Property tax in Petersburg city, Virginia

Who sends the property tax bill in Petersburg city, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the City of Petersburg Customer Care and Collections Division. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the City of Petersburg City Assessor's Office, 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.

Petersburg is an independent city, so there is no separate county bill: the city values the home, bills it and collects it. Values are set as of January 1 and take effect for bills on July 1. Because the city bills four times a year, check that your mortgage company paid every quarter; in March 2026 the city's vendor mailed every bill to owners, including those paid through escrow. Card payments carry a 3% fee; electronic checks are free. Mailed payments go to P.O. Box 1271, Petersburg, VA 23804.

When are property taxes due in Petersburg city?

For the FY2027 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027) bill, Petersburg city splits the bill into 4 payments, the first due September 30, 2026 and the last June 30, 2027. The next one due is the second quarter, on December 31, 2026.

From Petersburg city's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. The county had not posted a calendar labeled for this cycle when we checked, so these dates come from state law and the county's standing schedule; the date on your bill is the one that binds you.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Petersburg city

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Petersburg city's average effective rate of 0.81% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Property tax in Petersburg city at a glance

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 Petersburg city compare in Virginia?

Among Virginia's 133 counties, Petersburg city has the 26th highest effective property-tax rate: 25 rank higher and 107 rank lower. That is on the higher side for Virginia. Nationally, it ranks 1568th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Virginia county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Petersburg city actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Petersburg city's 5,846 owner-occupied homes, 12.4% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 26.7% pay at least $2,000, and 15.2% pay under $800. Another 8.9% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,594 and owners without one pay $1,416. 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 Petersburg city property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $1,523 is about 2.3% of the median income of Petersburg city homeowner households, $67,054 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 38.6% of Petersburg city's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.

Have property taxes gone up in Petersburg city?

Yes. The median bill went from $1,302 in 2015-2019 to $1,523 in 2020-2024, a 17% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 74.8%, from $108,100 to $189,000. 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 Petersburg city

Petersburg city borders 4 counties.

How is a home assessed in Petersburg city?

Virginia assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Petersburg city included. How Virginia assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Petersburg city?

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 Petersburg city. Virginia's exemptions and relief programs in full.

On top of the Virginia programs, Petersburg city runs its own:

• Real Estate Tax Relief for the Elderly or Disabled: For an owner 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled, who lives in the home, with household income of no more than $50,000 and net worth of no more than $80,000 not counting the home and up to one acre. The city ordinance gives 100% relief at the lowest incomes (it names $30,000) and 50% relief at incomes of $35,001 to $50,000, up to $1,700 a year. A new application is required every year, filed with the Commissioner of the Revenue between January 1 and May 1. Apply by May 1.
• Rehabilitation Tax Exemption: For a residential building at least 50 years old (25 years in the Enterprise Zone and certain historic districts) whose rehabilitation raises its assessed value by at least 40%, the increase in value is exempt from tax for five years starting the July 1 after the work is done; apply to the City Assessor with a $125 fee after the building permit is issued and before work starts, and finish within two years.

How to appeal your Petersburg city property assessment

In Petersburg city you appeal to the Petersburg Board of Equalization (after an optional office review by the City Assessor's Office). The deadline: An office review must be requested by March 1 of the assessment year, or within 30 days of the date of a notice of change in assessment. An appeal to the Board of Equalization must be filed by April 1 of the assessment year, or within 60 days of the date of a notice of change in assessment. General reassessments take place every two years, in even-numbered years; for the 2026 reassessment, notices were mailed January 21, 2026. A further appeal goes to the Circuit Court. 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

• How much house can I afford?

  Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Petersburg city's tax rate to hand.

• Mortgage calculator

  Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.

• Virginia income tax

  Brackets, standard deduction and what Virginia actually taxes.

• Sales tax in Petersburg city

  The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.