Orange County homeowners pay a median of $1,997 a year in property tax on a median home value of $364,200. Its effective tax rate (property taxes paid as a share of home values, per the Tax Foundation) is 0.59%, the 74th highest of 133 Virginia counties. The Orange County Real Estate Assessment Department values homes in Orange County at 100% of fair market value and mails a notice when your value changes. You can ask the Orange County Real Estate Assessment Department to review it, then appeal to the local Board of Equalization and, after that, to circuit court.
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.
Phone: 540-672-6173
Email: [email protected]
Address: 112 West Main Street, Orange, VA 22960
Official website: orangecountyva.gov
This office sets your home's assessed value, mails the notice of change, lets you see your property record and the sales it used, and handles the first, informal review of your appeal.
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.
Look up your home on the Orange County Real Estate Assessment Department website and check square footage, bathrooms, condition and features. Mistakes are the easiest wins. Use our record card checklist.
Read your assessment notice for this year's dates. Ask the Orange County Real Estate Assessment Department for an administrative review by its deadline using its form, then, if needed, file the Board of Equalization application by the Board deadline (postmark counts) with your comparable sales and other evidence.
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.
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.
Next step: 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.
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.
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.
Consider starting with an administrative review by the office that assesses homes in Orange County, then file an application with the local Board of Equalization by the deadline printed on your assessment notice; after that you can go to the Orange County circuit court.
Phone 540-672-6173. Website: orangecountyva.gov.
No fee is shown on the forms or pages checked for Fairfax, Loudoun, Virginia Beach and Alexandria.
Contact details change; call or check the office website before you visit.