Chesapeake Personal Property Tax: Rates, Relief, and Due Dates

Chesapeake’s personal property tax on most vehicles is $4.08 per $100 of assessed value, billed annually and due June 5. The city applies different rates to boats, aircraft, mobile homes, and a few other categories, and Virginia’s car tax relief program covers part of the bill on qualifying personal-use vehicles.

Rates by Property Type

Chesapeake sets separate rates for each class of tangible personal property, all expressed per $100 of assessed value:¹

Automobiles, trucks, trailers, and motorcycles: $4.08
Recreational vehicles (motor homes, camping trailers): $1.58
Boats: $0.09
Aircraft: $0.58
Mobile homes: $1.05
Business furniture, fixtures, and equipment: $4.08
Machinery and tools (manufacturers): $3.20
Motor carrier transportation property: $3.20
Qualifying disabled veteran vehicles: $0.09
Qualifying handicapped vehicles: $0.09

City Council sets these rates each year through the budget process, so they can change. The $4.08 rate covers the broadest category, from a daily commuter car to a utility trailer.

Every person or business that owns a motor vehicle in Chesapeake must file a personal property tax return.² Your tax obligation is tied to where the vehicle is normally garaged or parked, not where you live. If it spends most of the year inside city limits, Chesapeake taxes it.³

How Your Vehicle’s Value Is Set

Chesapeake uses a recognized pricing guide to assess your vehicle, as Virginia law requires. The commissioner can draw the average retail, wholesale, or loan value from the guide, as long as the method is applied uniformly within each category.⁴ Most Virginia localities use the NADA Official Used Car Guide. The value reflects the vehicle’s condition as of January 1 of the tax year.

If your model and year aren’t in the guide, the commissioner may value the vehicle as a percentage of original cost. You can present proof of what you actually paid, and the basis used for the motor vehicle sales tax counts as that proof.⁴

Ways to Lower What You Owe

High Mileage and Condition Adjustments

If your car has high mileage, mechanical problems, or body damage, you can request an adjustment from the Commissioner of the Revenue’s Office. Proof is required: a state inspection slip, a body shop invoice showing the odometer reading, or similar documentation.⁵ The adjustment applies only to the current tax year, so you need to resubmit each year the issue persists.

If the value still doesn’t reflect your vehicle’s actual condition, you can file a formal assessment appeal with the Commissioner of the Revenue. Virginia law requires the commissioner to consider condition on request, including technological obsolescence where it applies.⁴

Virginia’s Car Tax Relief (PPTRA)

Virginia’s Personal Property Tax Relief Act gives you a state-funded credit on qualifying personal-use vehicles. The credit applies to the tax on the first $20,000 of assessed value; any value above that is taxed at the full rate with no relief. The relief percentage is recalculated each year based on state funding. In 2023 it was 38%.⁶ The credit shows up automatically on your bill; there’s nothing extra to file.

Disabled Veteran Benefits

Chesapeake offers two distinct benefits for veterans with service-connected disabilities. Veterans certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as totally and permanently disabled from a service-connected disability can qualify for a complete exemption on one owned (not leased) passenger car, pickup, or panel truck regularly used by or for the veteran. The full exemption is not available to surviving spouses, and it requires either an overall 100% service-connection rating or a 100% compensation rating due to individual unemployability.⁷

Veterans who don’t meet those criteria but have qualifying service-connected conditions, including loss or loss of use of a limb, blindness, or permanent and total disability, may qualify for the reduced $0.09 rate instead of $4.08. The veteran provides a written statement to the Commissioner of the Revenue confirming the VA designation.⁷

When It’s Due and How to Pay

Personal property tax bills are due by June 5.⁸ You can pay through the Treasurer’s Office payment portal by e-check at no charge, or by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express) with a 2.4% fee online or 2.2% in person. Checks can be mailed or dropped off at the Treasurer’s Office.⁹ On a $600 bill the credit card fee runs about $14.40, so the free e-check option is worth knowing about.

Late Penalties and Waivers

Miss the deadline and the penalty is 10% of the tax due or $10, whichever is greater. Interest accrues on the unpaid balance until it’s paid in full.

Chesapeake will waive the penalty if the failure to pay was caused by death, a medically determinable physical impairment, or a medically determinable mental impairment. You need to document the condition and pay the tax within 30 days of the original due date. A legal guardian, conservator, or other fiduciary has 120 days after beginning to act on the taxpayer’s behalf to pay.¹⁰ Interest keeps running even when the penalty itself is waived.¹¹

If You Move, Sell, or Buy

Buying a vehicle or moving into Chesapeake means reporting to the Commissioner of the Revenue’s Office to set up a personal property tax account.³ Notify the Commissioner any time there’s a change in ownership, your name or address, where the vehicle is normally garaged, or whether it’s used personally or for business.

Chesapeake prorates personal property tax on motor vehicles and trailers by the number of months the property is in the city or owned by the taxpayer. If you sell a vehicle, move out of Virginia, or move to another Virginia locality that also prorates, you’re generally eligible for a credit or refund for the remaining portion of the year. Report the change to both the Virginia DMV and the Chesapeake Commissioner of the Revenue, and expect to document that the vehicle is no longer in the city or that ownership changed. Temporary absences don’t qualify; if the vehicle is still based in Chesapeake while you travel, there’s no refund. The city also won’t release a refund if you owe other taxes or debts to Chesapeake. Mobile homes, aircraft, watercraft, and business personal property are not eligible for proration.¹²

1
City of Chesapeake. Local Tax Rates
2
City of Chesapeake. Personal Property Taxes
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City of Chesapeake. FAQ
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Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3503 – General Classification of Tangible Personal Property
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City of Chesapeake. High Mileage Adjustment
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City of Chesapeake. Car Tax Relief
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City of Chesapeake, VA. Disabled Veterans Tax Benefits
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City of Chesapeake. Important Tax Dates
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City of Chesapeake. Treasurer’s Payment Portal
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City of Chesapeake, VA. Penalty and Interest
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Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Article 2 – Collection by Treasurers
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City of Chesapeake. Personal Property Tax FAQ