Back
Monthly Installments
ELDERLY AND DISABLED MONTHLY REAL ESTATE TAX INSTALLMENT OPTION
APPLICATION
Application for Monthly Payment Option.pdf
Information Sheet Monthly Installments for Real Estate Tax.pdf
MONTHLY INSTALLMENT OPTION FOR REAL ESTATE TAX ON PROPERTY OWNED BY ELDERLY AND DISABLED PERSONS.
Senior citizens and disabled persons have the option to pay their real estate taxes in monthly installments rather than semi-annually. The monthly installment program allows 12 equal payments to be made for taxes assessed on real estate property owned and occupied as the owner's sole dwelling.
To apply for this program, download an application. To have an application sent to you by mail, contact the Tax Administration Office at 703-792-6710 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Program Eligibility
To participate in the monthly installment program the following requirements must be met:
- The owner or co-owner of the property is either 65 + years of age or is permanently and totally disabled (65 plus years old as of the yearly June application deadline).
- The property is owned and occupied as the owner's sole dwelling.
- The applicant has no delinquent real estate taxes.
- The real estate tax is not under a contract to be paid by a mortgage services company.
- Tax due is not a rollback tax provision under state and county law.
- The installment plan results in monthly payments being equal to or greater than $20 dollars.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When is the application due?
The deadline for filing an application is the first Monday in June of each year.
Does the monthly payment program reduce the amount of real estate taxes due?
The monthly payment program does not reduce the real estate tax. The sum of the 12 monthly payments is equal to the amount that would have been paid following the regular semi-annual installment plan.
When is each monthly installment due?
The first monthly installment is due July 15th. The second and all subsequent installments are due on the 5th of each month, with the final payment being due on June 5th.
An example of the payment schedule under this program as compared to the normal semi-annual payment schedule:
|
Example: |
Example: Real Estate Tax Due Normal Due Dates |
Example: |
|
July 15 |
$1,800.00 |
$300.00 |
|
August 5 |
|
$300.00 |
|
September 5 |
|
$300.00 |
|
October 7 |
|
$300.00 |
|
November 5 |
|
$300.00 |
|
December 5 |
$1,800.00 |
$300.00 |
|
January 6 |
|
$300.00 |
|
February 5 |
|
$300.00 |
|
March 5 |
|
$300.00 |
|
April 7 |
|
$300.00 |
|
May 5 |
|
$300.00 |
|
June 5 |
|
$300.00 |
|
Total Due |
$3,600.00 |
$3,600.00 |
If I participate, will my stormwater and solid waste fees be split into 12 installments?
No, storm water and solid waste fees are not split. They will be due on July 15th and December 5th as they are normally each year.
I have a mortgage on my property, can I participate?
Having a mortgage does not necessarily disqualify you from participating in this program. However, if you are paying taxes into a property tax escrow along with your mortgage payment, you cannot participate. If you are required or have chosen to pay the taxes yourself and you have no property tax escrow, you may be able to participate if nothing in your mortgage contract precludes this optional tax payment schedule. If you have a question, you should contact your mortgage company. The County does not have access to your mortgage documents and cannot make this determination for you.
I am receiving partial tax relief under the tax relief for elderly and disabled program. Can I have the amount not relieved split into 12 monthly installments?
Yes, as long as the resulting monthly installments are $20 or greater.
Can I pay any of the installment amounts in advance?
Yes, each month you will be sent a statement that shows the minimum amount due for that month. The statement will also show the remaining balance of all unpaid installments. If you want to pay more than the amount due for that month, the overpayment will simply be applied against amounts due in future months.
Is there a penalty for paying an installment late?
Yes, just like the regular semi-annual installments, a 10% late payment penalty will be added to your balance on the day after the due date. Interest on the unpaid tax and late payment penalty will accrue monthly beginning on the first of the month following the due date at a rate of 10% per annum.
Will I have to reapply every year?
