Virginia homeowners pay a median of $2,790 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.73%, the 31st highest of the 51 states we cover. The deadline to appeal: Varies by locality (often April-June). Here is who sets your value, how to challenge it and what evidence works.
Varies, some openIn most large localities the 2026 windows have closed (Fairfax County and Loudoun County Board of Equalization deadlines were June 1, 2026; Virginia Beach's was June 30), but each county and city sets its own dates, and some counties finishing a reassessment mail notices at other times of year, so check your notice. You can still challenge a 2026 assessment in circuit court for years, and 2027 notices are usually mailed in late winter or early spring (Loudoun in February, Virginia Beach in March).
There is no single statewide deadline. Each county and city sets its own dates, and they must be printed on your assessment notice. Usually there are two steps: first an optional review by the assessor, then a written application to the Board of Equalization. State law says the Board deadline cannot be earlier than 30 days after the date set for the assessor's hearings on objections, and a mailed application counts as filed on its postmark date. Example: in Fairfax County for 2026, administrative appeals to the Department of Tax Administration had to be postmarked by April 1, 2026, and Board of Equalization appeals by June 1, 2026 (or emailed/delivered by 4:30 p.m. that day). Other 2026 examples: Loudoun County reviews by March 16 and Board appeals by June 1; Virginia Beach assessor reviews March-April 30 and Board appeals received or postmarked by June 30. After the Board, or instead of it, you can go to circuit court.
When your assessed value changes, the locality must mail you a notice at least 15 days before the date set for hearing objections. The notice shows the new value and the last two years' values, tells you when and where you can meet with the assessors, and must state the deadline for applying to the Board of Equalization. Timing varies: Loudoun mails its notices in February and Virginia Beach in March; check your own notice for the date.
Where you file depends on your county. Pick yours for the office contacts, local tax figures and a step-by-step guide.
Enter the market value on your assessment notice and what you think the home would really sell for. We estimate the yearly saving if the board agrees with you.
Some states cap how fast the taxable value of a home can rise (California, Florida, Michigan and Texas homesteads, for example). If your taxable value is already held below market value by a cap, a lower market value may not lower this year's bill.
Each county and independent city values its own homes. In many rural counties the elected Commissioner of the Revenue does this, often with a hired appraisal firm. Many cities and large counties have their own real estate assessor's office instead (for example the Fairfax County Department of Tax Administration or the Virginia Beach Real Estate Assessor). Virginia's 38 independent cities are separate from the counties around them and run their own assessments and appeals. By law, homes are assessed at 100% of fair market value. The valuation date is January 1 of the tax year (July 1 in the few localities that use a July 1 tax day). It depends on the locality. Cities must reassess at least every two years (every four years if the population is 30,000 or less). Counties must reassess every four years, or every three if they choose; counties of 50,000 people or fewer (and Augusta and Bedford counties) may wait five or six years. Any county or city may instead reassess every year or every two years, and most large localities, such as Fairfax County, Loudoun County and Virginia Beach, reassess every year.
Start with the office that set your value. Most localities offer an administrative review (sometimes called a reconsideration or Request for Review) where an appraiser rechecks your home, may visit it, and looks at sales. You have a right to see your property record card and the assessor's working papers, and to ask for a written explanation of why your value went up. The review can raise, lower or keep your value. It is usually optional; you can go straight to the Board of Equalization. Factual errors (wrong square footage, wrong lot size) can usually be raised with the office that keeps your record.
What works in Virginia: Sales of similar nearby homes that closed by December 31 before the assessment date (the assessor's comparable sales are usually online); A recent appraisal of your home as of January 1, or your own purchase price if you bought recently in an arm's-length sale; Assessed values of similar neighboring homes, to show the assessment is not uniform; Corrections to your property record: square footage, bedrooms, finished basement, lot size, condition; Photos and repair estimates for damage or defects the assessor may not know about; The assessor's own records and written explanation, which you can request under Va. Code 58.1-3331.
Use your locality's own form or online appeal, filed by the date on your notice. Say why the value is wrong: higher than fair market value, not uniform with similar homes, or based on wrong facts. Saying the increase is too big is not enough. Attach comparable sales or other proof. An appraiser reviews it and mails you a decision letter, which also explains how to appeal to the Board of Equalization. Example: Fairfax County's 2026 Real Estate Assessment Appeal form, due April 1, 2026. Cost: No fee is shown on the forms or pages checked for Fairfax, Loudoun, Virginia Beach and Alexandria.
The assessor's value is presumed correct, both at the Board of Equalization and in circuit court. You must show, by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not), that your home is valued above fair market value or is not assessed uniformly, and that the value was not reached using generally accepted appraisal practices. Mistakes of fact, including math errors, automatically count as not following accepted practice. For homes with fewer than four units, if you ask in writing for the assessor's records and the assessor does not provide them within 15 days, the assessor must present its evidence first at the hearing.
Set by local ordinance and printed on your assessment notice; often June 1 (Fairfax and Loudoun counties, 2026) or June 30 (Virginia Beach, 2026). Alexandria's 2026 form sets June 1, 2026 (postmarked, or hand-delivered by appointment). Circuit court: within three years after the end of the tax year, or one year after the assessment, whichever is later (for a calendar-year 2026 assessment, at least until December 31, 2029). File the Board's application form for each parcel with your evidence by the deadline. Some boards (Fairfax, for example) will not accept new written evidence at the hearing, so send everything with the application. A Board hearing on a home cannot be refused just because the form is missing details, as long as it has the address, parcel number and the value you propose. The Board is made up of local residents, separate from the assessor; it can lower, keep or raise the value. Some localities use a different name, such as the Board of Real Estate Review and Equalization (Henrico) or Board of Equalization and Assessment Review (Alexandria). If you still disagree, you can sue the county or city in the local circuit court; this is a court case, usually with a lawyer, and court fees apply.
