Show All Answers

1. How does the proration of personal property tax work?

Proration, which by law is limited to vehicles and trailers, is based on two essential elements:

1. The property's value
2. The number of months in a calendar year such property is located in Loudoun County or in one of Loudoun's incorporated towns

A vehicle has situs for taxation in the county if it is garaged, parked, or stored in the county, or if it is registered to a county address with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. If the vehicle has situs for taxation in the county for a period of less than a full year, your tax liability would (under most circumstances) be reduced. The county determines the tax by first multiplying the vehicle's assessed value by the portion of the year the vehicle has situs in the county. Proration is done using full month increments, and a taxpayer is liable for a full month's tax if the vehicle has situs in the county for more than half the month. The county then multiplies this prorated amount by the tax rate to determine the tax.

2. What personal property tax is prorated?

Taxes on all motor vehicles--automobiles, boats, trucks, motorcycles, motorized recreation vehicles, campers and trailers (not mobile homes)--are prorated.

3. What personal property tax is not prorated?

Airplanes, mobile homes and business personal property are not prorated.

4. If I moved taxable personal property out of Loudoun County or sell it during the tax year, am I eligible for a refund of personal property taxes already paid?

If you sell, or relocate your motor vehicle from Loudoun County to another prorating locality, the Loudoun County tax may be prorated upon notification to the Commissioner of the Revenue. You may then be eligible for a refund of any taxes paid for that portion of the remaining year if proof of registration in another prorating locality is provided.

However, if you move the property to a non-prorating locality in Virginia, the full year's tax is payable to Loudoun County. No refund will be issued, since your liability to the non-prorating locality begins January 1 of the next year. Property sold after moving to a non-prorating locality will not be adjusted.

Additionally, if you move your vehicle to a state other than Virginia, Virginia State Code Section 58.1-3511 specifies that “the situs for vehicles with a weight of 10,000 pounds or less registered in Virginia but normally garaged, docked or parked in another state shall be the locality in Virginia where registered.” Your vehicle account will be prorated as of the date your vehicle is registered in another state or when it is no longer actively registered in Virginia.

5. If I move taxable personal property into Loudoun County and I've already paid taxes on that property in another jurisdiction, do I need to pay taxes on that property in Loudoun County as well?

If a vehicle is moved to Loudoun County from another prorating locality or from out of state and the vehicle owner paid personal property taxes on the vehicle in that locality, the county will prorate the taxes based on the number of months remaining in the tax year, beginning with the date the vehicle obtained situs in the county or was registered to a county address with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

If the vehicle owner paid taxes on the vehicle during the same tax year to another jurisdiction that does not prorate, the county will relieve all taxes due on that vehicle in the County for the calendar year taxes were paid to the non-prorating jurisdiction.