Property tax in Nelson County, Virginia
In Nelson County, the property tax bill comes from the Nelson County Treasurer. The 2026 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due December 5, 2026. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Nelson County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Nelson County, Virginia is $1,622 a year, which is about 0.5% of the county's median home value of $321,700. 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 Nelson County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Nelson County Treasurer. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Nelson County Commissioner of the Revenue, 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 keeps the real estate records and runs the elderly and disabled relief program; the Treasurer sends the bill and collects it. The 2026 general reassessment was done by the county's contract appraiser, Wampler-Eanes Appraisal Group, and its values took effect January 1, 2026, so 2026 bills are the first on the new values. Mailed payments go to Nelson County Treasurer, P.O. Box 100, Lovingston, VA 22949, and there is a drop box at the Courthouse (no cash).
When are property taxes due in Nelson County?
For the 2026 bill, Nelson County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due June 5, 2026 and the last December 5, 2026. The next one due is the second half, on December 5, 2026. A penalty of 10% of the unpaid tax is added the day after the due date and becomes part of the tax. Interest of 10% a year starts the day after the last day of the month the tax was due, so July 1 for the June bill and January 1 for the December bill. From the second year of delinquency the rate is 10% or the federal underpayment rate, whichever is higher.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First half | June 5, 2026 (passed) | Half of the year's real estate tax is due on or before June 5. |
| Second half | December 5, 2026 | December 5, 2026 is a Saturday. County code says a due date that falls on a day county offices are closed moves to the next day they are open, and the Treasurer's Office is open Monday through Friday, so a payment made on Monday, December 7, 2026 is on time. |
From Nelson 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 Nelson County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Nelson County's average effective rate of 0.5% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $1,609 / year
Property tax in Nelson County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $1,622 |
| Median home value | $321,700 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.5% |
| 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 Nelson County compare in Virginia?
Among Virginia's 133 counties, Nelson County has the 110th highest effective property-tax rate: 109 rank higher and 23 rank lower. That is on the lower side for Virginia. Nationally, it ranks 2646th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Virginia county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Nelson County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Nelson County's 5,070 owner-occupied homes, 20.5% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 39.5% pay at least $2,000, and 22% pay under $800. Another 1.1% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 1,115 | 22% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 1,228 | 24.2% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 666 | 13.1% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 963 | 19% |
| $3,000 or more | 1,040 | 20.5% |
| No property tax paid | 58 | 1.1% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,739 and owners without one pay $1,465. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.
How does the Nelson County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $1,622 is about 1.9% of the median income of Nelson County homeowner households, $86,277 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 79.7% of Nelson 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 Nelson County?
The survey cannot tell. The median bill was $1,419 in 2015-2019 and $1,622 in 2020-2024, but that $203 difference is inside the Census's own margin of error for a county this size, so it could be sampling noise rather than a real change.
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 Nelson County
Nelson County borders 6 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albemarle County, VA | 0.75% | $3,719 | $495,400 |
| Rockbridge County, VA | 0.6% | $1,492 | $248,800 |
| Appomattox County, VA | 0.52% | $1,073 | $207,600 |
| Buckingham County, VA | 0.52% | $906 | $173,400 |
| Nelson County, VA (this county) | 0.5% | $1,622 | $321,700 |
| Augusta County, VA | 0.47% | $1,446 | $306,100 |
| Amherst County, VA | 0.46% | $975 | $212,400 |
How is a home assessed in Nelson County?
Virginia assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Nelson County included. How Virginia assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Nelson 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 Nelson County. Virginia's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the Virginia programs, Nelson County runs its own:
- Real estate tax exemption for the elderly and disabled: For an owner who is at least 65 (as of May 15 of the tax year) or permanently and totally disabled and lives in the home as the sole dwelling, with combined household income of no more than $75,000 and net worth of no more than $125,000 (not counting the home and up to one acre): the county exempts 10% to 80% of the real estate tax, depending on income and net worth. Apply by Between January 2 and February 15 each year.
How to appeal your Nelson County property assessment
In Nelson County you appeal to the Nelson County Board of Equalization (after an informal review by the county's reassessment office). The deadline: Nelson County reassesses every four years. For the 2026 reassessment, notices were mailed in late November 2025, informal appeals to the reassessment office had to be received by December 18, 2025, and applications to the Board of Equalization were due April 15, 2026 (county code sets April 15 of the year after a general reassessment, moved to the next business day if it falls on a weekend or holiday). Those deadlines have passed. Under state law, an owner who believes an assessment is wrong can still apply to the Commissioner of the Revenue for a correction, or to the Circuit Court, within three years after the end of the tax year. 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 Nelson 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 Nelson County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Nelson 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.