Democracy Dies in Darkness

Lingering impacts of pandemic leads to higher tax rates in Northern Va.

Northern Virginia localities have had to find ways to make up for the loss in commercial tax revenue while trying to maintain the quality of schools and other services.

By
May 7, 2024 at 3:21 p.m. EDT
Lawmakers in Fairfax County voted to raise the residential tax rate. (Pete Marovich for The Washington Post)
3 min

Fairfax County lawmakers Tuesday approved a budget that raises the residential tax rate by 3 cents, a reflection of the lingering economic impacts of the pandemic and uncertainty over the Virginia state budget.

Fairfax’s increase in the residential tax rate, to $1.125 per $100 of assessed value, means the annual tax bill for county homeowners will increase by an average of $450. The move came as revenue from the county’s struggling commercial office sector remains weak while Fairfax schools requested more funding due to higher enrollment and other pressures, most of which the board met by allocating an extra $165 million to the school budget.