A county denied my appeal of the personal property tax on my car and told me I could appeal to the Virginia Department of Taxation -- can the Department actually decide this?

Plain-English summary

A county assessed tangible personal property tax on a taxpayer's personal vehicle for the 2022 and 2023 tax years. She appealed locally, contending the vehicle was actually garaged in a different Virginia city, where she'd already paid personal property tax on it -- effectively a double-taxation dispute over which locality had the right to tax the car. The county denied her local appeal and issued a final determination advising her she could appeal further to the Virginia Department of Taxation under Va. Code § 58.1-1821.

That advice turned out to be wrong. Virginia law (Va. Code § 58.1-3983.1 D) limits the Department's jurisdiction over appeals of local taxes to final local determinations concerning local business tangible personal property tax and mobile property tax assessments -- and the Department had already confirmed in two earlier rulings (P.D. 17-142 and P.D. 18-205) that neither of those categories includes tangible personal property tax assessed against an individual's personal vehicle. A personal car being taxed by the locality where it's garaged is a different kind of assessment than the business/mobile-property categories the Department is authorized to review.

Because the tax at issue here was assessed against a personal vehicle -- not a business or mobile-property asset -- the Department issued a formal Notice of Jurisdiction declining to hear the appeal at all, rather than reaching any conclusion about which city was entitled to tax the car. Since the county had already issued its own final determination, the Department pointed the taxpayer to her two remaining options under Virginia law: appeal directly to the locality under Va. Code § 58.1-3980 (not applicable here since the county had already ruled), or appeal to circuit court under Va. Code § 58.1-3984 -- circuit court being her only realistic remaining path given the county's final determination.

What this means for you

Anyone disputing personal (not business) vehicle property tax between two localities

Don't assume the Virginia Department of Taxation can resolve a dispute over which city or county has the right to tax your personal vehicle. The Department's jurisdiction over local tax appeals is statutorily limited to business tangible personal property and mobile property tax assessments -- an individual's personal car doesn't fall into either category.

Anyone told by a locality that they can appeal a personal property tax dispute to the Department

Verify that advice before relying on it. This ruling shows a county gave a taxpayer that exact instruction, and it was incorrect -- the Department has no authority to hear the appeal, meaning time spent pursuing that route is time not spent on the appeal that actually is available (circuit court, once a final local determination has issued).

Taxpayers who've already received a final local determination on a personal property tax dispute

If the type of tax in question falls outside the Department's jurisdiction (as here), circuit court under Va. Code § 58.1-3984 is the remaining avenue for relief -- not a further administrative appeal to the state.

Common questions

Q: Can the Virginia Department of Taxation hear an appeal about which locality gets to tax my personal car?
A: No. Per Va. Code § 58.1-3983.1 D, the Department's jurisdiction over local tax appeals is limited to business tangible personal property and mobile property tax assessments -- a personal vehicle assessed against an individual isn't either of those.

Q: My county told me I could appeal my personal vehicle tax dispute to the state Department of Taxation -- is that right?
A: Not according to this ruling. A county gave a taxpayer that same advice and it was incorrect; the Department issued a Notice of Jurisdiction declining the appeal.

Q: If the Department can't hear my personal vehicle tax appeal, what can I do?
A: Per this ruling, if the locality hasn't yet issued a final determination, you can appeal directly to it under Va. Code § 58.1-3980; if it already has (as in this case), your remaining option is to appeal to circuit court under Va. Code § 58.1-3984.

Citations and references

Statutes and regulations:

• Va. Code § 58.1-3983.1 D -- the Department's appeal jurisdiction over local taxes is limited to business and mobile property tax assessments
• Va. Code § 58.1-1821 -- general 90-day administrative appeal process for taxes the Department administers (cited by the county, but not applicable here)
• Va. Code § 58.1-3980 -- direct local appeal process for tangible personal property tax assessments
• Va. Code § 58.1-3984 -- circuit court appeal process for local tax assessments

Prior rulings referenced (described here, not linked): P.D. 17-142 (8/7/2017) and P.D. 18-205 (12/10/2018) -- both confirm that neither "business" nor "mobile property" tax, as used in the Department's jurisdictional statute, includes tangible personal property tax assessed against an individual's personal vehicle.

Source

• Landing page: Virginia Laws, Rules & Decisions
• Ruling: P.D. 23-128

Original ruling text

November 30, 2023

Re: Notice of Jurisdiction

Dear *:

This notice of jurisdiction is issued upon the application for correction filed by * (the “Taxpayer”) with the Department. The Taxpayer appeals the assessment of tangible personal property tax issued to her by *** (the “County”) for the 2022 and 2023 tax years.

The following determination is based on the facts presented to the Department summarized below. The Code of Virginia sections and public documents cited are available on-line at www.tax.virginia.gov in the Laws, Rules and Decisions section of the Department’s web site.

FACTS

The County issued assessments of tangible personal property tax on the Taxpayer’s personal vehicle for the 2022 and 2023 tax years. The Taxpayer appealed the assessments to the County, contending her vehicle was garaged in * (the “City”) and, accordingly, she paid personal property tax to the City. The County issued a final determination denying the Taxpayer’s appeal and advising her that she could file an appeal with the Department under Virginia Code § 58.1-1821.

ANALYSIS

Under Virginia Code § 58.1-3983.1 D, the Department’s jurisdiction over appeals and rulings of local taxes is limited to final local determinations concerning local business and mobile property tax assessments. See Public Document (P.D.) 17-142 (8/7/2017) and P.D. 18-205 (12/10/2018). Neither business nor mobile property taxes include tangible personal property taxes assessed against an individual’s personal vehicle.

DETERMINATION

Based on applicable law, an assessment of tangible personal property tax on a personal vehicle is not an assessment of tax over which the Department has jurisdiction to hear an appeal. Taxpayers may appeal an assessment of tangible personal property tax either directly to the locality pursuant to Virginia Code § 58.1-3980, or to the circuit court under the provisions of Virginia Code § 58.1-3984. In this case, because the County has issued a final determination, the Taxpayer’s only remaining avenue for relief is to appeal to the circuit court.

If you have any questions regarding this determination, you may contact * in the Office of Tax Policy, Appeals and Rulings, at ***.

Sincerely,

Craig M. Burns

Tax Commissioner

AR/4657.X

Related Documents

17-142

18-205