Press Release from Prince William County:
Prince William County’s personal property and second half real estate taxes for 2024 are due by Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.
The county offers multiple options for submitting tax payments:
- Online Payment: You can pay by electronic check or credit card at www.tax.pwcgov.org.
- Phone Payment: Call 888-272-9829 and use jurisdiction code 1036.
- Mail Payment: Send payments to PO BOX 70519, Philadelphia, PA 19176-0519.
- In-Person Payment: Visit the Taxpayer Services Offices at the Sudley North Government Center, 7987 Ashton Avenue in Manassas, or the McCoart Government Center, 1 County Complex Court in Woodbridge. Both locations are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Residents are encouraged to pay their taxes before the due date. Please note, a late payment penalty of 10 percent will apply to any unpaid tax balance after the Dec. 5 deadline. Additionally, interest will accrue monthly on unpaid balances at a rate of 10 percent per annum until they are fully paid.
If you have not yet received your tax bill and believe you should have, please contact the Taxpayer Services Office promptly at 703-792-6710 or via email at TaxpayerServices@pwcgov.org.
Property owners who receive a tax bill and escrow property taxes with their mortgage company should contact their lender immediately.
Visit pwcva.gov/tax for additional information or call the county’s Taxpayer Services Office and Call Center at 703-792-6710, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Personal Property Tax bills are due on 11/6. If you wish to pay your bill online, by check, you may need a new account number. Please call/email our Customer Service team at 703-361-9306 or customerservice@manassasparkva.gov. Provide your name, address, and old account number. pic.twitter.com/YlduZMp0Jc
— City of Manassas Park (@ManassasParkGov) October 22, 2024
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors unanimously voted to extend the payment deadline for personal property taxes from October 7 to December 5, 2024. This new deadline aligns with the due date for real estate taxes. However, as previously scheduled, the Business Tangible Personal Property Tax will remain due on October 7, 2024.
The decision to extend the personal property tax deadline aims to provide relief to residents who would otherwise have to make two substantial tax payments within a short timeframe. Some board members raised concerns about the potential strain on retirees and others living on fixed incomes who might struggle to meet both tax obligations simultaneously.
The board also discussed the methodology for assessing vehicle values, which has been a point of contention. Under the Virginia Code, localities must use a nationally recognized pricing guide for vehicle assessments. Prince William County currently uses the clean trade-in value provided by the J.D. Power (NADA) pricing guide, which reflects actual vehicle sales and auctions in the region.
Approximately 95% of all vehicles in the county are assessed using this guide, which remains the standard for most jurisdictions in Virginia. However, some supervisors questioned whether the county should continue relying on this system for future assessments.
This extension of the personal property tax deadline is seen as a temporary measure to help ease financial stress, but discussions on long-term tax reforms, including vehicle assessment methods, are likely to continue.
Currently, only businesses with gross receipts over $500,000 pay a BPOL tax, a tax enacted to fund the second war between the U.S. and the British in 1812. The threshold has been in place since 2022 after the Prince William Chamber of Commerce pushed county supervisors in 2015 to increase the taxation threshold from $250,000.
Today, the county levies a BPOL tax on a business’s gross receipts and uses the funds to help fund the local government. However, its implementation can vary widely among jurisdictions, leading to disparities in business tax burdens.
This article is exclusively for our Locals Only members. Please Sign In or upgrade to become a Locals Only Member today!
Your support helps us continue delivering more in-depth community news that matters to you.
Stafford County Government: “Stafford County Board of Supervisors adopted a second Emergency Ordinance, EO23-02, on December 12, 2023, to extend zero penalties and interest through January 5, 2024. This effort was due to the financial uncertainty concerning the delayed adoption of the federal budget and the effects this may have on the residents of Stafford County. This decision will allow taxpayers more time to pay their Personal Property tax bills.”
“There is no State Code authority for the Board to waive penalties and interest, but the Board can set the amount for penalties and interest to $0 and 0%. Virginia Code sets a maximum amount of penalties and interest but no minimum. The changes cannot be applied retroactively. State Code allows an emergency ordinance to delay the penalties and interest for up to 60 days.”
