Virginia · VA
Virginia assesses at 100% of fair market value, which means an over-assessment is a direct, provable error rather than a question of ratio. The practical difficulty is that appeal windows are set locality by locality — not by the Commonwealth — and many localities do not publish theirs at all.
counties and independent cities
100% of fair market value (Va. Const. art. X, § 2)
Dollars per $100 of assessed value
Annual in most cities; biennial in many counties
Deadlines
There is no single statewide appeal deadline. Each locality sets its own board window by ordinance. Norfolk's Board of Review closes on the last business day of May; Newport News runs a 1 July to 1 September window requiring six copies received, not postmarked; Hampton runs 60 days from the notice date. Of the 133 Virginia localities we track, a substantial number publish no date at all — for those, our staff confirm the window directly with the assessor's office before we rely on it.
Appeal deadlines cannot be extended. Our calendar computes the date for your specific parcel from the governing statute or ordinance and shows how well it is verified.
Check your localityThe appeal ladder
Each rung has its own deadline, its own evidence standard and its own cost. Skipping one usually closes the ones above it.
An informal conference with the assessor's office. In several localities — Chesterfield among them — this step is a legal prerequisite to the board, not an optional first try. It is also the cheapest place to win, because the assessor can simply correct the record.
A citizen board appointed by the circuit court. Hampton, Newport News and Norfolk call theirs a Board of Review; the function is the same. Evidence rules are informal but the burden sits with the owner, and the board may raise an assessment as well as lower it.
An application for relief filed in the circuit court for the locality. The window runs to three years after 31 December of the tax year, which is far longer than most owners expect — a lapsed board deadline does not always end the matter.
What catches owners out
Norfolk requires a notarized letter of authorization on the owner's own letterhead, stating the assessment year. Chesapeake only accepts an authorization covering 1 January to 30 June of the following year. Chesterfield may require a corporate resolution where the signer is an entity officer. Filing without the right form gets the appeal rejected on procedure.
Va. Code § 58.1-3 makes income and expense records supplied for assessment purposes confidential. That protection is why assessors can ask for them — and why they must be handled properly on our side.
Where a county reassesses every two years, an uncorrected assessment is carried for both years. The saving from a successful appeal is correspondingly larger, and so is the cost of missing the window.
A Virginia board of equalization has authority over the whole assessment, not only the part you dispute. This is the main reason we decline weak appeals rather than filing them speculatively.
Forms
Each locality adopts its own. The Department of Taxation's Board of Equalization Manual contains a sample application only; there is no statewide form.
Required wherever a representative files. Most launch localities require it notarized; Norfolk additionally requires owner letterhead.
We hold the current form library for all 133 Virginia counties and independent cities and file on the correct version, by the method that locality accepts.
Where we work
We cover every jurisdiction in the state. These are the markets where we carry the most case volume.
Questions
There is no single statewide date. Each county or independent city sets its own board of equalization window by local ordinance. Norfolk closes on the last business day of May, Newport News runs 1 July to 1 September, and Hampton runs 60 days from the notice date. Check your own locality before relying on any published summary — including this one.
Possibly. Va. Code § 58.1-3984 allows an application for relief in the circuit court up to three years after 31 December of the tax year. That route is more formal and more expensive than the board, but a missed board window does not automatically end the matter.
Yes. The Virginia Constitution requires assessment at fair market value, so there is no assessment ratio to argue about as there is in Missouri or Kansas. The dispute is squarely about what the property is worth.
Not at the assessor or board stage — a registered agent may represent the owner at both. A circuit court application is litigation, and we will tell you plainly when a matter has reached the point where counsel is the right call.
A Virginia board of equalization has authority over the entire assessment and can increase it as well as reduce it. In practice that risk is low where the evidence is solid, which is exactly why we run a desk review before filing anything.
Send us the parcel and the assessed value. We will review it against market evidence and come back with a written opinion of value — and a straight answer on whether an appeal is worth bringing.
This page is general information about Virginia assessment appeals, not legal advice, and statutes change. Confirm any deadline with your locality before relying on it. Sterling Tax Management is a property tax consultancy and is not a law firm.