What actually sets Virginia apart
Virginia's independent cities sit outside county government altogether, so an address in the City of Richmond and one in Henrico County are in different taxing jurisdictions with different rates despite being neighbours. Confirm which jurisdiction an address is in before comparing bills.
Property taxes in Virginia at a glance
- Average effective tax rate: 0.74% of home value per year
- Median home value: $360,700
- Estimated tax on a median-value home: $2,686 per year (about $224 per month)
- Rank by tax rate: 33rd of 50, highest first
- Rank by amount actually paid: 23rd of 50, highest first
- Where these figures come from: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, for the Virginia statewide averages shown above — ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates, last reviewed September 2026.
Why the Virginia rate understates the bill
Ranked by rate, Virginia is 33rd of the fifty. Ranked by what an owner actually pays, it is 23rd — 10 places higher. The rate is not doing that work; the $360,700 median home value is. A modest percentage of an expensive house is still an expensive bill.
Kansas makes the point. It charges 1.3%, roughly 1.8 times the Virginia rate, and its median owner still pays about $2,643 a year — some $43 less than a Virginia owner on a median-value home.
How Virginia works out what you owe
There is no state property tax. Cities and counties assess at 100% of fair market value on their own schedules, some annually and some every two to four years.
Virginia sets no statutory limit on how fast a home's taxable value can rise, so a Virginia assessment tracks the market more closely than it would in a capped state.
Exemptions Virginia homeowners should claim
Each of these reduces a Virginia bill every year you hold the property, and almost none are granted without a claim:
- Disabled veteran exemption: A full exemption from property tax on the principal residence of a veteran with a permanent and total service-connected disability, and for surviving spouses of service members killed in action.
- Elderly and disabled relief: Each locality adopts its own income and asset limits for relief, so the same household can qualify in one county and not in the next.
Where you buy inside Virginia changes the bill
A statewide average hides its extremes. Where they show up in Virginia:
- Fairfax County: the largest jurisdiction in the state, where towns such as Vienna and Herndon add their own rate on top of the county rate
- Loudoun County: data centre development has broadened the commercial tax base enough to hold the residential rate down
- City of Virginia Beach: Virginia's independent cities are not part of any county and set their own rates entirely, which is why city and county comparisons here are not like for like
Virginia and its neighbours
The same $360,700 — the Virginia median — taxed at each neighbouring state's average rate:
- Maryland at 1%: about $3,607 a year, roughly $921 more than the $2,686 a Virginia owner would pay on the same value.
- West Virginia at 0.54%: about $1,948 a year, roughly $738 less than the $2,686 a Virginia owner would pay on the same value.
- Kentucky at 0.77%: about $2,777 a year, roughly $91 more than the $2,686 a Virginia owner would pay on the same value.
- Tennessee at 0.55%: about $1,984 a year, roughly $702 less than the $2,686 a Virginia owner would pay on the same value.
- North Carolina at 0.7%: about $2,525 a year, roughly $161 less than the $2,686 a Virginia owner would pay on the same value.
Appealing a Virginia assessment
If the assessed value on your Virginia home overstates what it is worth, the route is an appeal to the local assessor, then the Board of Equalization and the circuit court. The window is set locally, usually a defined window after the annual assessment notice, and it is strict — missing it means waiting a full cycle.
Frequently asked questions
When are Virginia property taxes due, and when must exemption claims be filed?
Most localities bill semi-annually, commonly in June and December, though dates are set locally. Applications go to the commissioner of the revenue or local tax office, with deadlines set locally and commonly falling in the spring.
Does this calculator use my exact Virginia county tax rate?
No — it applies the Virginia statewide average of 0.74%. Rates are set locally, and the spread inside Virginia is wide enough to matter: on a $360,700 home, $886 a year separates Virginia from an averagely taxed state before any county variation is counted. Check the parcel's own rate with its Virginia county before relying on this figure.
Reference sources
Related calculators
How this estimate is built
Principal and interest come from the standard amortization formula, worked through in full on the formula reference page. Property tax, insurance, PMI and loan-program figures layer on top from published assumptions — each one sourced, dated and listed on the methodology page. Every result here is an estimate built from public data, not a quote: confirm the specifics with a lender before relying on it.
For developers
This calculation is also available as a REST API and through an MCP server, both running the same engine as this page — so the figures match by construction rather than by convention. No key required.