Stafford County leaders support new legislation allowing them to hike the county sales tax to pay for school construction.
Virginia State Senator Jeremy McPike (D-29, Prince William, Stafford) has introduced legislation (SB14) in the upcoming January 2024 General Assembly session that would allow any county or city to let voters decide to hike the sales tax by 1%, a fee paid at retail shops and restaurants. Delegate-Elect Joshua Cole (D-65, Fredericksburg, Stafford) said he'll introduce similar legislation in the House of Delegates when he takes office in January.
This article is exclusively for our Locals Only members. Please Sign In or upgrade to become a Locals Only Member today!
Your support helps us continue delivering more in-depth community news that matters to you.
Stafford County Government: “Due to the financial uncertainty concerning the delayed adoption of the federal budget and the effects this may have on the residents of Stafford County, the Board of Supervisors adopted on October 17, 2023, an Emergency Ordinance EO23-01 to temporarily lower penalties to zero for the Personal Property tax payments due December 5. This will allow taxpayers more time to pay their Personal Property tax bills. Please note that the Board desires to extend zero penalty through January 5, 2023.”
“However, another emergency ordinance must be brought to the Board of Supervisors for approval at the December 12, 2023 meeting.”
Stafford County Supervisor Crystal Vanuch: “I have great news… remember a few weeks ago when I said I was introducing a request for more time to pay personal property taxes due in December? Well, it passed our Board 6-1 on Tuesday! They are now penalty-free until January 5, and you will have more time to make those payments.”
“Personal property tax bills go out at the beginning of November. These bills are due December 5th. With the impending government shutdown on top of difficult economic conditions, I think allowing residents an additional 30 days, penalty-free, to pay these bills is necessary. The bills will be penalty-free until January 5th.”
“The emergency ordinance is good for 60 days, so we do have to reauthorize at our mid-December meeting, but that was all part of the resolution we passed…”
From the Stafford County Board of Supervisors Oct. 17, 2023 agenda: “This item was added to the agenda at the request of Supervisor Vanuch at the Board’s October 4, 2023 meeting. Supervisors raised concerns about the financial uncertainty imposed upon federal government employees and retirees, a significant portion of Stafford County’s population, due to the previously stalled, but not yet fully resolved, federal government shutdown and the failure to adopt a federal budget. Supervisors desired to provide residents who need more time to gather funds to pay their personal property tax bills, more time to do so.”
The original deadline was December 5, 2023.
Stafford County Public Schools have partnered with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) grant program to create the first student-run tax preparation program in Virginia.
The VITA grant program is an IRS initiative designed to support free tax preparation for the under-served demographics such as persons with low-to-moderate income individuals, people with disabilities, the elderly, and those who speak limited English.
While most VITA programs are run by nonprofits and staffed by adults, the Stafford School Work-Based Learning Team has chosen to connect with the IRS Office of Stakeholder Partnerships to give students studying accounting the chance to train, volunteer, and earn work-based learning experience.
Colonial Forge High School is home to 14 students who are certified with the IRS, with an additional three from Mountain View High School. These students are equipped with the same knowledge and must take the same exam that any adult must take to volunteer in such programs.
VITA has five remaining clinics for this tax season, three of which are during the month of March. The next clinic will be at Colonial Forge High School on Friday, February 17. Appointment times are listed for 3 to 4:30 p.m., 4 to 5:30 p.m., and 5 to 6:30 p.m. Following that, VITA will hold a clinic at Mountain View High School with slots from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22.
During March, VITA will hold a clinic at Colonial Forge High School on Saturday, March 4 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., another at CFHS on Saturday, March 25 from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m., and the final clinic for this tax season which will be held on Wednesday, March 29 from 2:30 to 6 p.m. at Mountain View High School.
All of the clinics listed also allow for either virtual or in-person tax appointments, though clients must still visit a physical clinic to verify their identity before taking part in a virtual session.
A limited number of appointments may be made at tinyurl.com/scpsvita or by calling 540-658-6115.