No, but we will send you confirmation each spring and you will have an opportunity to opt out of the program for the current year. If any real estate taxes are delinquent at the time of renewal, you will not be able to participate until all delinquent taxes are paid in full.
What if I sell my property or move during the year?
If you are participating in this program and sell your property during the repayment period, you must contact us immediately since some or all of the taxes scheduled to be paid in future installments will become due on the settlement date. You should also notify the attorney or firm conducting the settlement that you participate in this program and instruct them to contact us so that the correct amount of taxes can be deducted from your settlement proceeds.
PROGRAM NOTES
The deadline for filing an application is the first Monday in June of each year.
Applicants must not have any delinquent real estate taxes to participate.
Disabled persons must present a certification from the Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs or Railroad Retirement Board stating that the applicant is permanently and totally disabled. If the applicant is not eligible for certification by any of these agencies a sworn affidavit is needed from two medical doctors, who are either licensed to practice medicine in Virginia or are military doctors on active duty, stating that the applicant is permanently and totally disabled. The affidavit of at least one of these doctors must be based on an actual physical examination.
Information on your application is confidential and not open for public inspection. However, the fact that the regular tax installments due July 15th and December 5th of each year have been converted to monthly installments is public information subject to disclosure.
Real estate taxes are deductible for tax purposes in the year paid (if you itemize your deductions). Participation in this program will reduce the amount of real estate taxes that you pay in the first year that you participate since the amount normally due in December will be paid over the ensuing six months.
INFORMATION
For more information or to have an application sent to you by mail, contact the Tax Administration Office at 703-792-6710 or by e-mail at [email protected].
ARTICLE III REAL ESTATE PROPERTY TAX
Sec. 26-8(b) Installment payments for elderly and disabled persons. Subject to the limitations set forth in this subsection, any person at least sixty-five years old or any person found to be permanently and totally disabled as defined in Section 26-36 of this Chapter shall have the option of making twelve (12) equal installment payments for real estate taxes assessed for real estate owned and occupied as their sole dwelling. The first installment shall be due no later than July fifteenth of each year, and the subsequent eleven (11) installments shall be due no earlier than the fifth of each month beginning in August of each year. If any installment is not paid on or before its due date, the amount of the installment shall be past due as of that date. Real estate taxes assessed against a dwelling jointly owned will be eligible for installment payments if the dwelling is held by a husband and wife and either spouse is at least sixty-five years old or is permanently and totally disabled as defined in Section 26-36 of this Chapter. In order to participate in a twelve-month installment program, eligible persons must submit an application to the director of finance no later than June 1st of each year and must not have any delinquent real estate taxes at the time of application. If property subject to a twelve-month installment plan is sold or otherwise transferred from the eligible property owner, participation in the installment payment program will cease, and all unpaid installments will become due as follows:
(i) if the property is transferred between January 1 and June 30 of any year, all unpaid tax installments for the preceding tax year, in addition to all unpaid taxes from January 1 of the year in which the property is transferred, prorated to the effective date of the transfer, shall be due and payable as of the effective date of the transfer.
(ii) if the property is transferred between July 1 and December 31 of any year, all unpaid taxes from January 1 of the year in which the property is transferred, prorated to the effective date of the transfer, shall be due and payable as of the effective date of the transfer.
This installment option for elderly and disabled persons shall not apply to:
a. Taxes under a contract to be paid by a mortgage company.
b. Taxes due under rollback tax provisions in state and local laws.
c. Tax bills for which a 12-month installment plan will result in a monthly installment being less than $20.00.
d. Stormwater management fees and solid waste fees. These fees will be billed in the same amount and will be due on the same date as billed to all county residents, meaning these fees will be included in the installments due on July 15 and December 5 of each year.
e. Taxes resulting from omitted assessments as authorized in Code of Virginia, § 58.1-3903; and
f. Taxes resulting from supplemental assessments.
