Reassessment notices have been mailed out - please look yours over

If you have not already done so, you may soon be receiving "A Notice of Change in Assessment" in your mailbox. Please take a moment to look it over.

Two things to know about the notice:

New Kent County is the only locality in Virginia that includes your property’s record card with your reassessment notice. This is because we want you – the expert on your house and your property – to let us know if anything on the record card is a factual error. The process includes a computer-assisted model so there CAN be errors. If you find any factual errors (or if you do not receive a notice by mid-February), please contact the Commissioner of the Revenue’s Assessment Division at reassessment@newkent-va.us or 804-966-9611. Common factual errors are the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and square footage.
If you believe your 2022 proposed assessment is greater or less than fair market value or not uniform with like properties, you can APPEAL it and it’s actually quite easy! Visit http://www.co.new-kent.va.us/195/Reassessment-2022 for details concerning this process.

For help with your appeal, please refer to our guide.

More information:

Real Property reassessments in New Kent County take place once every two years. 2021 has been an exceptional year for real estate. If you have kept up with the housing market recently, you know that there have been an unprecedented number of sales with significant price increases throughout the market. Understandably, this assessment will look very different from ones you may have seen in the past.

The Assessor determines the value of your property; The Board of Supervisors determine the amount your property will be taxed. It is the combination of these two parts that determines how much you will pay in taxes. The amount of tax you pay is determined by multiplying your TAX RATE by your property’s ASSESSED VALUE.

Equalization is required by State Code during a reassessment year. The 2021 tax rate for New Kent County WAS $0.79 per $100. The current 2022 rate IS the equalized tax rate - $0.66 per $100. Please review your 2022 equalized levy and compare it to your 2021 levy for the tax dollar change.

During the budget process in the Spring, the Board of Supervisors will decide whether to lower, raise, or keep the $.0066 rate. The budget process is annual and is an open process by which the Board of Supervisors welcomes and encourages residents to engage with them concerning the operating budget, capital budget, tax rate and fees. As the budget process develops further and the time for citizen input/public hearing nears, we will share more information on this process as well. The Board of Supervisors shall establish a date for a public hearing to consider any changes to the 2022 real estate tax rate by May 31, 2022.

Why did my value go up? Does this mean my taxes will increase? A property’s value can change for many reasons. The most obvious is that the property changes: a bedroom, garage, or deck is added, or part of the property is destroyed by flood or fire. The most frequent cause of a change in value is a change in the market.

General reassessments are not designed to be a county-wide tax increase. This process is intended to fairly and equitably distribute the real estate tax burden among property owners in proportion to the fair market value of their real estate. If the total reassessment value is greater than a 1% increase from the prior year assessment total, the tax levy rate must be equalized. Equalization of the rate typically results in the majority of residents paying around the same amount as the prior year even with a higher assessed value. The tax levy of 66% of all New Kent County parcels changed less than $50. Most parcels whose levy changed more than $50 are new homes (compared to land only last year) or have made changes to an existing home in 2021.

What is equalization? Why is it done? If the total reassessment is over 1% increase from the prior year, Code of Virginia §58.1-3321, requires the locality to equalize the tax rate."...shall reduce its rate of levy for the forthcoming tax year so as to cause such rate of levy to produce no more than 101 percent of the previous year's real property tax levies...". The intent and purpose of an equalization is so that a general reassessment is not effectively a tax increase.

Again, if you believe the assessor has overestimated or underestimated the value of your property, you should appeal. Refer to your reassessment notice, instructions, deadlines and filing procedures. A missed deadline or incorrect filing can cause an appeal to be dismissed. Please report factual errors for your property or check out the appeal process.

Tax relief for the elderly and/or totally and permanently disabled

The tax relief for the elderly and/or totally and permanently disabled program is an annual application process that provides up to $800 in exemption for qualified applicants. To qualify for this program, the taxpayer must meet several eligibility requirements including income and financial net worth limits. The links below can be used to find additional information regarding this program. You can also contact the Commissioner of the Revenue's Office at 804-966-9611 to discuss your possible tax relief options.

Visit our Human Resources webpage for more information concerning these positions.