Ezel / Tax Rulings / VA
VA P.D. 18-9 Local Taxes 2018-01-18

Could the Virginia Department review a locality's valuation of an individual's personal vehicle for tangible personal property tax?

Short answer: No. The Department's local-tax appeal jurisdiction covers local business taxes and mobile property taxes, not tangible personal property tax assessed on an individual's personal vehicle. The owners had to pursue correction with the locality or circuit court.

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This page answers the general question as of 2018. Ezel answers yours, under current Virginia tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 2018
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official published Ruling of the Virginia Tax Commissioner (Virginia Department of Taxation), issued as a redacted public document. It is based on the specific facts the taxpayer presented and the law in effect when issued; different facts or later changes in the law can change the result, and another taxpayer should not assume it applies to their situation. Virginia's retail sales and use tax is administered by the Department, but many Virginia local taxes, including the business license (BPOL) tax, business tangible personal property tax, and machinery and tools tax, are administered by local commissioners of the revenue. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Virginia tax professional about your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (PDF)

Plain-English summary

The county taxed the owners' personal vehicle for 2017, and they asked the Department to use a lower alternate value.

Virginia did not reach the valuation question. The Department's statutory jurisdiction over local-tax appeals is limited to local business taxes and local mobile property taxes. A tax on an individual's personal vehicle falls outside those categories, so the owners had to seek correction from the locality or appeal to circuit court.

Citations and references

  • Va. Code § 58.1-3983.1 D
  • Va. Code §§ 58.1-3980 and 58.1-3984
  • P.D. 17-142

Source

Original ruling text

January 18, 2018

Re: Appeal of Personal Property Tax Assessment

Taxpayer: *

Locality Assessing Tax: *

Local Tangible Personal Property Tax

Dear *:

This notice of jurisdiction is issued upon the administrative appeal filed by you (the “Taxpayers”) with the Department of Taxation (the “Department”). The Taxpayers seek correction of an assessment of tangible personal property tax issued by * (the “County”) for the 2017 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 County issued an assessment of tangible personal property tax on the Taxpayers' personal vehicle for the 2017 tax year. The Taxpayers appealed to the Department contending the assessment should have used an alternate valuation resulting in a lower assessed value and lower tax liability.

ANALYSIS

Under Virginia Code § 58.1-3983.1 D, the Department's jurisdiction over appeals and rulings of local taxes is limited to final local determinations concerning local business and mobile property tax assessments. See Public Document (P.D.) 17­-142 (8/7/2017). Neither business nor mobile property taxes include tangible personal property taxes assessed against individuals' personal vehicles.

DETERMINATION

Based on applicable law, an assessment of tangible personal property tax on a personal vehicle is not an assessment of tax over which the Department has jurisdiction to hear an appeal. The Taxpayer may appeal an assessment of tangible personal property tax either directly to the locality pursuant to Virginia Code § 58.1-­3980, or to the circuit court under the provisions of Virginia Code § 58.1-3984.

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/1526.C

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