Property tax in Mercer County, West Virginia
In Mercer County, the property tax bill comes from the Mercer County Sheriff's Tax Office. The 2026 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due March 31, 2027. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Mercer County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Mercer County, West Virginia is $656 a year, which is about 0.54% of the county's median home value of $121,700. That effective rate is higher than the typical West Virginia county (0.49%) 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 Mercer County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Mercer County Sheriff's Tax Office. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Mercer County 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.
The county Assessor values property and the Sheriff's Tax Office sends the bill and collects it. Bills are mailed around July 15, based on the previous year's assessment of whoever owned the property on July 1, so a buyer's first bill after closing may go to the seller. The Sheriff's Tax Office at 1501 West Main Street, Princeton, takes cash, check and card in person (cards carry a fee), and the online portal charges 2.2% of the payment plus $1.00 per transaction. If you live in Princeton, Bluefield or another town in the county, the town's levy is on the same bill. State law requires you to keep paying each half on time while an assessment appeal is pending.
When are property taxes due in Mercer County?
For the 2026 bill, Mercer County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due September 30, 2026 and the last March 31, 2027. The next one due is the second half (last day to pay without interest), on March 31, 2027. Unpaid first-half taxes become delinquent October 1 and second-half taxes April 1, and interest of 9% a year is added from that date until paid. The county Assessor's calendar adds that taxes still unpaid after April 1 are published as delinquent and charged additional fees.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First half (last day to pay without interest) | September 30, 2026 (passed) | State law makes the first half payable September 1, 2026, with a 2.5% discount if paid on or before that date, which has passed. Without the discount, the first half can be paid through Wednesday, September 30, 2026; it becomes delinquent on October 1. A payment mailed with a U.S. postmark on or before the deadline counts as on time. |
| Second half (last day to pay without interest) | March 31, 2027 | Pay on or before Monday, March 1, 2027 to take the 2.5% discount on this half. Without the discount, it can be paid through Wednesday, March 31, 2027; it becomes delinquent on April 1, 2027. |
From Mercer County'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 Mercer County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Mercer County's average effective rate of 0.54% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $657 / year
Property tax in Mercer County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $656 |
| Median home value | $121,700 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.54% |
| Typical West Virginia county rate | 0.49% |
| 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 Mercer County compare in West Virginia?
Among West Virginia's 55 counties, Mercer County has the 17th highest effective property-tax rate: 16 rank higher and 38 rank lower. That is on the higher side for West Virginia. Nationally, it ranks 2512th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every West Virginia county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Mercer County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Mercer County's 17,652 owner-occupied homes, 2.3% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 6.1% pay at least $2,000, and 54.5% pay under $800. Another 9.9% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 9,618 | 54.5% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 4,329 | 24.5% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 869 | 4.9% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 670 | 3.8% |
| $3,000 or more | 411 | 2.3% |
| No property tax paid | 1,755 | 9.9% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $878 and owners without one pay $528. 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 Mercer County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $656 is about 1% of the median income of Mercer County homeowner households, $63,773 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 72.9% of Mercer 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 Mercer County?
Yes. The median bill went from $476 in 2015-2019 to $656 in 2020-2024, a 37.8% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 25.9%, from $96,700 to $121,700. Bills rose faster than values, which usually means local rates went up or an exemption shrank.
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 Mercer County
Mercer County borders 7 counties, 3 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDowell County, WV | 0.67% | $337 | $50,000 |
| Tazewell County, VA | 0.62% | $728 | $118,300 |
| Giles County, VA | 0.61% | $928 | $151,100 |
| Bland County, VA | 0.56% | $846 | $152,100 |
| Mercer County, WV (this county) | 0.54% | $656 | $121,700 |
| Raleigh County, WV | 0.5% | $754 | $150,900 |
| Wyoming County, WV | 0.45% | $369 | $82,900 |
| Summers County, WV | 0.31% | $439 | $140,100 |
How is a home assessed in Mercer County?
West Virginia assesses homes at 60% of market value in every county, Mercer County included. How West Virginia assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Mercer County?
Not as a dollar amount. A West Virginia home you own and live in is Class II property, whose combined levy rate is capped at half the rate on ordinary Class III and Class IV property. That is the West Virginia rule, and it applies in Mercer County. West Virginia's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Mercer County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the West Virginia ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Mercer County property assessment
In Mercer County you appeal to the Mercer County Commission sitting as the Board of Equalization and Review. The deadline: File a written protest with the clerk of the county commission, or with the West Virginia Office of Tax Appeals, no later than February 20 of the tax year; the window for the 2026 bill closed February 20, 2026. For the 2027 tax year, February 20, 2027 is a Saturday, and state law moves a deadline that falls on a weekend to the next business day, Monday, February 22, 2027; filing by Friday, February 19 avoids any question. The county Assessor asks you to contact its office before seeking a hearing; the board takes appointments in January, hears appeals in February, and asks for a certified appraisal no more than 3 years old plus your insurance information. The board meets starting no later than February 1, may end its session after February 15 and must end it by the last day of February; if it has already adjourned, file with the Office of Tax Appeals. A board decision can be appealed to the Office of Tax Appeals by March 31 of the tax year. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How West Virginia's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
West Virginia rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the West 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 Mercer 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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West Virginia income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what West Virginia actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Mercer County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Mercer County, West 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.