Property tax in Amherst County, Virginia
In Amherst County, the property tax bill comes from the Amherst County Treasurer's Office. The 2026 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due December 7, 2026. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Amherst County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Amherst County, Virginia is $975 a year, which is about 0.46% of the county's median home value of $212,400. That effective rate is lower than the typical Virginia county (0.6%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in Amherst County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Amherst County Treasurer's Office. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Amherst County Commissioner of the Revenue, Real Estate and Mapping Division, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
The Commissioner of the Revenue values property and the Treasurer collects the tax. New values from the county's general reassessment, done every six years by a contracted firm, took effect for 2026. The Town of Amherst levies no town real estate tax, so homes in the town get only the county bill.
When are property taxes due in Amherst County?
For the 2026 bill, Amherst County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due July 1, 2026 and the last December 7, 2026. The next one due is the second installment, on December 7, 2026. An installment not paid by its due date is past due, and the county adds a penalty of 10% of the amount past due. Interest of 10% a year then runs on the unpaid tax and penalty starting the day after the due date. An older general section of the county code still says interest starts on the first day of the following month, but it also still names the June 5 due date that the county replaced in 2021; the real estate section amended in 2021 sets the day after the due date.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First installment | July 1, 2026 (passed) | The yearly tax is billed in two equal installments, due July 1 and December 5 under the county code. |
| Second installment | December 7, 2026 | The usual second-installment due date is December 5. December 5, 2026 is a Saturday, and the Treasurer's Office says second-installment bills, mailed September 30, 2026, are due on or before Monday, December 7, 2026. |
From Amherst County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Amherst County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Amherst County's average effective rate of 0.46% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $977 / year
Property tax in Amherst County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $975 |
| Median home value | $212,400 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.46% |
| Typical Virginia county rate | 0.6% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does Amherst County compare in Virginia?
Among Virginia's 133 counties, Amherst County has the 122nd highest effective property-tax rate: 121 rank higher and 11 rank lower. That places it among the least taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 2772nd of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Virginia county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Amherst County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Amherst County's 10,262 owner-occupied homes, 3.8% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 12% pay at least $2,000, and 33.6% pay under $800. Another 4.3% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 3,449 | 33.6% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 3,935 | 38.3% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 1,206 | 11.8% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 842 | 8.2% |
| $3,000 or more | 389 | 3.8% |
| No property tax paid | 441 | 4.3% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,004 and owners without one pay $940. That is within 10% either way, so in Amherst County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the Amherst County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $975 is about 1.3% of the median income of Amherst County homeowner households, $74,545 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 80.8% of Amherst County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in Amherst County?
Yes. The median bill went from $868 in 2015-2019 to $975 in 2020-2024, a 12.3% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 36.5%, from $155,600 to $212,400. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to Amherst County
Amherst County borders 6 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lynchburg city, VA | 0.79% | $1,804 | $229,800 |
| Rockbridge County, VA | 0.6% | $1,492 | $248,800 |
| Appomattox County, VA | 0.52% | $1,073 | $207,600 |
| Nelson County, VA | 0.5% | $1,622 | $321,700 |
| Amherst County, VA (this county) | 0.46% | $975 | $212,400 |
| Campbell County, VA | 0.45% | $950 | $211,600 |
| Bedford County, VA | 0.43% | $1,285 | $297,400 |
How is a home assessed in Amherst County?
Virginia assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Amherst County included. How Virginia assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Amherst County?
No. Virginia has no general homestead exemption; relief is limited to the elderly and disabled, disabled veterans, and surviving spouses of service members and first responders killed in the line of duty. That is the Virginia rule, and it applies in Amherst County. Virginia's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the Virginia programs, Amherst County runs its own:
- Real Estate Tax Relief for the Elderly and Disabled: For an owner who is 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled, by December 31 of the prior year and lives in the home as their only dwelling, with household income of $50,000 or less (or a higher federal housing income limit for the household's size, where that applies; the first $6,500 of each other relative's income is not counted) and net worth of $150,000 or less not counting the home and up to one acre: the county exempts part of the tax on the home and up to one acre on a sliding scale by income and net worth, from 100% down to 5%, capped at $600 a year. A new application is required every year. Apply by March 31 (applications are accepted from January 15).
How to appeal your Amherst County property assessment
In Amherst County you appeal to the Amherst County Board of Equalization (for the 2026 general reassessment). The deadline: Applications to the Board of Equalization for the 2026 reassessment are due by November 30, 2026. Call the County Administrator's office to apply. After the Board, or instead of it, Virginia law lets an owner apply to the Circuit Court within three years from the last day of the tax year the assessment is for, or within one year from the date of the assessment, whichever is later. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Virginia's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Virginia rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Virginia page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Amherst County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Virginia income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Virginia actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Amherst County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Amherst County, Virginia: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.