Could the Department decide whether a personal-vehicle tax should be prorated after the owner moved away?

Plain-English summary

The owner argued that city tax on her personal vehicle should have been prorated because she paid tax in another state and moved out of Virginia during 2016.

Virginia did not decide the proration issue. An ordinary personal vehicle is outside the local business and mobile-property categories the Department may review. Despite the city's misleading direction, the available appeal was to circuit court.

Citations and references

• Va. Code § 58.1-3983.1 A and D
• Va. Code §§ 58.1-3980 and 58.1-3984 A

Source

• Landing page: Virginia Laws, Rules & Decisions
• Ruling: P.D. 17-219

Original ruling text

December 22, 2017

Re: Appeal of Final Local Determination

Taxpayer: *

Locality Assessing Tax: *

Local Tangible Personal Property Tax

Dear *:

This notice of jurisdiction is issued upon the application for correction filed by you (the “Taxpayer”) with the Department of Taxation. The Taxpayer seeks correction of an assessment of tangible personal property tax issued by the * (the “City”) for the 2016 tax year.

The following determination is based on the facts presented to the Department summarized below. The Code of Virginia sections and public document 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 City issued an assessment of tangible personal property tax on the Taxpayer's vehicle. The Taxpayer appealed the assessment to the City, contending that the City was required to prorate the assessment because of tax previously paid on the vehicle in * (State A) and because she moved out of Virginia during the tax year at issue. In its final determination, the City concluded that it had properly issued the assessment for the entire tax year. The Taxpayer appealed to the Department, contending the assessment should have been prorated.

ANALYSIS

Under Virginia 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 Virginia Code § 58.1-3983.1 A. Local mobile property taxes include the tangible personal property tax on airplanes, boats, campers, recreational vehicles, and trailers. As such, local mobile property taxes do not include tangible personal property tax assessed against individuals' personal vehicles generally. In addition, taxpayers may file appeals of local Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) tax assessments with the Department pursuant to Virginia Code § 58.1-3703.1 A 6.

In its final determination, the City cited Virginia Code § 58.1-3983.1 as the statute giving it and the Department jurisdiction over the appeal. As stated above, however, that statute only applies to local business taxes and local mobile property taxes, which do not include tangible personal property tax on vehicles generally. In this case, the applicable jurisdictional statute is Virginia Code § 58.1-3980, which grants local commissioners of the revenue general jurisdiction over appeals involving local taxes, which would include tangible personal property tax on a personal vehicle. Although the Department is not granted jurisdiction under Virginia Code § 58.1-3980 to review the final determination of the local commissioner in such a case, it remains subject to review in the local circuit court under Virginia Code § 58.1-3984.

DETERMINATION

Despite the misleading statement by the City in its final determination letter, an assessment of tangible personal property tax on a personal vehicle is not an assessment of local business tax, local mobile property tax or local BPOL tax over which the Department has jurisdiction to hear an appeal. Accordingly, the Department lacks jurisdiction to correct such an assessment. The Taxpayer may appeal an assessment of tangible personal property tax to the circuit court under the provisions of Virginia Code § 58.1-3984 A. In the Taxpayer's case, such an appeal must be filed with the circuit court: (1) within three years from the last day of the tax year for which the assessment is made, (2) within one year from the date of the assessment, or (3) within one year from the date of the local official's final determination under Virginia Code § 58.1-3981, whichever is later.

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

Sincerely,

Craig M. Burns

Tax Commissioner

AR/1501.M