Richmond apartment property taxes are calculated by multiplying a building’s assessed value, set by the City Assessor at 100% of fair market value, by a real estate tax rate of $1.20 per $100 of value, the rate in effect for tax year 2026. For apartment buildings the assessed value is driven largely by income, so the rent roll and operating statement an owner keeps every month are also the most important inputs to the tax bill.
Several things make Richmond different from most Virginia localities right now: the city is an independent city with its own assessor, it skipped a reassessment cycle in 2026 to move to a fiscal-year calendar, and its council is debating whether to trim the rate for the first time since 2008. This guide covers each step, from valuation to payment and appeal.
Richmond is an independent city with its own assessor
Richmond is not part of any county. Under Virginia law, every city is an independent incorporated community, defined in Va. Code § 1-208, so properties inside city limits are taxed only by the City of Richmond, not also by Henrico or Chesterfield. The Census Bureau treats it as a county-equivalent.
Within city government, two offices share the work. The Office of the Assessor of Real Estate, led by Assessor Richie N. McKeithen and located in City Hall at 900 E. Broad Street, sets values under the direction of City Council. The Department of Finance sends bills and collects payments but does not set values. Knowing which office does what saves time: a question about value goes to the Assessor, and a question about a bill, a payment or a penalty goes to Finance.
The city’s tax base is large and mostly residential in character. Census figures estimate Richmond’s population at 237,257 as of July 1, 2025, and the 2020–2024 American Community Survey shows an owner-occupancy rate of 43.5%, which means about 56.5% of the city’s 104,321 households rent. Median gross rent over that period was $1,372, according to Census QuickFacts for Richmond.
The 2026 real estate tax rate and how bills are built
Richmond’s rate has been $1.20 per $100 of assessed value since 2008, and it remains $1.20 for tax year 2026 and in the FY2027 budget that City Council adopted 7–0 on May 11, 2026. The Finance Department’s real estate tax page lists the rate, due dates and penalties.
The arithmetic is simple. A 24-unit building assessed at $3,000,000 owes $3,000,000 ÷ 100 × $1.20, or $36,000 a year. Because value is assessed at 100% of fair market value, as required by Article X, Section 2 of the Virginia Constitution and Va. Code § 58.1-3201, there is no assessment ratio or homestead factor to apply in between. The value on the notice is the value that is taxed.
For scale, the city issued its 2026 bills on December 1, 2025: roughly 76,592 parcels with a total assessed value above $55.9 billion and about $530.7 million in expected revenue, according to the city’s announcement of the 2026 tax bills.
Why the rate stayed at $1.20
Virginia law pushes localities to roll back their rate after a reassessment. Under Va. Code § 58.1-3321, if a reassessment raises total levies by 1% or more, the governing body must lower the rate to offset the increase unless it holds a separate advertised public hearing. For 2026, local reporting put that rollback rate at about $1.146. On October 13, 2025, Council held the hearing and voted to keep $1.20; a proposal to cut to $1.16 received three votes, and the administration estimated it would have cost about $17.2 million.
The debate has continued into 2026. In July, the mayor said he would propose cutting the rate to $1.19 if voters approve a 1% sales tax for school construction on the November 3, 2026 ballot, and a separate council proposal seeks a four-cent cut for the 2028 tax year. Neither change has been adopted. For an owner, the practical point is that $1.20 is the rate to underwrite until Council acts.
What the city’s forecasts suggest
The budget picture explains why Council has been cautious. In October 2026, consultants advising the city projected a FY2028 deficit of about $17.3 million if the rate stays at $1.20, about $21.9 million at $1.19 and about $35.6 million at $1.16. The same forecast assumed tax-base growth of 4.5%, 6% and 6% over the next three budget cycles, with the 4.5% covering nearly two years of value change because of the skipped reassessment, and the Assessor pointed to a slowing market. These are forecasts rather than adopted numbers, but they suggest two things for apartment owners: assessments are still expected to rise, and any rate cut is likely to be small.
Put those together and the direction of a typical bill is easy to see. If a building’s assessment rises 6% while the rate stays at $1.20, the tax rises 6% too. A one-cent cut to $1.19 would offset less than 1% of that, because one cent is about 0.8% of $1.20. Owners budgeting for the next two or three years should therefore plan on higher tax bills even if a modest cut passes.
How the assessor values apartment buildings
Assessors can value property with the sales comparison, cost or income approach. For apartment buildings, the income approach usually carries the most weight, and Virginia law gives the Assessor a tool to gather the data for it.
The income and expense survey
Va. Code § 58.1-3294 allows the assessor to require owners of income-producing property to provide certified statements of income and expenses. Properties whose only income comes from four or fewer dwelling units are exempt, so buildings with five or more units are covered. The statements are confidential under § 58.1-3.
Richmond’s annual apartment income and expense survey, posted on the Assessor’s forms page, asks for:
- A rent roll in Excel, unit by unit, with unit size, room count, lease dates, rent and any additional charges.
- An income and expense statement for the same period.
- Amenity and parking charges.
- Whether the property sold in the last five years, and whether it carries a Section 42 low-income housing tax credit restriction.
The survey notes that IRS Form 8825 is not accepted as a substitute and that mortgage payments and depreciation should be excluded, because neither is an operating expense for valuation. Affordable housing properties use a separate state form. Completed surveys go to a dedicated multifamily email address listed on the form.
What happens if an owner does not respond
The consequence is about evidence, not a fine. Under § 58.1-3294, an owner who does not provide the requested statements cannot later use that income and expense information in a Circuit Court appeal of the assessment. The data can still be used before the Board of Equalization if it is submitted by the Board’s filing deadline. For an owner who may want to appeal, returning the survey keeps every option open.
