Goochland assessor: 2025 reassessment raises taxable base; appeals process explained

Mary Ann Davis, Goochland County assessor, presented the county's 2025 reassessment to the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 4, explaining how the office values property and how residents can appeal.

Davis said assessments are made to reflect market value as of Jan. 1, notices were mailed Jan. 15 and property owners have a defined informal and formal appeals process: informal review with assessor's office staff, then an application to the Board of Equalization and, after that, circuit court if unresolved. She described internal checks—including sales-review, field inspections and statistical sampling—to calculate sales-assessment ratios and the coefficient of dispersion used to evaluate uniformity.

For 2025, Davis reported the reassessment change (including new construction) at about 11.4%. She said new construction accounted for roughly $2.242 billion of the taxable base (about 2.8% of the overall total cited during the presentation) and that about 88% of that new construction value was residential. Davis emphasized that assessment practice follows state standards and IAAO guidelines and that the assessor's office is limited to establishing market value while the board sets tax rates.

Supervisors and residents asked about frequency (the county re-assesses annually), neighborhood variations, and how the assessor accounts for fast-moving markets. Davis said the office compares assessed values against recent sales and that the Virginia Department of Taxation performs a separate review.

Why it matters: the reassessment affects the county's taxable base and therefore budget-setting decisions and individual property tax bills. Residents who disagree with their assessments were reminded of the appeals timeline and the Board of Equalization process.