Hopewell Personal Property Tax: Rates, Relief, and Filing

The City of Hopewell personal property tax is $3.50 per $100 of assessed value on motor vehicles, motorcycles, boats, trailers, and business equipment located in the city, with mobile homes taxed at the reduced rate of $0.99 per $100. The Commissioner of the Revenue values your property as of January 1, and the Treasurer collects a single payment due February 15.¹²

What Hopewell Taxes

Location, not your mailing address, decides whether the city taxes an item. A vehicle garaged or regularly parked in Hopewell is taxable here even if the owner lives elsewhere.¹

The categories taxed at $3.50 per $100 are:

Passenger cars and trucks
Motorcycles
Boats, under and over five tons
Trailers, including boat, utility, horse, and camping trailers
Heavy construction machinery and business furniture, fixtures, and tools

Mobile homes are taxed as personal property at $0.99 per $100 and valued using the NADA Manufactured Housing Cost Guide.¹

How Your Property Is Valued

For cars and trucks, the Commissioner of the Revenue uses the NADA Clean Loan value as of January 1. That figure is typically lower than NADA’s retail or trade-in values, which works in the taxpayer’s favor.¹

If your vehicle has unusually high mileage, file a High Mileage Filing Form with the Commissioner’s office to request a downward adjustment. Damage, mechanical problems, or a comparable sale listing can also support a lower value if you raise it with the office directly.³

Business personal property is valued on original cost with depreciation applied by age and useful life. The Commissioner may ask you to break down original capitalized cost by year of purchase.⁴ Fully depreciated assets still carry a residual taxable value as long as they stay on your books, so remove disposed equipment from your records promptly.

Relief That Can Lower Your Bill

Personal Property Tax Relief Act

Virginia’s Personal Property Tax Relief Act (PPTRA) provides state-funded relief on the first $20,000 of assessed value for a qualifying personal-use vehicle: a privately owned passenger car, motorcycle, autocycle, or pickup or panel truck not used for business.⁵ The reduced rate applies to that first $20,000; the portion above is taxed at the full $3.50.

You don’t apply separately. If the Commissioner’s records show personal use, the credit appears on your bill. The exact percentage changes each year with Hopewell’s state reimbursement allocation.

100 Percent Disabled Veteran Exemption

A veteran rated 100 percent service-connected, permanently and totally disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs can exempt one motor vehicle from the tax entirely. The vehicle must be a passenger car or pickup truck registered for personal use. For a jointly owned vehicle, either spouse’s qualifying disability can apply.⁶ The exemption ends at the veteran’s death and does not transfer to a surviving spouse. The application is listed on Hopewell’s forms page as the Personal Property Tax Relief Application for Veterans.³

Volunteer Emergency Crew Members

Hopewell’s forms page includes a Personal Property Emergency Crew Certification for volunteer emergency crew members, indicating a reduction or exemption is available for qualifying volunteers. Contact the Commissioner of the Revenue’s office for current eligibility.³

Filing Your Return

Every owner of taxable personal property in Hopewell on January 1 must file a return with the Commissioner of the Revenue. Virginia law sets the default filing deadline at May 1, which localities can adjust by ordinance.⁴ Have these ready:

The Vehicle Identification Number for each motor vehicle
Purchase date and price for each asset
Odometer readings if you want a high-mileage adjustment
For business property, original cost by year of acquisition

Separate forms exist for boats, mobile homes, high-mileage vehicles, and trailer park inventory.³ Make sure the owner name and garaged location on your return match your DMV records. Mismatches are a common cause of delayed or incorrect assessments.

Mid-Year Purchases and Moves In

Buy a vehicle or move one into Hopewell after January 1, and you owe tax only for the remaining months of the year. The city prorates monthly: any period over half a month counts as a full month, half a month or less doesn’t count at all.¹ A car purchased March 20, for example, would be billed for April through December. The prorated bill is issued after you register the vehicle.

How to Pay

Personal property tax is due in a single payment by February 15.² That differs from real estate taxes, which split between June and December.

The Treasurer accepts:

Online payment through the city portal. Credit and debit cards carry a 3.25 percent processing fee on every card transaction, in person or online. E-check online is a flat $1.75.⁷
Mail: check or money order to the Treasurer at the Hopewell Municipal Building.
In person at the Treasurer’s window during business hours.

Active-duty military members deployed outside the United States get an automatic extension. Personal property taxes on qualifying vehicles become due 90 days after deployment ends.⁸

If You File or Pay Late

Two penalties can hit, and they’re separate.

For a late return, Virginia law caps the penalty at 10 percent of the tax assessed on that return, or $10, whichever is greater, and the penalty can never exceed the total tax due.⁸

For a late payment after February 15, Hopewell adds a penalty of 10 percent of the past-due amount, or $10, whichever is greater, capped at the tax owed. Both the unpaid tax and the penalty then accrue interest at the maximum rate allowed under Virginia law, starting the first day of the month after the due date.⁹

Beyond money, the city’s most effective collection tool is the DMV registration stop. Hopewell can flag your Virginia DMV record, blocking you from renewing or transferring any vehicle registration until the delinquent taxes are resolved. DMV sends a notice at least 30 days before your registration expires.¹⁰

If you buy a new vehicle while a stop is in place, DMV may issue a limited registration for up to 90 days so you can drive while settling the debt, though that window shrinks if you have multiple stops. DMV cannot tell you the balance or take payment. Contact Hopewell’s Treasurer directly. Once you pay, the city must remove the stop within 24 hours.¹⁰

Selling, Junking, or Moving a Vehicle Out

Proration works both ways. Sell a vehicle, junk it, or move it out of the city after January 1, and Hopewell will relieve the remaining months using the same half-month rounding rule. Overpayments are refunded or credited to another vehicle’s tax in the same year, your choice.¹ If the vehicle moves to another Virginia locality that doesn’t prorate, no refund is issued.

Tell the Commissioner of the Revenue when the vehicle leaves your ownership or the city. Silence keeps the assessment on your record, and you’ll get a bill for property you no longer own.

If You Disagree With the Assessment

Start with the Commissioner’s office. Bring evidence of a lower value: a comparable sale listing, photos or an estimate documenting damage, service records showing high mileage, or a professional appraisal. Most vehicle disputes get resolved at this stage.

If informal resolution fails, Virginia law lets you take the matter to the Circuit Court of the City of Hopewell. You have three years from the last day of the tax year, or one year from the date of the assessment, whichever is later. The burden is on you to show the property was valued above fair market value or that the assessment was applied inconsistently.¹¹

1
City of Hopewell, Virginia. Personal Property Proration, Assessment and Rates
2
City of Hopewell, Virginia. Dates to Remember
3
Hopewell, VA. Forms
4
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3518 – Taxpayers to File Returns
5
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3524 – Tangible Personal Property Tax Relief
6
Virginia Department of Veterans Services. Tax Exemptions
7
City of Hopewell. Payment Options
8
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3916 – Counties, Cities, and Towns May Provide Dates for Filing
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Hopewell, VA. Hopewell Code of Ordinances – Article III, Tax on Personal Property
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Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Delinquent Property Taxes and Vehicle Registration
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Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3984 – Application to Court to Correct Erroneous Assessments