Virginia property tax is set and collected entirely by your local county, city, or town — there is no statewide real estate tax. For tax year 2025, published rates run from effectively $0 in a handful of small incorporated towns (where the county rate already covers services) up to $1.405 per $100 of assessed value in Manassas Park, with most localities falling between roughly $0.50 and $1.20 per $100.1Virginia Tax. Tax Rates for County, City, Town, and Districts TY 2025 What you actually owe depends on two things: the rate your locality adopts each year, and the assessed value your local assessor places on your home.
Virginia Code § 58.1-3200 makes the local-only rule explicit: real property is “subject to local taxation only.”2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3200 – Real Estate Subject to Local Taxation Your Board of Supervisors or City Council sets the rate during annual budget deliberations, after public hearings, and the rate holds for the full tax year.3James City County, VA. Real Estate Taxes If you live inside a town, you may pay a town rate on top of the county rate, so check both.
How to Calculate Your Virginia Property Tax Bill
The formula is simple. Divide your assessed value by 100, then multiply by the local rate. If your home is assessed at $300,000 and your locality’s rate is $1.15 per $100:
- $300,000 ÷ 100 = 3,000 taxable units
- 3,000 × $1.15 = $3,450 annual tax
That same home in a locality charging $0.80 per $100 would owe $2,400. The rate and the assessment are equally powerful levers, which is why a reassessment that pushes your value up 20 percent effectively raises your bill 20 percent even when the rate itself doesn’t move. Virginia’s average effective property tax rate works out to roughly 0.81 percent of a home’s market value.
How Your Property Is Assessed
Virginia law requires every property to be assessed at 100 percent of fair market value — what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller under normal conditions.4Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3201 – What Real Estate to Be Taxed; Amount of Assessment Local assessors reach that number by studying recent comparable sales, accounting for improvements or deterioration, and factoring in zoning or land-use changes. If a similar home down the street just sold for $425,000, that sale helps anchor your value.
How often your assessment changes depends on where you live. Counties must conduct a general reassessment at least every four years, though a Board of Supervisors can shorten the cycle to three years. Counties with 50,000 or fewer residents may stretch it to five or six years.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3252 – In Counties Any county or city that employs a qualified full-time appraiser can move to biennial or annual reassessments.6Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3253 – Biennial General Reassessments; Annual Assessments Between reassessments your value usually holds steady unless you add a deck, finish a basement, or make another change that triggers a revaluation.
When Virginia Property Taxes Are Due
Virginia law lets each locality set its own payment schedule. Most jurisdictions split the annual bill into two installments, commonly falling around June and December, though some allow a single lump-sum payment.7Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3916 – Counties, Cities, and Towns May Provide Dates for Filing Your tax bill or your commissioner of the revenue’s website will spell out the exact dates for your locality.
Late Penalties and Delinquent Taxes
Missing a deadline gets expensive fast. Under the default statewide rule, a five percent penalty is added to any tax not paid by December 5.8Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3915 – Penalty for Failure to Pay Taxes by December 5 Localities that set their own due dates by ordinance can impose a penalty up to 10 percent of the overdue amount. Interest can start accruing the day after the due date at up to 10 percent per year. For the second and subsequent years of delinquency, the rate can climb to the higher of 10 percent or the federal underpayment rate. On top of that, your locality can add collection fees up to 20 percent of the delinquent balance.
If taxes remain unpaid for more than three years, the treasurer can sell certain properties at public auction. Properties assessed at $15,000 or less face the broadest exposure to nonjudicial sale, though the statute reaches higher-value parcels under specific conditions.9Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3975 – Nonjudicial Sale of Tax Delinquent Real Property You can stop the process any time before the sale by paying the full balance of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs. Partial payments won’t do it.
Appealing an Assessment You Think Is Too High
Two avenues exist. Most homeowners start with the local Board of Equalization, which sits after each general reassessment to hear complaints about unfair or inaccurate valuations.10Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Article 14 – Boards of Equalization You can argue the property was valued above fair market value or that the assessment wasn’t applied uniformly across similar properties.
The assessor’s valuation is presumed correct, so you carry the burden of proving otherwise by a preponderance of the evidence. Practically, that means bringing comparable sales data, a private appraisal, or evidence of errors in the property record: wrong square footage, a bathroom that doesn’t exist, a condition issue the assessor missed. The board can increase, decrease, or affirm your assessment.11Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3379 – Hearing Complaints and Equalizing Assessments
If the Board of Equalization doesn’t resolve things, you can take the case to circuit court. You generally have until the later of three years from the end of the tax year or one year from the assessment date to file.12Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3984 – Application to Court to Correct Erroneous Assessments The same burden of proof applies, and a judge hears the case without a jury.
Relief Programs That Can Lower or Eliminate Your Bill
Disabled Veterans
The Constitution of Virginia grants a full property tax exemption to veterans rated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as having a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability. The exemption covers the veteran’s primary residence, including property jointly owned with a spouse.13Virginia Code Commission. Constitution of Virginia Article X Section 6-A – Property Tax Exemption for Certain Veterans A surviving spouse keeps the exemption as long as they don’t remarry, and can move to a different home without losing it. Apply by submitting your VA disability rating letter to your local commissioner of the revenue.
Elderly and Disabled Residents
Localities may adopt ordinances providing full or partial exemptions, tax deferrals, or a combination for homeowners who are at least 65 years old or permanently and totally disabled.14Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3210 – Exemption or Deferral of Taxes on Property of Certain Elderly Individuals and Individuals With Disabilities Each jurisdiction sets its own income and net worth thresholds, so eligibility varies widely. Some localities are generous; others set limits so low that few residents qualify. You’ll file an application with supporting documents such as tax returns, and the property must be your sole dwelling. A deferral doesn’t forgive the tax; it delays collection, typically until the home is sold or transferred, at which point the deferred amount comes due.
Land Use Assessment for Farm and Forest Land
If you own agricultural, horticultural, forest, or open-space land, you may qualify for a special use-value assessment that taxes the land based on what it produces rather than its development potential. Virginia established the program in 1974 to help preserve farmland and open space.15Virginia Land Use Value Assessment. Virginia Land Use Value Assessment Savings can be substantial: a 50-acre farm assessed at its development potential might carry a value of $1.5 million, while its agricultural use value runs a fraction of that.
Agricultural or horticultural land generally must be at least five acres; forest land must be at least 20 acres.16Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3233 – Special Assessment for Land Preservation File the initial application at least 60 days before the tax year begins. Watch the catch: if the land later changes use or is rezoned for development, the locality will impose rollback taxes equal to the deferred tax for the five most recent tax years, plus interest.17Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3237 – Change in Use or Zoning of Real Estate Assessed Under This Article That bill can be a shock if you haven’t planned for it.
If You Pay Through a Mortgage Escrow
Most mortgage lenders collect property taxes as part of your monthly payment and hold the funds in an escrow account until the tax bill is due. Federal law limits the cushion your servicer can require you to maintain to one-sixth of estimated annual disbursements, which works out to roughly two months of tax and insurance payments.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 2609 – Limitation on Requirement of Advance Deposits in Escrow Accounts If your servicer is holding more than that, you can request a refund of the excess. Servicers must perform an annual escrow analysis and adjust your payment if the balance runs short or long.
When your property gets reassessed upward, expect your monthly mortgage payment to increase even if your interest rate hasn’t changed. The escrow portion rises to cover the higher tax bill, which catches some homeowners off guard in reassessment years when values jump sharply.