Loudoun County will implement changes to its vehicle personal property assessment schedule starting January 1, 2026. The update comes after a benchmarking study conducted by PFM Group Consulting compared Loudoun’s assessment methods with those used in other Virginia localities and evaluated their alignment with fair market value. The J.D. Power Official Used Car Guide will remain the primary source for most vehicle valuations, but new schedules will apply to certain vehicles not listed in the guide as well as to boats, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, heavy trucks, and pull-behind trailers.
Commissioner of the Revenue Robert S. Wertz Jr. stated that these updates are intended “to better reflect fair market value of vehicle personal property, promoting fairness and uniformity.” Taxpayers will see these changes on their personal property tax bills due May 5, 2026.
Virginia law requires local governments to tax tangible property uniformly within each classification and to base assessments on fair market value (VA Code §58.1-3503(B)). The new methodology addresses vehicles for which used sales data is limited or unavailable by shifting from valuation based on purchase price or Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) percentages to updated schedules.
For cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs not listed in the J.D. Power guide—often newer models—the new schedule assigns values based on a percentage of MSRP that decreases with vehicle age. For example, model year 2026 and subsequent vehicles will be valued at 95% of MSRP; model year 2025 at 90%; and model year 2024 at 80%.
Boats, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, and heavy trucks will now be assessed using specialized valuation guides such as the ABOS Marine Blue Book or J.D. Power Valuation Guide instead of a fixed percentage of purchase price.
Pull-behind trailers—including horse, utility, and tractor trailers—will continue to be valued using a percentage of purchase price but with updated rates that decrease more gradually over time.
Notices regarding these assessment schedule changes will begin reaching taxpayers December 1, 2025. Additional information is available online at loudoun.gov/cor or by contacting the Personal Property Tax Division in the Office of the Commissioner of the Revenue.
Loudoun County Public Schools District enrolled 82,028 students during the 2023-24 school year according to data from the Virginia Department of Education (https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home). Independence High School had the highest enrollment among Loudoun County schools that year with 2,080 students (https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home). White students made up the largest ethnic group at 40.4% of total enrollment while Asian students accounted for 26% (https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home). Total district enrollment decreased slightly by 0.1% compared to the previous year (https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home). Sugarland Elementary School enrolled the most pre-kindergarten students in Loudoun County during this period (https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home).
Anyone requiring reasonable accommodation or language assistance may contact county staff via email or phone.
