs full exemption for lower-income households with a deferral option for those whose income runs slightly higher.

Who Qualifies

State law sets a floor; your locality decides the rest. To qualify under any § 58.1-3210 program, you must meet all of these:

A temporary move to a hospital or nursing facility does not disqualify you, as long as the home remains your legal residence.

How Income and Net Worth Are Measured

Income generally means money received by everyone living in the household, not just the owner. State law lets localities exclude certain categories, and many do.³ Depending on your city or county, exclusions can cover disability payments, life insurance proceeds paid on an owner’s death, and a set dollar amount of income earned by non-spouse relatives who live with you. Fairfax County, for example, excludes the first $6,500 of a non-owning relative’s income.⁴

For net worth, the home and the land it sits on are almost always left out. You can own a house worth several hundred thousand dollars and still qualify, so long as your other assets stay under the cap.

How Much Relief You Actually Get

Most localities use a sliding scale rather than a yes-or-no cutoff. Lower income means a larger percentage forgiven; higher income within the eligible range means a smaller reduction. Fairfax County’s 2026 schedule shows the shape of a typical program:

Household income of $60,000 or less: 100 percent relief.
$60,001 to $70,000: 75 percent.
$70,001 to $80,000: 50 percent.
$80,001 to $90,000: 25 percent.⁴

Other localities set different brackets and different top-end income limits. A household that gets full relief in one county may get only a partial reduction a few miles across the line. The numbers that bind you are the ones in your locality’s ordinance.

Applying and Keeping Your Relief

Applications go through the Commissioner of the Revenue, or the Director of Finance in some cities. Forms are usually on the locality’s website. Loudoun County and New Kent County, for instance, post their 2026 application forms as downloadable PDFs.⁵

Have the following ready:

Proof of age, such as a birth certificate, driver’s license, or passport.
Income documents, including federal tax returns, Social Security benefit letters, and pension statements.
Bank and investment account statements for the net worth calculation.
Disability certification from a physician or the Social Security Administration, if you are applying on the basis of disability.

Deadlines vary. Arlington County’s 2026 deadline is November 16, though filing by March 31 ensures your adjusted bill arrives on time.⁶ Miss the date and you may wait a full year, so check early.

Approval is not permanent. Most localities require an annual check-in to confirm your circumstances have not changed. Some ask for a full new application every three years and a shorter recertification in the years between.⁶ If your income climbs above the limit or a working relative moves in, you are expected to report it. Hiding a change that would have cut off eligibility can leave you owing the taxes that were improperly exempted. Many localities mail the renewal form each year, so watch for it in late winter or early spring.

A Separate, Full Exemption for Disabled Veterans

If you came to this question thinking of a tax break tied to veteran status rather than age, Virginia has a separate program with no age requirement and no income or net worth test. A veteran rated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total has their principal residence fully exempt from property taxes.⁷ Veterans rated below 100 percent whom the VA classifies as individually unemployable and permanent and total also qualify.⁸

The exemption covers the home and up to one acre of land. Localities that allow more acreage under their senior and disabled program must extend the same acreage to disabled veterans. A manufactured home qualifies even if you do not own the land under it.⁷ You apply through the local Commissioner of the Revenue.

The exemption passes to the surviving spouse of a qualifying veteran, provided the spouse has not remarried, and the spouse can carry it to a different Virginia home.⁹ That portability has been in effect since July 1, 2019.⁸

Check Your Own City or County

Because Virginia leaves the dollar figures to local government, two neighbors on opposite sides of a county line can get very different results from the same program. The only reliable way to find out what you qualify for is to contact the Commissioner of the Revenue or tax office in your city or county. Most publish their ordinance details and current application forms online, which is a sensible starting point before you call.

1
Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article X, Section 6
2
Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia Title 58.1-3210 – Exemption or Deferral of Taxes on Property of Certain Elderly Individuals and Individuals With Disabilities
3
Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia – Article 2, Exemptions for Elderly and Handicapped
4
Fairfax County. Tax Relief for Seniors and People With Disabilities
5
Loudoun County. Tax Assessment and Tax Relief Forms
6
Arlington County. Real Estate Tax Relief Program
7
Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 58.1-3219.5 – Exemption From Taxes on Property for Disabled Veterans
8
Virginia Department of Veterans Services. Tax Exemptions
9
Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia – Article X, Section 6-A