You May be Eligible for Real Estate Tax Relief if you Qualify:
Tax Relief for Seniors and People with Disabilities
Fairfax County provides real estate tax relief and car tax relief to citizens who are either 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled, and meet the income and asset eligibility requirements.
Qualified taxpayers may also be eligible for tax relief for renters.
Disabled Veterans or Surviving Spouse Exemption
In order to qualify for this exemption, the military veteran must be rated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor agency to have a 100% service-connected, permanent, and total disability and must occupy the property as his or her principal residence.
Exemption for Surviving Spouse of a Member of the U.S. Armed Forces Killed in Action
If you are a surviving spouse of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces who has been killed in action, your principal residence may be eligible for an exemption of your real estate taxes on your home and up to one acre in Virginia. You are not eligible for this tax exemption if you have remarried.
Exemption for Surviving Spouse of a First Responder Killed in the Line of Duty
If you are a surviving spouse of a First Responder who has been killed in the Line of Duty, your principal residence may be eligible for an exemption of your real estate taxes on your home and up to one acre in Virginia. You are not eligible for this tax exemption if you have remarried.
Property Exempt by State Law
The Code of Virginia, Title 58.1, Chapter 36, outlines property that is exempt from taxation.
Exempt by Classification and designation
Property exempt by classification and by designation includes "property used by its owner for religious, charitable, patriotic, historical, benevolent, cultural, or public park and playground purposes, as may be provided by classification or designation by an ordinance adopted by the local governing body and subject to such restrictions and conditions as provided by general law." -Constitution of Virginia, Article X, Section 6 (a) (6)
See the Code of Virginia, Title 58.1, Chapter 36, for a list of exempt property classes and a list of exempt organizations, corporations and associations.
An Application for Exemption from Real Estate Taxation form is available on the tax forms page.
Other Exempt Property
Solar Energy Equipment Tax Exemption
Property owners can qualify for a tax exemption for the installation of solar equipment that is designed and used primarily for the collection and use of solar energy for water heating, space heating or cooling, or other applications which would otherwise require a conventional source of energy.
Qualifying solar energy systems include solar heating and hot water systems, passive solar energy systems, south facing windows used as solar collectors, trombe walls (a sun facing wall designed to collect solar energy and act as a thermal mass for heating the structure), greenhouses integrated into the heating system of the structure, thermal storage systems, movable insulation, and shading devices designed primarily for shading windows to assist in summer cooling.