How income turns into value
In simplified form, the income approach divides net operating income by a capitalization rate. If an assessor concludes that a building produces $240,000 of net operating income and applies a 6.5% capitalization rate, the indicated value is about $3.69 million, and the tax at $1.20 per $100 would be roughly $44,300. Errors in either input move the bill: an overstated vacancy assumption, a missing expense line or a capitalization rate drawn from newer properties can all push value up. That is why owners who appeal usually start by checking the assessor’s income model against their own trailing operating statement.
A calendar in transition
Owners who have tracked Richmond’s schedule for years should not rely on memory. The 2026 tax-year values were mailed in early September 2025, took effect January 1, 2026, and averaged an increase of about 5.7% citywide; published averages did not separate out multifamily property. Richmond then skipped its 2026 reassessment cycle so that assessments line up with the city’s July 1 to June 30 budget year.
The city’s own pages describe the new calendar in slightly different ways. The Assessor’s appeal process page now says notices go out on or about July 1 with values effective July 1, and the forms page listed a 2027 Office Review application open from July 31 to August 31, 2026. Local reporting in October 2026, meanwhile, said the next reassessments are expected in spring 2027. With dates shifting, the safest habit is to read every notice the moment it arrives, note the deadline printed on it, and confirm which tax year it covers with the Assessor’s office.
Paying the bill: due dates, penalties and interest
Richmond bills real estate tax in two halves. For tax year 2026 the installments are due January 14 and June 14. First-half payments due January 14, 2026 totaled about $256 million citywide. Bills must be sent at least 14 days before the due date, and the city aims for 30 days.
Late payment is expensive. The Finance Department applies a 10% penalty plus interest at 10% a year. On the $36,000 example above, each half is $18,000, so missing a due date adds an immediate $1,800 penalty before interest begins to run. Owners with mortgage escrow should still confirm that the lender paid on time, because the tax remains the owner’s obligation. As the city completes its move to a fiscal-year cycle, the due dates may change, so check the Finance page each year.
Appealing a Richmond apartment assessment
Richmond offers three levels of review, each with its own deadline and standard.
Step 1: Office review with the Assessor
An owner has 30 days from the notice date to request an office review. For income-producing property, the request must include a detailed income and expense report and a rent roll for the current year and the prior year. Many disputes end here, especially when the issue is a factual one such as unit count, square footage or a vacancy problem the assessor did not know about.
Step 2: Board of Equalization
If the office review does not resolve the dispute, the owner can go to the Board of Equalization, a three-member citizen board appointed by the Circuit Court. The 2027 application is due November 30, 2026, and hearings begin in January. Under Va. Code § 58.1-3379, the assessor’s value is presumed correct, and the Board can raise, lower or keep it. For multifamily property there is an added protection: if the assessor asks the Board to increase a value, the owner receives 14 days’ notice, and if the owner contests the increase, the assessor must withdraw it or support it with an independent appraisal.
Evidence matters at this stage. The Board’s 2027 application asks for comparable sales dated by July 1, 2026, so owners relying on sales evidence should pull qualifying transactions early. For an apartment building, the strongest packages usually combine those sales with the property’s actual operating history, showing where the assessor’s assumed rents, vacancy or expenses differ from what the building really produces.
Step 3: Circuit Court
The final step is a court appeal under Va. Code § 58.1-3984. It must be filed within three years from the last day of the tax year or one year from the assessment date, whichever is later. The assessor’s value is again presumed correct, and the owner must prove an error by a preponderance of the evidence. The city adds that an appeal for an earlier year requires a written notice of disagreement filed during that tax year.
The partial tax exemption for rehabilitated apartments
Richmond’s older, broader rehabilitation tax abatement was ended around 2019–2020. In its place, the city runs the Affordable Housing Partial Tax Exemption Program, authorized by Va. Code § 58.1-3220. For buildings with five or more units, the main requirements are:
- The building must be at least 20 years old.
- Rehabilitation must cost at least 40% of the building’s base value (the threshold is 20% for one to four units).
- At least 30% of units must be affordable to households at or below 80% of area median income, with rent no more than 30% of income.
- There is a $250 application fee, work must be finished within 24 months, and the exemption must be renewed each year by November 1.
The exemption equals the increase in assessed value caused by the rehab and lasts 15 years, starting January 1 after completion; commercial space does not qualify. As an example, if a building with a $1,000,000 base value receives a $450,000 renovation that raises its assessment by $500,000, the exempt amount is $500,000, which at $1.20 per $100 is $6,000 a year of tax not paid, or about $90,000 over 15 years at today’s rate. In July 2026 the city reported that the program had supported about 300 units over five years and said it plans to continue it.
What Richmond apartment property taxes mean for owners
Property tax is usually one of the largest line items in a Richmond apartment budget, and it is one of the few an owner can influence through documentation rather than spending. A few practical habits follow from the rules above:
- Answer the income and expense survey. It costs a few hours and preserves the right to use that data in court.
- Keep two years of clean statements. Office reviews for income property require current and prior-year rent rolls and operating statements.
- Calendar every deadline from the notice itself. With the assessment cycle moving, last year’s dates are not a safe guide.
- Underwrite at $1.20. Treat proposed rate cuts as upside until Council adopts them.
- Consider the rehab exemption before renovating. Its 40% cost threshold and 30% affordability requirement need to be designed in from the start.
Taxes also flow directly into value. At a 6% capitalization rate, every $1,000 of annual tax is worth roughly $16,700 of building value, which is why buyers rebuild the tax line carefully. For a comparison of how Virginia’s tax and rent rules stack up against other states, see our guide to rent control and property tax by state. Our Virginia market overview covers the rest of the state, and our Richmond market page has more on the local apartment market.
