Chesterfield County, Virginia | Real Estate Assessments

Title 58.1, Chapter 32, Article 4, of the Code of Virginia provides for the assessment of land based on use value rather than market value. This program is designed to promote the preservation of land for public benefit.

The State Land Evaluation Advisory Council establishes the requirements for qualification and use values. There are four classifications under which real estate may qualify for a use value assessment:

The qualifying land area must be a minimum of five acres and must be devoted currently and for the five previous consecutive years to the production for sale of plant or animal products useful to the public.

Crop and/or livestock production must be primarily for commercial use. Documentation supporting the agriculture operation must be submitted each year.

The qualifying land area must be a minimum of five acres and must be devoted currently and for the five previous consecutive years to the production for sale of nursery, greenhouse, cut flowers, plant materials, orchards, vineyards, or small fruit products.

Documentation supporting the horticulture operation, such as a federal income tax return or receipt verifying gross sales, must be submitted each year.

The qualifying land area must be a minimum of 20 acres. The land must be growing a commercial forest crop that is physically accessible for harvesting when mature.

The owner must certify that the real estate is being used in a planned program of timber management and soil conservation practices. Submitting a Planned Program of Timber Management prepared by a professional forester may show certification of intent by the owner.

Specific standards include providing or preserving for parks or recreational purposes, conservation of land or other natural resources, floodways, historic or scenic areas, and assisting in the shaping of the character, direction, and timing of community development or for the public interest.

To participate in the Special Assessment Program, the landowner must submit an application for taxation on the basis of use value to the Department of Real Estate Assessments. A separate application must be filed for each parcel of land to be included in the special assessment program. An application must be submitted whenever the use or acreage of such land previously approved changes.

No application for assessment based on use will be accepted or approved if the tax on the land affected is delinquent. If real estate taxes become delinquent while the real estate has a special assessment, the real estate will be removed from the land use program.

There is a $10.00 application fee for each application submitted by November 1st. A late filing fee of $25.00 is applicable on each application submitted between November 2nd and December 31st. An extension fee of $50.00 is applicable on each application submitted between January 1 and mid-February. All fees are non-refundable. Applications submitted by the December 31st deadline are effective for the following tax year.

Click here to access the application in PDF format or contact the Assessor’s Office at (804) 748-1321. (The material available for download is in PDF format. You can access PDF formatted material by using the free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader, available at http://www.adobe.com.)

Revalidation of an approved application must be filed annually to continue the real estate in the land use program for the following year. There is no charge to revalidate if filed on or before November 1st.

A late filing fee of $25.00 is applicable on any revalidation form filed between November 2nd and December 5th.

Real estate that no longer qualifies for the land use program is subject to a rollback tax. The rollback tax is calculated on the difference between the tax levied, based on a use value assessment, and the tax that would have been levied, based on a market value assessment. The rollback tax shall be equal to the sum of the deferred tax for current and each of the five most recent tax years plus interest.

Any change in use must be reported to the Department of Real Estate Assessments within 60 days of the date of change to avoid having a penalty applied to the rollback tax. Examples of change in use include:

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