Taxes

A Guide for the Taxpayer
The Treasurer’s Office has compiled the following guidelines concerning our services and your obligations. This brief summary of state and local taxes should be especially informative to new residents of our locality. We welcome your inquiries and we want to assist you in any way possible.

Taxes

The governing body for our locality sets the tax rates for personal property and real estate taxes. This procedure is normally completed when the locality is preparing the total budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Real Estate Taxes

The Code of Virginia provides for the assessment of real estate taxes based on fair market value as established by the governing body. All real property is subject to taxation unless it is specifically exempt.

Real property is assessed as of January 1 each year by the Commissioner of the Revenue. Real estate is billed semi-annually on June 5 and December 5. A late payment of 10% plus 10% per annum is added on the day after the due dates. Failure to receive a tax bill will not relieve you of the penalty and interest applied to all past due bills. If there is a change of ownership, billing address or any other changes pertaining to your taxes, please notify the Commissioner of the Revenue’s Office.

If your mortgage company requests your tax bill within 30 days of the due date, the tax bill will be forwarded to them for payment.

How is real estate tax calculated?

The Board of Supervisors establishes a tax rate for real estate every Spring when it adopts the following fiscal years budget.

The rate applied for 2009 is 48 cents per $100 of value. To compute the real estate tax on a property assessed at $175,000, divide the assessed value by 100 and multiply by the tax rate:
175,000/100 x .48=$ 840.00.

Senior Citizen and Disability Real Estate Tax Relief

Your county government provides a tax relief program for the elderly, based on income and net worth. This program is administered by the Commissioner of the Revenue and applications must be filed by April 1 of each year.

Personal Property Taxes

Personal property is assessed as of January 1 each year by the Commissioner of Revenue, based on a pricing guide or a percent of the original cost. The assessment is based on vehicles in the taxpayer’s possession and normally garaged, parked, or stored in the localities as of January 1.

Our county levies a personal property tax on the following kinds of personal property: automobiles, trucks, motor homes, motorcycles, trailers, recreational vehicles, aircraft, manufactured homes and business personal property. The rate applied for 2009 is $2.25 per $100 of value for vehicles and $1.90 per $100 of value for all other personal property. This tax is assessed by the Commissioner of the Revenue and paid to the Treasurer’s Office.

Every individual that has a vehicle or other form of personal property in Augusta County is required to file a personal property return with the Commissioner of the Revenue by May 1. If you do not receive this form, it is your responsibility to notify the Commissioner of the Revenue’s Office.

Personal Property tax bills are due by December 5th of each year. If a late payment is received, a penalty of 10% and interest at 10% per year will be added to the tax bill after the due date.

If you receive a bill that is incorrect because you either sold a vehicle or moved it from the County of Augusta, be sure to contact the Commissioner of the Revenue’s office immediately.

What if you do not receive forms in the mail?

Failure to receive forms or tax bills does not exempt you from either the obligation to file or pay taxes on time. If you do not receive a tax bill please call the Treasurer’s Office at 540-245-5660. If you do not receive a personal property filing form please contact the Commissioner of the Revenue’s Office.

More Information

State and Estimated Income taxes may be filed with the Commissioner of Revenue. Payments are accepted in the Treasurer’s Office.