The Board or court orders the assessor to change the value for that tax year. If you already paid, the locality refunds the excess, with interest if its ordinance provides for it. There is no multi-year freeze: in localities that reassess every year, a new value is set the next year.
Yes. Virginia law lets you argue that your assessment is not uniform with similar properties, and the Board of Equalization is required to hear complaints about lack of uniformity and to equalize assessments. Show the assessed values of comparable homes near yours. Run the numbers with our unequal assessment calculator.
Most wins start with a mistake in the assessor's record of your home. Check it line by line.
Record card checklistAn exemption is separate from an appeal: you apply once and it cuts your taxable value every year. Check you have every one you qualify for.
Counties and cities may exempt or defer part or all of the tax on the home of an owner who is 65 or older or permanently and totally disabled. Income and net worth limits, amounts and deadlines are set by each locality; apply to your Commissioner of the Revenue or tax office.
A veteran rated by the VA as 100% service-connected, permanently and totally disabled pays no real estate tax on the home he or she lives in. A surviving spouse keeps the exemption as long as he or she does not remarry. File the affidavit with your locality.
The surviving spouse of a member of the armed forces who died in the line of duty (with a Department of Defense line-of-duty determination) is exempt on the home he or she lives in. The home is fully exempt up to the average assessed value of single-family homes in the locality; any value above that average is taxed.
You can appeal on your own. An agent (such as a tax consultant or appraiser) can file for you with a letter of authorization signed by the owner; Fairfax County's Department of Tax Administration requires it to be notarized (its Board accepts a letter on the owner's letterhead or a notarized one), and Virginia Beach's Board requires it with the application. In circuit court you are suing the locality, so most owners hire a lawyer.
Fill in your details and download a written appeal statement as a PDF or Word file. Most boards also require their own appeal form: file the form and attach this letter and your evidence to it.
Tax Appeal Map is a free information site, not a law firm or appraiser. The letter is a template, not legal advice.
There is no single statewide deadline. Each county and city sets its own dates, and they must be printed on your assessment notice. Usually there are two steps: first an optional review by the assessor, then a written application to the Board of Equalization. State law says the Board deadline cannot be earlier than 30 days after the date set for the assessor's hearings on objections, and a mailed application counts as filed on its postmark date. Example: in Fairfax County for 2026, administrative appeals to the Department of Tax Administration had to be postmarked by April 1, 2026, and Board of Equalization appeals by June 1, 2026 (or emailed/delivered by 4:30 p.m. that day). Other 2026 examples: Loudoun County reviews by March 16 and Board appeals by June 1; Virginia Beach assessor reviews March-April 30 and Board appeals received or postmarked by June 30. After the Board, or instead of it, you can go to circuit court.
With the Administrative review by the local assessor or Commissioner of the Revenue. Use your locality's own form or online appeal, filed by the date on your notice. Say why the value is wrong: higher than fair market value, not uniform with similar homes, or based on wrong facts. Saying the increase is too big is not enough. Attach comparable sales or other proof. An appraiser reviews it and mails you a decision letter, which also explains how to appeal to the Board of Equalization. Example: Fairfax County's 2026 Real Estate Assessment Appeal form, due April 1, 2026.
No fee is shown on the forms or pages checked for Fairfax, Loudoun, Virginia Beach and Alexandria.
Start with the office that set your value. Most localities offer an administrative review (sometimes called a reconsideration or Request for Review) where an appraiser rechecks your home, may visit it, and looks at sales. You have a right to see your property record card and the assessor's working papers, and to ask for a written explanation of why your value went up. The review can raise, lower or keep your value. It is usually optional; you can go straight to the Board of Equalization. Factual errors (wrong square footage, wrong lot size) can usually be raised with the office that keeps your record.
You can appeal to the Local Board of Equalization (then circuit court). Set by local ordinance and printed on your assessment notice; often June 1 (Fairfax and Loudoun counties, 2026) or June 30 (Virginia Beach, 2026). Alexandria's 2026 form sets June 1, 2026 (postmarked, or hand-delivered by appointment). Circuit court: within three years after the end of the tax year, or one year after the assessment, whichever is later (for a calendar-year 2026 assessment, at least until December 31, 2029). File the Board's application form for each parcel with your evidence by the deadline. Some boards (Fairfax, for example) will not accept new written evidence at the hearing, so send everything with the application. A Board hearing on a home cannot be refused just because the form is missing details, as long as it has the address, parcel number and the value you propose. The Board is made up of local residents, separate from the assessor; it can lower, keep or raise the value. Some localities use a different name, such as the Board of Real Estate Review and Equalization (Henrico) or Board of Equalization and Assessment Review (Alexandria). If you still disagree, you can sue the county or city in the local circuit court; this is a court case, usually with a lawyer, and court fees apply.
The Board or court orders the assessor to change the value for that tax year. If you already paid, the locality refunds the excess, with interest if its ordinance provides for it. There is no multi-year freeze: in localities that reassess every year, a new value is set the next year.
Checked 2026-10 against official Virginia sources. Local deadlines and fees can differ; confirm with your assessor or board.