Albemarle County, Virginia
Office of the County Assessor
Authority for Taxation
Constitution of Virginia
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ARTICLE X
Taxation and Finance
Section 1. Taxable property; uniformity; classification and segregation.
All property, except as hereinafter provided, shall be taxed. All taxes shall be levied and collected under general
laws and shall be uniform upon the same class of subjects within the territorial limits of the authority levying the
tax, except that the General Assembly may provide for differences in the rate of taxation to be imposed upon real
estate by a city or town within all or parts of areas added to its territorial limits, or by a new unit of general
government, within its area, created by or encompassing two or more, or parts of two or more, existing units of
general government. Such differences in the rate of taxation shall bear a reasonable relationship to differences
between nonrevenue-producing governmental services giving land urban character which are furnished in one or
several areas in contrast to the services furnished in other areas of such unit of government.
The General Assembly may by general law and within such restrictions and upon such conditions as may be
prescribed authorize the governing body of any county, city, town or regional government to provide for
differences in the rate of taxation imposed upon tangible personal property owned by persons not less than sixtyfive years of age or persons permanently and totally disabled as established by general law who are deemed by
the General Assembly to be bearing an extraordinary tax burden on said tangible personal property in relation to
their income and financial worth.
The General Assembly may define and classify taxable subjects. Except as to classes of property herein expressly
segregated for either State or local taxation, the General Assembly may segregate the several classes of property
so as to specify and determine upon what subjects State taxes, and upon what subjects local taxes, may be levied.
The amendment ratified November 6, 1990 and effective January 1, 1991—Added a new paragraph after
paragraph one.
Authority for Assessment
Constitution of Virginia
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Section 2. Assessments.
All assessments of real estate and tangible personal property shall be at their fair
market value, to be ascertained as prescribed by law. The General Assembly may
define and classify real estate devoted to agricultural, horticultural, forest, or open
space uses, and may by general law authorize any county, city, town, or regional
government to allow deferral of, or relief from, portions of taxes otherwise payable
on such real estate if it were not so classified, provided the General Assembly shall
first determine that classification of such real estate for such purpose is in the
public interest for the preservation or conservation of real estate for such uses. In
the event the General Assembly defines and classifies real estate for such
purposes, it shall prescribe the limits, conditions, and extent of such deferral or
relief. No such deferral or relief shall be granted within the territorial limits of any
county, city, town, or regional government except by ordinance adopted by the
governing body thereof.
So long as the Commonwealth shall levy upon any public service corporation a
State franchise, license, or other similar tax based upon or measured by its gross
receipts or gross earnings, or any part thereof, its real estate and tangible personal
property shall be assessed by a central State agency, as prescribed by law.
Albemarle County Code
• ARTICLE X. REAL ESTATE - IN GENERAL
• Sec. 15-1000 Annual assessment of real estate.
• A. All real estate in the county shall be assessed annually
for purposes of taxation director of finance of the county as
of January 1 of each year.
• B. The office of real estate assessments of the county shall
annually conduct a new reassessment of all real property to
be applicable for the tax year beginning January 1, 2007,
and every tax year thereafter.
• C. All assessments of real estate in the county shall be
made at one hundred percent (100%) of fair market value.
Duties of the County Assessor’s Office
• Annual Assessment of All Real Estate
• Administrative Assessment and Board of Equalization
Reviews
• Assessment of New Buildings Substantially Complete
• Assessment of New Lots and Parcels
• Administer the Land Use Assessment Program
• Mapping of New Parcels, Splits and Mergers
• Record Management from Deeds, Wills and Other
Recorded Documents
• Tax Exemptions by Classification
• Tax Exemptions for Qualifying Veterans
Specific Requirements of the County
Assessor
• Manage the Office of the County Assessor
• Mandatory Member of the Ag/Forest District
Advisory Committee
• Chairperson of the ACE Appraisal Review
Committee
• Meet the Requirements of Virginia Code 58.13258 as a Qualified Assessor
Assessor’s Office Statistics
• 44,755 Parcel Count ( 43,369 Taxable, 986
Exempt)
• 4,711 Parcels in Land Use Assessment
• Total Fair Market Value - $21,848,066,700
• Taxable Fair Market Value - $17,745,914,400
• Exempt Fair Market Value - $4,102,152,300
• Land Use Deferred Value - $1,944,356,500
• Office Staff – Assessor, Assistant Assessor, 8
Appraisers, Three Administrative Support
How Are Assessments Determined
• Mass Appraisal is the systematic appraisal of properties as of a
given date using standardized procedures and statistical testing.
• As compared to
• Single property appraisal is the valuation of a particular property as
of a given date.
• In both all three appraisal approaches to value are considered and
the most appropriate is considered as the property value. The
three approaches are the cost approach, comparable sales
approach and income approach.
Assessment Review Process
• Notices of Reassessment are Mailed the end of
January
• Administrative Review Request are Held Through
February 28th
• Board Of Equalization Appeal Deadline is March
16th of the Tax Year. All BOE Appeals must be
finalized by September 1st of the Tax Year.
• Appeals to the Circuit Court Must be Filed Within
Three Years of the End of the Tax Year.
What Should I Do?
• Review Your Property Record For Accuracy
• Visit the County’s Website to Review Sales
Information and Comparable Assessment
• Discuss Your Assessment With the County
Appraiser In Your Area.
What Are My Rights
• The Real Estate Assessment Process Is One of
the Most Transparent Functions of Local
Government
• You Are Entitled To All The Working Paper
Used In Estimating The Value of Your
Assessment.
Assessment of Conservation
Easement
• The assessment of Conservation Easement are
governed by Code of Virginia Section 10.11011.
• Qualifying land is assessed at land use
assessment rates
• Non qualifying land and buildings are assessed
at fair market value.