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Commissioner of Revenue highlights revenue gains, recommends raising tax-relief thresholds
Summary
Commissioner Philip Kellum presented a FY26 operating budget that includes funding for a systems analyst and modernization; he described revenue trends, growth in tax-relief programs for elderly, disabled and veterans, and raised concerns about how recent changes affected surviving spouses benefits.
Commissioner of Revenue Philip Kellum presented his office’s fiscal year 2026 operating budget to City Council on May 6 and urged investment in technology and changes to tax-relief thresholds to assist more qualifying residents.
Kellum said his office runs with about 65.93 full-time employees and a proposed budget just over $7.5 million, with 80% of expenses for personnel. He said the office generates assessments for roughly $500 million in tax revenue a year and that 13% of the office’s funding comes from the state. He also noted an increase in online transactions; business license payments received electronically rose to about $18.5 million in 2023 and increased further in 2024.
Kellum described several tax-relief programs. For elderly and disabled personal-property relief, he said there were 920 recipients with only eight new applicants year-over-year; he urged raising income and asset thresholds to expand eligibility, estimating about 745 additional taxpayers would qualify if thresholds were raised from $29,500 to $52,000 for income and to $195,000 for assets. He also said veteran-related personal-property relief grew 65% on second-car exemptions.
Kellum discussed an unintended effect of a recent referendum that changed surviving-spouse property-tax treatment. He said that certain surviving spouses who had previously received full exemptions were now receiving some bills after the referendum grouped them with other surviving-spouse categories; roughly 50 property owners in Virginia Beach are affected. He said the office is working with the General Assembly to seek options.
Kellum said the office has begun sourcing a new tax system and that a systems analyst position was added to his budget to maintain a revenue platform used jointly by the treasurer and assessor. He urged modernization of legacy software and said online appeals have reduced in-person lines for personal property assessments.
Ending: Kellum thanked council for support and invited follow-up meetings on his proposals for tax-relief thresholds.
