Virginia Property Tax Appeals: How It Works by Locality

How Virginia Property Assessment Appeals Work

Virginia is a locality-driven state. Your county, city or town assesses property and sets the review calendar, so there is no single statewide appeal date. Your notice of reassessment is the document to read first, because it describes the process and dates for your locality.

When a locality changes an assessment, state law requires notice to be sent by mail at least 15 days before the date of a hearing to protest the change. Va. Code 58.1-3330

The Review Ladder

1. Local assessor review. Most localities offer an informal review of your value first. Use the date and method on your notice.
2. Board of equalization. The board hears complaints and adjusts and equalizes assessments. A taxpayer or the locality may apply to it for adjustment to fair market value and equalization (58.1-3380). The statute also charges the board with the duty of increasing as well as decreasing assessments where needed to equalize them, so weigh that before applying. Va. Code 58.1-3379
3. Circuit court. A taxpayer aggrieved by a board of equalization order, or the locality's attorney, may apply to the circuit court of the county or city, in the same manner and time as for the correction of erroneous assessments (58.1-3382). Va. Code Title 58.1, Chapter 32, Article 14

Correcting an Erroneous Assessment

Va. Code 58.1-3980 lets a person aggrieved by an assessment apply to the commissioner of the revenue, or the official performing that function, for a correction within three years from the last day of the tax year for which the assessment was made, or within one year from the date of the assessment, whichever is later. For real estate, those sections apply where the error was made by the commissioner of the revenue or equivalent official. Va. Code 58.1-3980

Where the Windows Stand Now

Because each locality sets its own calendar, check your locality's real estate assessor page or call the office for the current year's dates. For counties and cities we cover, any date we have confirmed shows up in the table above the county list and on the deadlines page. We confirm dates against the locality's own page before we show a countdown.

Relief for Older and Disabled Owners

A locality can provide a tax exemption, a deferral, or a combination for real estate owned and occupied by older or disabled individuals, by ordinance, on the conditions and in the amount the ordinance prescribes. The terms are local, so ask your locality's commissioner of the revenue. Va. Code 58.1-3210

What Evidence Works

• Recent sales of comparable homes close to the assessment date, adjusted for size, age and condition.
• Photos and estimates for condition problems.
• Errors on the assessor's property record, such as wrong square footage or room counts.
• A recent appraisal, if you have one.

Where Grove Hopper Fits

Grove Hopper is a research tool. We look at your property, flag whether it looks over-assessed and prepare your appeal documents. You review, sign and file them yourself with your locality. We are not attorneys, accountants or a tax firm. The free check is at the top of this page.

Pick your county or city below for its local process and next date.