New Kent Personal Property Tax: Rates, Deadlines, and Relief

The New Kent personal property tax applies to vehicles, boats, business equipment, and other tangible property located in the county on January 1 each year. For 2025, motor vehicles are taxed at $3.10 per $100 of assessed value, and the full annual bill is due by November 1. The county does not prorate, so if you owned the property on New Year’s Day, you owe the whole year.

What Gets Taxed and at What Rate

New Kent taxes automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, motor homes, trailers, semi-trailers, aircraft, and boats, along with business tangible property and mobile homes.¹² The Board of Supervisors sets rates annually. For the 2025 tax year, the rates per $100 of assessed value are:³

Motor vehicles: $3.10
Boats, campers, and recreational vehicles: $3.25
Other tangible personal property: $3.75
Aircraft: $0.75
Machinery and tools: $0.75
Mobile homes: $0.60
Handicap-equipped vehicles: exempt

Vehicle values come from the January 1 edition of the NADA Appraisal Guide, which the Commissioner of the Revenue uses to set each vehicle’s assessed value.¹ Virginia law requires assessments to reflect fair market value and directs localities to use a recognized pricing guide.⁴ Multiply that value by the applicable rate and you have your bill, before any relief credits.

The January 1 Rule: No Proration

Taxability turns entirely on where the property sat on January 1. New Kent is a non-prorating locality: if you owned a vehicle on that date, you owe the full year’s tax even if you sell it in February. If you buy a vehicle on January 2, you won’t owe New Kent anything on it until the following year.¹

This is the opposite of how many Virginia localities handle vehicle tax, so the timing of a purchase, sale, or move across county lines matters more here than people expect. When you file your return, list vehicles you’ve acquired and any you no longer own; reporting dispositions keeps you from being billed next January for a car you no longer have.

When and How to Pay

Personal property taxes are due once a year, by November 1. Payment must be received or postmarked by that date.⁵ There is no installment plan for the annual bill, but the county does accept pre-payments through the year, and anything you pay in advance reduces what’s owed on November 1.⁶

You can pay in person at the Treasurer’s Office, by mail, or online through the county taxpayer portal at tax.newkent-va.us.⁷

Late Penalties, Interest, and DMV Holds

Missing November 1 gets expensive quickly. The county adds a 10% penalty the day after the due date, and interest of 10% per year begins accruing on the unpaid balance starting the first day of the following month.⁵ For personal property that stays delinquent more than 30 days, Virginia law allows the penalty to rise to as much as 25% of the past-due tax.⁸

Unpaid personal property taxes also trigger a Virginia DMV registration stop. You won’t be able to renew or transfer any vehicle registration until the balance is cleared. Buy a new vehicle while a stop is active and the DMV may issue only a temporary 90-day registration, giving you a window to settle up before full plates are issued. Once you pay, the county lifts the stop within 24 hours.⁹

Ways to Lower Your Bill

Personal Property Tax Relief Act (PPTRA)

Virginia’s PPTRA is a state-funded credit that reduces the tax on qualifying vehicles. To qualify, the vehicle must be a passenger car, motorcycle, autocycle, or pickup or panel truck, privately owned, used primarily for non-business purposes, and not registered to a business entity. Pickup and panel trucks must have a registered gross weight under 7,501 pounds. All-terrain vehicles, off-road motorcycles, and mopeds don’t qualify.¹⁰

The non-business use test is strict. Your vehicle fails if you expense it under IRC Section 179 on your federal return, depreciate more than 50% of its basis for tax purposes, or deduct more than half your annual mileage as a business expense.¹⁰

New Kent applies the credit automatically; no separate application is needed. For the 2025 tax year, the county’s relief rate was 71.1%, meaning qualifying owners paid 28.9% of the tax that would otherwise be owed.¹¹ The percentage changes year to year based on the state allocation and the county’s qualifying vehicle base.

Mileage Discount

High-mileage or rough-condition vehicles can qualify for a reduced assessment. Report your January 1 odometer reading on your annual return or by calling the Commissioner’s office at (804) 966-9610. All mileage must be reported by July 1 to count for that tax year.¹² The county doesn’t publish specific mileage cutoffs; the Commissioner decides case by case. Reporting it costs nothing and can only help.

Disabled Veteran Exemption

Effective January 1, 2021, Virginia’s Constitution exempts one vehicle from local personal property tax for veterans with a 100% service-connected, permanent, and total disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The vehicle must be owned (not leased) by the veteran or their spouse and used as their primary vehicle. The exemption also extends to surviving spouses who do not remarry. Apply through the Commissioner of the Revenue’s office with your VA disability documentation.

Military Servicemember Exemption

Active-duty military stationed in New Kent whose legal residence is another state are generally not subject to Virginia personal property tax under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act extends similar protection to qualifying spouses. You’ll typically need your current Leave and Earnings Statement, orders showing assignment to Virginia, and proof your legal domicile is elsewhere. Call the Commissioner’s office at (804) 966-9610 for the exact documentation.

A Note for Business Owners

Business tangible property follows a separate track. Instead of a pricing guide, the Commissioner applies a depreciation schedule to the original purchase price based on the asset’s age, with different schedules for furnishings and equipment, computers, and machinery and tools. The filing deadline for business tangible property returns is May 1 each year, and missing it can trigger a penalty of up to 10% of the assessable tax.²⁸ If you own business property in the county, request the business return specifically rather than relying on the standard personal property form.

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New Kent County, VA. Commissioner of Revenue Personal Property
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New Kent County, VA. Commissioner of Revenue Business Property
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New Kent County, VA. Commissioner of Revenue Tax Rates
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Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 58.1 Chapter 35 Section 58.1-3503
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New Kent County, VA. Tax Due Dates, Late Payments, Returned Checks
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New Kent County, VA. Tax Pre-Payments
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New Kent County, VA. Pay Online
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Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 58.1 Chapter 39 Section 58.1-3916
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Virginia DMV. Delinquent Property Taxes and Vehicle Registration
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Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 58.1 Chapter 35.1 Section 58.1-3523
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New Kent County, VA. Commissioner of Revenue PP Tax Relief (PPTRA)
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New Kent County, VA. Commissioner of Revenue Mileage Discounts