Could a taxpayer appeal a county's local real-property tax assessments to the Virginia Department of Taxation?

Subject

The Code of Virginia does not permit taxpayers to file appeals involving local real property tax assessments with the Department

Plain-English summary

A taxpayer challenged county real-property tax assessments for 2012 through 2015. The county commissioner of the revenue declined to review the appeal and referred the taxpayer to the county assessor, so the taxpayer asked the Virginia Department of Taxation to intervene.

The Department issued only a notice of jurisdiction. Virginia law provides routes for real-property assessment disputes through local boards of assessors or equalization, the local assessing official for specified errors, or circuit court. Those provisions do not create an appeal to the Department of Taxation.

The Department's local-tax jurisdiction covers final determinations for specified business and mobile property taxes and BPOL assessments. Local real-property tax is not among them.

Virginia therefore did not decide whether the county assessments were correct or whether the commissioner should have reviewed the local appeal. It held only that the Department lacked jurisdiction.

Common questions

Did Virginia decide the property's correct assessed value? No. The ruling addressed jurisdiction only.

Could the Department decide whether the county commissioner mishandled the appeal? No. It lacked statutory authority over the local real-property tax dispute.

What routes did the ruling identify? Depending on the circumstances, local boards, the local assessing official, or circuit court under the cited statutes.

Citations and references

• Va. Code §§ 58.1-3350, 58.1-3703.1 A 6, 58.1-3980 through 58.1-3983, and 58.1-3983.1 A and D.

Source

• Landing page: Virginia Laws, Rules & Decisions
• Ruling: P.D. 16-25

Original ruling text

March 8, 2016

Re: Taxpayer: *
Locality Assessing Tax: ***
Local Real Property Tax

Dear *:

This notice of jurisdiction is issued upon the application for correction filed by you on behalf of your client, * (the "Taxpayer"), with the Department. The Taxpayer seeks correction of the assessment of real property tax issued to it by the *** (the "County") for the 2012 through 2015 tax years.

The following determination is based on the facts presented to the Department summarized below. The Code of Virginia sections cited are available on-line in the Laws, Rules and Decisions section of the Department's web site, located at www.tax.virginia.gov .

FACTS

The County issued assessments of local real property tax to the Taxpayer for the 2012 through 2015 tax years. The Taxpayer filed an appeal with the County. The County's Commissioner of the Revenue declined to review the Taxpayer's appeal and referred the Taxpayer to the County's Assessor. The Taxpayer filed an appeal with the Department, contending that the appeal was properly filed with the local Commissioner of the Revenue.

ANALYSIS

Under Va. Code § 58.1-3350, an appeal of a real property tax assessment may be made to the board of assessors or board of equalization, as the case may be, or directly to the circuit court if the taxpayer is not first required to apply for relief with either of the boards. Alternatively, under Va. Code § 58.1-3980, a taxpayer may appeal a real property tax assessment to the local commissioner of the revenue or other assessing official if the taxpayer is seeking to correct an error made by such official. Virginia Code § 58.1-3980 provides that the procedural provisions of Va. Code § 58.1-3980 through § 58.1-3983 apply to appeals brought directly before the assessing official. None of those sections of the Code of Virginia , however, provide for an appeal to the Department, either directly or after a determination has been made by the assessing official.

Under Va. Code § 58.1-3983.1 D, the Department's jurisdiction is limited to appeals from final local determinations concerning local business and mobile property tax assessments. Local business taxes include the machinery and tools tax, business tangible personal property tax, merchant's capital tax and consumer utility tax. See Va. Code § 58.1-­3983.1 A. Local mobile property taxes include the tangible personal property tax on airplanes, boats, campers, recreational vehicles, and trailers. In addition, taxpayers may file appeals of local Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) tax assessments with the Department pursuant to Va. Code § 58.1-3703.1 A 6.

DETERMINATION

The Code of Virginia does not permit taxpayers to file appeals involving local real property tax assessments with the Department. As such, I find that the Department lacks jurisdiction to determine whether the County's Commissioner of the Revenue properly declined to address the Taxpayer's appeal of the County's assessments of real property tax for the 2012 through 2015 tax years.

If you have any questions regarding this response, you may contact * in the Office of Tax Policy, Appeals and Rulings, at ***.

Sincerely,

Craig M. Burns
Tax Commissioner

AR/1-6260932411.M