Reassessment
After a procurement process, the Board of Supervisors selected Pearson's Appraisal Services to complete Pittsylvania County's 2024 reassessment process. The contract was approved in mid-May, 2022.
The property values that Pearson's assesses will go into effect for real estate tax bills in 2024. The company is expected to start work in June of 2022 and begin field visits in July, with the goal of visiting 3,700 properties monthly.
Pearson's is scheduled to complete all appraisal and review services by September 2023. Reassessment notices are scheduled to be mailed to property owners in October of 2023, and hearings with the Board of Assessors are expected to take place in October and November of 2023. The Board of Equalization, which is an independent body appointed by the Circuit Court to hear and consider assessment appeals, is slated to meet between February and April 2024.
General Reassessment Information
Legally required by the Commonwealth of Virginia, reassessment is when up-to-date property values are determined for an entire locality or municipality. These updated values are important because they ensure that every property owner pays appropriate taxes based upon up-to-date market values.
These values are kept on file by the Commissioner of the Revenue and are used in concurrence with the tax rate to generate real estate tax bills. Localities with populations of more than 50,000 are required to perform a reassessment at least every four years, per Virginia State Code.
- What is reassessment?
-
Legally required by the Commonwealth of Virginia, reassessment is when up-to-date property values are determined for an entire locality or municipality. Updated values are determined through photographs, aerial images, and observations from a trained crew of property assessors. There are many complicated formulas and factors involved in determining and updating property values, which are kept by the Commissioner of the Revenue. Here is more detailed information about reassessment.
- What is the purpose of reassessment?
-
Required by law, periodic reassessments ensure that every property has an accurate and current fair market value. This value is used to calculate property taxes, which are the product of the assessed value and the tax rate.
The important thing to remember is why reassessment is both required by state law and important for local government and the taxpayers: The reassessment process ensures that the tax burden is distributed equitably and fairly. We want to make sure that some citizens don’t have a higher share of the tax burden than their property actually warrants, and we also don’t want to see citizens "fly under the radar" and avoid paying taxes on the actual value of their property. We will be sharing lots more information about the reassessment process in the coming weeks and months.
- What real property is taxable?
-
All real property in Pittsylvania County is subject to taxation except for properties that are specifically exempt through Article X § 6 of the Constitution of Virginia or property classified or designated as exempt under Section 58.1-3600. For example, property owned by the County, the State, or the Federal governments and property are non-taxable, and many properties used for religious, charitable, educational, cultural, or recreational uses are non-taxable.
- What is fair market value?
-
Market value is the amount a typical, informed purchaser would be willing to pay for a property with the following conditions:
- The seller and buyer are not related
- The seller is willing, but not under pressure to sell, while the buy is willing but not under obligation to buy
- The property is on the market for a reasonable amount of time
- The payment is in cash or its equivalent and any required financing is typical for that type of property
State Laws about Reassessment
Virginia State Codes § 58.1-3250 through § 58.1-3355 governs the reassessment of real property for Virginia localities. The State Code includes sections regarding general information about reassessment cycles, who can perform a reassessment, reassessment valuation procedures and practices, the involvement of the Commissioner of the Revenue, the levy of taxes, public disclosure and access to records, tax to constitute lien, and administrative and judicial review.