Filed under Costs · 4 min read
Virginia leaves property taxes to its cities and counties, and in Richmond two of them land on most households: the real estate tax on a home and the personal property tax on a car. Newcomers from states without a car tax are often surprised by the second one. Here is how both work, using the city’s Department of Finance and City Assessor pages.
Real estate tax
| Item | City of Richmond |
|---|---|
| Rate | $1.20 per $100 of assessed value |
| Valuation date | January 1 |
| First half due | January 14 |
| Second half due | June 14 |
| Late penalty | 10 percent |
| Interest on late tax | 10 percent a year |
Virginia law requires assessments at 100 percent of fair market value, and the City Assessor sets that value for every parcel. The tax is the assessed value divided by 100 and multiplied by $1.20. The city’s own example: a $100,000 assessment produces $1,000 x $1.20, or $1,200 a year. At the Census median home value for the city, $353,000, the annual bill is $4,236.
The city must send bills at least 14 days before the due date and says its own target is 30 days. Still, the city says it is the owner’s responsibility to find out what is owed and pay by the due date, so update your mailing address with the city as soon as you move. If you cannot pay in full, the city’s Delinquent Collections Unit can set up a payment arrangement, even before taxes are past due; contact RVA311 at (804) 646-7000.
If you think the assessment is too high
Reassessment notices go out around July 1 each year to each owner’s last known mailing address, showing the proposed assessment, prior values and the calculated change in tax. If you disagree, start with the area appraiser at the City Assessor’s front desk, (804) 646-7500. After that, the formal steps are:
- Office review. File with the City Assessor’s Office no later than 30 days from the date of the notice. A staff appraiser analyzes the submission and replies in writing.
- Board of Equalization. The application deadline is November 30 of the current year, with hearings starting the following January.
- Circuit Court. An owner may appeal directly to the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond within three years of the assessment year, subject to conditions the city lists.
Older adults and people with disabilities may qualify for the city’s real estate tax relief program, run by the Department of Finance.
Vehicle personal property tax
Every car, light truck, motorcycle and boat kept in the city is taxed each year on its assessed value.
| Item | City of Richmond |
|---|---|
| Rate, passenger vehicles and trucks under 10,000 lbs | $3.70 per $100 of assessed value |
| Annual due date | June 5 |
| New to the city | Due within 60 days of the vehicle acquiring tax situs in the city |
| Penalty | 2 percent or $10, whichever is greater; rising to 10 percent or $10 if unpaid by the first of the next month |
| Interest | 10 percent a year |
If your car has unusually high mileage or damage, the city has forms to request a reassessment based on mileage or condition.
Car tax relief, and why it keeps shrinking
Under the state’s Personal Property Tax Relief Act, first adopted in 1998 and amended in 2005, personal-use vehicles get a full or partial exemption on the first $20,000 of assessed value. Business-use vehicles get none. The catch is that the state gives Richmond a fixed $16.7 million a year for this relief, and the city divides it among all qualifying vehicles. As vehicle values and the number of cars grow, each owner’s share shrinks.
The city’s table of adopted relief rates shows the decline: 58 percent in 2015, 50 percent by 2020, 37 percent in 2023 and 22 percent in 2024. The city notes the drop was steepest after the COVID-19 pandemic, when vehicle supply fell and valuations jumped.
Using the 2024 rate, the city’s examples work out like this:
| Personal-use vehicle value | Tax at $3.70 | Relief | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $37.00 | $37.00 | $0.00 |
| $10,000 | $370.00 | $81.40 | $288.60 |
| $20,000 | $740.00 | $162.80 | $577.20 |
| $50,000 | $1,850.00 | $162.80 | $1,687.20 |
The move-in timeline
New residents juggle three clocks at once: 30 days to register the car with the state DMV, 60 days to get a Virginia driver’s license, and 60 days for the city’s vehicle tax once the car is kept here. State law also lets any locality charge up to $250 a year to a resident who keeps a car that should be registered in Virginia but is not. The DMV steps are in New to Virginia: Driver’s License in 60 Days, Car Title and Registration in 30.
Tip: If you live in Henrico or Chesterfield instead, both taxes still apply but at county rates and on county due dates. Compare the full annual tax, not just the purchase price, when you weigh a house across the line; see Richmond City, Henrico or Chesterfield? How the Three Localities Compare for People Moving In.