Overview of Fairfax County, VA Taxes
In dollar terms, Fairfax County, Virginia residents pay quite a bit in property taxes, but this is not due to property tax rates themselves. In fact, Fairfax County holds a moderate average effective property tax rate of 1.12%, which compares well to the 0.99% national average. Because home values here are high, though, the median annual property tax payment in Fairfax County is $6,463.
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To calculate the exact amount of property tax you will owe requires your property's assessed value and the property tax rates based on your property's address. Please note that we can only estimate your property tax based on median property taxes in your area. There are typically multiple rates in a given area, because your state, county, local schools and emergency responders each receive funding partly through these taxes. In our calculator, we take your home value and multiply that by your county's effective property tax rate. This is equal to the median property tax paid as a percentage of the median home value in your county.
To calculate the exact amount of property tax you will owe requires your property's assessed value and the property tax rates based on your property's address. Please note that we can only estimate your property tax based on median property taxes in your area. There are typically multiple rates in a given area, because your state, county, local schools and emergency responders each receive funding partly through these taxes. In our calculator, we take your home value and multiply that by your county's effective property tax rate. This is equal to the median property tax paid as a percentage of the median home value in your county.
Fairfax County Property Tax Rates
Fairfax County’s 1.12% average effective property tax rate is below average by national standards, but it's still a good bit higher than Virginia’s 0.75% state average effective rate.
Fairfax County’s median home values are some of the highest in the country at $576,700. This is well above Virginia’s state median home value of $330,600.
Fairfax County homeowners pay a median annual property tax bill of $6,463. This is more than double the statewide median at $2,485 and the national median at $2,795.
A financial advisor can help you understand how homeownership fits into your overall financial goals. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Paying Your Fairfax County Property Taxes
Fairfax County mails all Real Estate Assessment notices to residents each February. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors then sets county property tax rates by May 1 of each year.
For residential properties in Fairfax County, tax payments work in a series of two installments due on July 28 and December 5 of each year. Fairfax County mails these bills out between three and four weeks before each installment is due. Fairfax County will send your property tax bill to your mortgage company if the company is the party responsible for covering your property taxes.
Fairfax County offers property tax relief to citizens in some circumstances. Seniors age 65 or older, those with significant permanent disability and taxpayers with low income and assets typically qualify to receive tax relief.
Each year, returning candidates for tax relief will need to file another application with the Department of Tax Administration (DTA) in Fairfax County by no later than April 1. But taxpayers can request a deadline waiver from the DTA if some form of hardship prevented them from meeting the filing deadline.
If you have questions about how property taxes can affect your overall financial plans, a financial advisor in Reston can help you out.
How Your Fairfax County Property Tax Works
Fairfax County is home to about 350,000 residential properties. Prices and market activity often vary between neighborhoods, causing assessments to change in varying percentages each year.
The first step in determining Fairfax County property tax rates is value assessment. Local assessors take a look at property values in cycles of between two and six years. Virginia state law requires that cities do an updated value assessment every two years with counties reassessing every four years. In cases where a city has fewer than 30,000 residents or a county has fewer than 50,000 residents, voters can set a more extended reassessment time frame of up to six years.
Reassessment determines a property’s fair market value, or the price the home would sell for in normal market conditions in a given year. It’s important to note that a property’s fair market value does not necessarily wind up being the same as the price actually paid for the property. The reassessed value then is multiplied by the home’s yearly property tax rate, resulting in the home’s annual property tax bill.
Thanks to changes in Virginia state law, real estate notices now include more than assessed value information alone. Notices also list tax amounts from the previous year as a reference for taxpayers.
If after receiving your assessment you feel that it isn’t an accurate reflection of your home’s value, you can appeal the result with the Department of Tax Administration.
It’s important to include all information that leads you to the conclusion that something isn’t right when you file your appeal with the DTA. This could include any sales information showing that your home doesn’t match up with similar properties’ market values.
In most cases, you’ll find that the DTA will follow up in writing confirming that they received the appeal and explaining in further detail how they arrived at the home’s assessed value. At this time the DTA also determines whether or not the original value stands and extends the owner further right to appeal.
Places Receiving the Most Value for Their Property Taxes
SmartAsset’s interactive map highlights the places across the country where property tax dollars are being spent most effectively. Zoom between states and the national map to see the counties getting the biggest bang for their property tax buck.
Methodology
Our study aims to find the places in the United States where people are getting the most value for their property tax dollars. To do this, we looked at property taxes paid, school rankings and the change in property values over a five-year period.
First, we used the number of households, median home value and average property tax rate to calculate a per capita property tax collected for each county.
As a way to measure the quality of schools, we analyzed the math and reading/language arts proficiencies for every school district in the country. We created an average score for each district by looking at the scores for every school in that district, weighting it to account for the number of students in each school. Within each state, we assigned every county a score between 1 and 10 (with 10 being the best) based on the average scores of the districts in each county.
Then, we calculated the change in property tax value in each county over a five-year period. Places where property values rose by the greatest amount indicated where consumers were motivated to buy homes, and a positive return on investment for homeowners in the community.
Finally, we calculated a property tax index, based on the criteria above. Counties with the highest scores were those where property tax dollars are going the furthest.
Sources: US Census Bureau 2018 American Community Survey, Department of Education
