Property tax in Rockbridge County, Virginia
In Rockbridge County, the property tax bill comes from the Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Rockbridge County, Virginia is $1,492 a year, which is about 0.6% of the county's median home value of $248,800. That effective rate is about the same as 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 Rockbridge County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Rockbridge County Treasurer. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Rockbridge 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 values property and keeps the land records; the Treasurer sends the bills and collects. Real estate is billed in two halves, and new construction or a correction of an earlier underbilling produces a separate supplemental bill with its own due date. Homes inside the Town of Glasgow also owe a town real estate tax set by the town; the county has not said whether its bill includes it, so check with the town. The Town of Goshen levies no real estate tax. Lexington and Buena Vista are independent cities with their own tax bills. Online payments carry a convenience fee.
When are property taxes due in Rockbridge County?
For the 2026 bill, Rockbridge County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due June 18, 2026 and the last December 5, 2026. The next one due is the second half, on December 5, 2026. A 10% penalty is added to any installment not paid when due. Interest of 10% a year on the unpaid tax and penalty starts on January 1 of the year after the installment was due, for both the June and the December installment. Delinquent real estate taxes for 2024 and earlier are collected by the county's collection agent, Tax Authority Consulting Services, not through the county's online payment site.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First half | June 18, 2026 (passed) | The usual first-half due date is June 5; the county extended it to June 18 for 2026. |
| Second half | December 5, 2026 | December 5, 2026 is a Saturday. The county's pages do not restate a weekend rule, but Virginia law (Code of Virginia section 1-210 E) lets a payment due on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday be made on the next business day, so a payment made on Monday, December 7, 2026 is on time. |
From Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Rockbridge County's average effective rate of 0.6% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $1,493 / year
Property tax in Rockbridge County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $1,492 |
| Median home value | $248,800 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.6% |
| 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 Rockbridge County compare in Virginia?
Among Virginia's 133 counties, Rockbridge County has the 68th highest effective property-tax rate: 67 rank higher and 65 rank lower. That is near the middle for Virginia. Nationally, it ranks 2283rd of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Virginia county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Rockbridge County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Rockbridge County's 7,572 owner-occupied homes, 16.7% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 32.7% pay at least $2,000, and 20.5% pay under $800. Another 1.5% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 1,553 | 20.5% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 2,205 | 29.1% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 1,227 | 16.2% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 1,213 | 16% |
| $3,000 or more | 1,264 | 16.7% |
| No property tax paid | 110 | 1.5% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,592 and owners without one pay $1,408. 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 Rockbridge County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $1,492 is about 2.1% of the median income of Rockbridge County homeowner households, $70,722 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 79.3% of Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge County?
Yes. The median bill went from $1,344 in 2015-2019 to $1,492 in 2020-2024, a 11% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 24.6%, from $199,600 to $248,800. 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 Rockbridge County
Rockbridge County borders 9 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista city, VA | 0.91% | $1,421 | $156,200 |
| Lexington city, VA | 0.81% | $2,224 | $275,200 |
| Alleghany County, VA | 0.79% | $1,000 | $125,800 |
| Botetourt County, VA | 0.64% | $1,862 | $289,200 |
| Rockbridge County, VA (this county) | 0.6% | $1,492 | $248,800 |
| Nelson County, VA | 0.5% | $1,622 | $321,700 |
| Augusta County, VA | 0.47% | $1,446 | $306,100 |
| Amherst County, VA | 0.46% | $975 | $212,400 |
| Bedford County, VA | 0.43% | $1,285 | $297,400 |
| Bath County, VA | 0.39% | $797 | $206,700 |
How is a home assessed in Rockbridge County?
Virginia assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Rockbridge County included. How Virginia assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge County. Virginia's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the Virginia programs, Rockbridge County runs its own:
- Real Estate Tax Relief for the Elderly and Disabled: For an owner aged 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled, who lives in the home, with household income of no more than $50,000 (county code allows a higher federal housing-assistance limit for the family's size where that is greater) and net worth of no more than $200,000 (not counting the home and up to two acres): the county relieves 80% of the real estate tax on the home and up to two acres at income of $18,000 or less, 60% at $18,001 to $28,000, 40% at $28,001 to $38,000, and 20% above that. The relief is forfeited if the remaining tax is not paid by December 5. Apply by Between January 1 and April 1; county code says the filing must be made before April 1, so file by March 31 to be safe. The Commissioner of the Revenue may extend the deadline to June 30 for first-time applicants or cases of hardship..
How to appeal your Rockbridge County property assessment
In Rockbridge County you appeal to the Rockbridge County Commissioner of the Revenue, then the Circuit Court (the Board of Equalization sits only after a general reassessment). The deadline: Rockbridge reassesses all real estate every six years; the last general reassessment took effect for 2023, and the Board of Equalization hears appeals only after a general reassessment. In other years, an owner who believes the Commissioner of the Revenue made an error in an assessment (for example, in valuing new construction) can apply to the Commissioner for a correction within three years from the end of the tax year, or one year from the date of the assessment if that is later. An appeal to the Circuit Court has the same time limit. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against state law, because Rockbridge County does not restate them on its own pages.
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 Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Rockbridge 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.