Real Estate Taxes

The Code of Virginia provides for the assessment of real estate taxes based on fair market value:

• Real estate is assessed on July 1st each year by the Commissioner of Revenue.
• Real estate tax bills are provided to mortgage companies that provide written requests.
• Each landowner in Mecklenburg County should have a deed recorded in the Clerk of Court's Office. The information contained on the deed is used by the Commissioner of the Revenue's Office to determine ownership and assess value to the land and any improvements thereon.
• Once each year, the Commissioner of the Revenue prints a Land Book detailing the assessed value of land and improvements within the County.
• The Land Book information is passed along to the Treasurer's Office which is responsible for the billing and collection of tax.

While real estate is assessed by the Commissioner of Revenue, taxes are paid to the Treasurer. Real estate taxes are generally prorated when real estate is sold, but this is a matter to be settled between the purchaser and the former owner. Real estate is assessed in the name of the owner as of July 1 of the tax year. It is ultimately advertised for sale in this name if the taxes are not paid.

Tax Bills

Real estate tax bills are provided to mortgage companies that provide written requests. If you receive a bill and your mortgage company should be paying, please forward the bill to your mortgage company.

Virginia law requires that the Treasurer mail bills for taxes due at least 2 weeks prior to the date. The policy of the Mecklenburg County Treasurer's Office is to mail bills at least 30 days in advance of the due date. However, if a bill is not delivered on time, the taxpayer is not relieved of the penalty and interest charge required by law for late payment. This is true whether the cause is Post Office error, a mistake in address information at the Treasurer's Office or any other such case.

The law is clear that the taxpayer is required to know the due date, to determine the amount owed and to pay it on time, even when a bill is not received by the taxpayer.

Questions

For questions concerning the payment of taxes, please call the Treasurer's Office at 434-738-6191, ext. 4251. For questions concerning real estate tax assessments or real estate address changes, please call the Commissioner of Revenue's Office at 434-738-6191, ext. 4270.