Property tax in Preston County, West Virginia
In Preston County, the property tax bill comes from the Preston County Sheriff's Tax Office (the Sheriff serves as County Treasurer). 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 Preston County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Preston County, West Virginia is $793 a year, which is about 0.49% of the county's median home value of $162,800. That effective rate is about the same as 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 Preston County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Preston County Sheriff's Tax Office (the Sheriff serves as County Treasurer). The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Preston 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, acting as county Treasurer, sends the bill and collects it. Bills are mailed each July, and taxes are assessed to whoever owned the property on July 1 of the year before, so a buyer's first bill after closing may go to the seller. The Sheriff's Tax Office is at 106 West Main Street, Suite 102, Kingwood, and takes payment online through the county's tax portal. If you live in one of the county's towns, such as Kingwood or Terra Alta, 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 Preston County?
For the 2026 bill, Preston 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.
| 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 Preston 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 Preston County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Preston County's average effective rate of 0.49% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $798 / year
Property tax in Preston County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $793 |
| Median home value | $162,800 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.49% |
| 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 Preston County compare in West Virginia?
Among West Virginia's 55 counties, Preston County has the 29th highest effective property-tax rate: 28 rank higher and 26 rank lower. That is near the middle for West Virginia. Nationally, it ranks 2676th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every West Virginia county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Preston County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Preston County's 10,438 owner-occupied homes, 2.2% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 7.8% pay at least $2,000, and 49% pay under $800. Another 3.2% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 5,110 | 49% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 3,612 | 34.6% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 566 | 5.4% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 582 | 5.6% |
| $3,000 or more | 234 | 2.2% |
| No property tax paid | 334 | 3.2% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,024 and owners without one pay $629. 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 Preston County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $793 is about 1.2% of the median income of Preston County homeowner households, $68,502 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 81.5% of Preston 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 Preston County?
Yes. The median bill went from $530 in 2015-2019 to $793 in 2020-2024, a 49.6% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 41.2%, from $115,300 to $162,800. 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 Preston County
Preston County borders 7 counties, 2 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fayette County, PA | 1.12% | $1,607 | $143,200 |
| Garrett County, MD | 0.78% | $1,836 | $235,300 |
| Taylor County, WV | 0.54% | $797 | $148,800 |
| Preston County, WV (this county) | 0.49% | $793 | $162,800 |
| Monongalia County, WV | 0.47% | $1,248 | $267,700 |
| Barbour County, WV | 0.43% | $562 | $131,900 |
| Tucker County, WV | 0.37% | $575 | $154,800 |
| Grant County, WV | 0.31% | $540 | $175,100 |
How is a home assessed in Preston County?
West Virginia assesses homes at 60% of market value in every county, Preston County included. How West Virginia assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Preston 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 Preston County. West Virginia's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Preston County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the West Virginia ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Preston County property assessment
In Preston County you appeal to the Preston 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 that informal appeals on value be completed by January 31, and the board hears appeals in February by appointment. 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 Preston 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 Preston County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Preston 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.