Charles City to reissue personal property tax bills after valuation error; refunds promised to those who paid

County officials told the workshop that a migration error produced incorrect vehicle valuations in the personal property tax roll and that the commissioner’s office has corrected the method and will reissue bills.

The county’s Commissioner of Revenue, Candace Jones, explained the valuation process and relief rules: Virginia’s relief program applies to the first $20,000 of assessed vehicle value; at the county’s current relief rate (29%), example calculations showed a $20,000 vehicle taxed at the county rate would drop from $750 to $532.50 after relief. Jones said qualifying vehicles must be owned or leased by an individual and used 50% or less for business.

On the billing error, the commissioner said originally the system used a clean‑trade value that produced higher valuations; after abatement requests and review she changed the basis to a ‘‘clean loan’’ value the county uses going forward. The interim administrator said new personal property bills will go out in batches, with an expected mailing by next Friday and a due date around Jan. 25 to be fair to taxpayers. "If you hadn't paid, don't pay," the administrator said; officials added that refunds will be issued to anyone who already paid the incorrect amounts.

Officials invited residents to ask questions and said additional details and updated bills will be posted and mailed. The county also agreed to publish answers to outstanding questions and to use the website and future workshops for follow‑up.

Next steps: corrected tax bills to be mailed in batches (targeted next Friday at the meeting), new due date likely Jan. 25, and refunds to be processed for early payers.