Prince Edward County Property Tax: Rates, Payment, and Relief

Property taxes in Prince Edward County are billed at $0.39 per $100 of assessed value on real estate and $4.50 per $100 of assessed value on personal property such as vehicles, with payments due in two installments on June 5 and December 5 each year.¹ The Commissioner of the Revenue assesses your property, and the Treasurer’s Office collects the money. Revenue supports the county’s public schools, emergency services, and law enforcement.

How Real Estate Taxes Are Calculated

Virginia law requires real estate to be assessed at 100 percent of its fair market value.² That value covers the land, the home, and any permanent structures on the parcel. The county then multiplies the assessment by its rate of $0.39 per $100 to get your bill. A home assessed at $150,000 owes $585 per year before any relief program is applied.

Prince Edward County reassesses periodically to keep values in line with the market. The most recent reassessment was completed in 2025, with notices mailed to owners in January of that year.³ Between reassessment cycles, your value stays put unless you improve the property or it changes hands. The rate itself can move year to year as the Board of Supervisors sets the budget.

Personal Property Tax on Vehicles

Personal property tax applies to vehicles, trailers, boats, and similar tangible items you own as of January 1. Virginia law directs localities to value most vehicles using a recognized pricing guide,⁴ and Prince Edward County uses the NADA clean trade-in value as its baseline. At the $4.50 per $100 rate, a vehicle valued at $12,000 generates a $540 bill before state relief.

Virginia’s Personal Property Tax Relief Act absorbs part of the tax on qualifying vehicles, so your actual bill will usually come in lower than the raw math suggests. The catch worth knowing: if your vehicle was registered in the county on January 1, you owe the full year’s tax even if you sell it or move away later in the year. The county does not prorate.

Business personal property, including machinery and tools, is taxed at $4.20 per $100 of assessed value.

Due Dates, Penalties, and Interest

Bills are split into two installments due June 5 and December 5. Missing either date can trigger a penalty of up to 10 percent of the unpaid amount, applied the day after the deadline.⁵ Interest then accrues at 10 percent per year on unpaid taxes and penalties.⁶ A $1,000 bill that runs six months late can grow by $150 or more once penalties and interest stack.

The Treasurer’s office can set up a payment agreement of up to 72 months for taxpayers who fall behind, but you need to request one before collection proceedings begin. Military members deployed outside the United States get an automatic extension, with taxes coming due 90 days after the deployment ends.⁵

How to Pay

Prince Edward County accepts payment several ways ahead of the June 5 and December 5 deadlines:

By mail: send a check to the Treasurer’s Office at PO Box 522, Farmville, VA 23901.
In person at the courthouse, which also has a secure drop box for after-hours payments.
Online through the county’s e-Treasurer portal, using your account number to look up your bills.⁷

Credit and debit card transactions carry a convenience fee, whether paid online or at the office. If you mail a payment close to the deadline, the postmark date counts.

Relief for Elderly and Disabled Homeowners

Virginia authorizes localities to exempt or defer real estate taxes for homeowners who are at least 65 years old or permanently and totally disabled.⁸ Prince Edward County’s program is tiered by household income. In March 2026, the Board of Supervisors expanded the brackets to:

Income at or below $10,000: 100 percent exemption
Income between $10,001 and $20,000: 75 percent exemption
Income between $20,001 and $30,000: 50 percent exemption

To qualify, the property must be your primary residence and you must be the owner of record. File a Real Estate Tax Relief Application with the Commissioner of the Revenue, along with supporting documents such as Social Security statements, bank records, and federal tax returns. Applications based on disability also require medical certification. The Commissioner’s office has the forms and can walk you through the documentation.

Disabled Veterans Exemption

Veterans with a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are fully exempt from real estate taxes on their primary residence.⁹ The exemption covers the dwelling and up to one acre. A surviving spouse who does not remarry also qualifies, even after moving to a different home.

The county also exempts one motor vehicle from personal property tax for qualifying disabled veterans. The vehicle has to be a passenger car or a pickup or panel truck registered for personal use, owned by the veteran or jointly with a spouse.¹⁰ File the application with the Commissioner of the Revenue, and refile only if the vehicle changes. There are no income or asset limits on the veterans exemption.

Appealing Your Assessment

If you think your assessed value is too high or based on incorrect information, three levels of appeal are open. The process assumes the assessor’s number is right, so bring evidence rather than argument.

Informal Appeal

Start with the reassessment firm directly. During the most recent cycle, the county hired Wampler Eanes Appraisal Group to handle these reviews. You can submit a written appeal by mail or email with supporting documents and photos, or schedule an in-person hearing at the courthouse.³ Deadlines are tight, often only a few weeks after reassessment notices go out, so move quickly once you get your notice.

Board of Equalization

If the informal step doesn’t resolve things, escalate to the county’s Board of Equalization. At this level, there is a legal presumption that the assessor’s value is correct, and the burden is on you to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the property is overvalued or assessed inconsistently with comparable properties.¹¹ Comparable sales and documented errors in the property record are the most useful evidence. A professional appraisal helps, though it typically runs several hundred dollars.

Circuit Court

If the Board rules against you, or if you miss its filing deadline, you can appeal to the Prince Edward County Circuit Court under Virginia Code 58.1-3350.³ Court appeals are more formal and more expensive, but they are the final administrative remedy.

When Real Estate Taxes Go Unpaid

Delinquent real estate taxes carry more than penalties and interest. If they remain unpaid more than two years past the due date, the county can begin a judicial sale of the property to recover what’s owed.¹² Before filing in court, the county must send written notice to the owner at least 30 days in advance and publish the list of properties in a local newspaper.

You can redeem the property any time before the sale by paying all accumulated taxes, penalties, interest, attorney fees, and court costs in full. Partial payment will not stop the process. The notice you receive must also tell you about your right to request a payment agreement of up to 72 months, so a path to keeping the property exists even at that stage if you act.¹²

Active-duty servicemembers get extra protection under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act: the county cannot sell a servicemember’s property for unpaid taxes without a court order, interest on unpaid taxes is capped at 6 percent per year during active duty, and these protections extend up to 180 days after release from service.

1
Prince Edward County. April 29, 2025 Special Meeting Minutes – County School Budgets Tax Rates
2
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 58.1 Chapter 32 Article 1 – Taxable Real Estate
3
Prince Edward County. 2025 County Reassessment Notices Mailed
4
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3503 – General Classification of Tangible Personal Property
5
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3916 – Counties, Cities, and Towns May Provide Dates for Filing Returns and Payment of Taxes
6
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3918 – Interest on Taxes Not Paid by Following Day
7
Prince Edward County, Virginia. Prince Edward County e-Treasurer Options
8
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3210 – Exemption or Deferral of Taxes on Property of Certain Elderly Individuals and Individuals With Disabilities
9
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3219.5 – Exemption From Taxes on Property for Disabled Veterans
10
Prince Edward County. Application for Personal Property Tax Exemption for Disabled Veterans
11
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3379 – Hearing Complaints and Equalizing Assessments
12
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3965 – When Land May Be Sold for Delinquent Taxes