Caroline County, Virginia Tax Rates

Caroline County Tax Rates - At a Glance

Caroline County Current Tax Rates Summary (TY2025)

Tax Type	County Rate (per $100)	Notes
Real Estate	$0.520	Assessed at 100% fair market value; Bowling Green overlay (+$0.130) inside the town limits
General Personal Property	$3.500	Personal use vehicle rate may differ; prorated by month - confirm with the Commissioner of the Revenue
Machinery and Tools	$3.500	County levy
Merchants' Capital	$0.000	Caroline uses Business TPP instead, under § 58.1-3508.1
Sales Tax	5.3% (4.3% state + 1.0% local; not in a regional transportation district; qualifying groceries 1.0%)

Real estate, general TPP, Machinery and Tools, and Merchants' Capital rates from the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025 (Tables 1 and 3). Proration, filing deadline, and due dates verified directly with the Caroline County Commissioner of the Revenue and Treasurer (co.caroline.va.us). The personal use vehicle-specific rate, PPTRA percentage, and personal property assessment ratio are pending direct confirmation with the county.

Real Estate Tax

Rate and Assessment

Caroline County's real estate tax rate was $0.520 per $100 of assessed value countywide for tax year 2025, as reported in the Virginia Department of Taxation Local Tax Rates Survey Table 1 (County Levies) and corroborated by the Caroline County Commissioner of the Revenue. The rate is set annually by the Caroline County Board of Supervisors, normally in April. Virginia real estate is assessed at 100% fair market value, as required by Code of Virginia § 58.1-3201, with January 1 as the assessing date.

Caroline County does not appear in DOT Table 4 (County District Levies), so there are no countywide sanitary, transportation, or special-service district levies. Outside the limits of the Town of Bowling Green, parcels pay only the $0.520 county rate.

Verification note: The county real estate rate is from the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey (tax year 2025), corroborated by the county. Real estate due dates and the general reassessment cycle are pending direct confirmation with the Caroline County Commissioner of the Revenue. Verify the current adopted rate and due dates before making financial decisions.

Incorporated Towns: Bowling Green and Port Royal

Caroline County has two incorporated towns. The Virginia DOT TY2025 Table 3 lists a Bowling Green town overlay that sits on top of the county rate inside the town limits; Port Royal had no published town levy for tax year 2025.

Caroline County Town Overlays (TY2025 per DOT Table 3, per $100 assessed value)

Town	Real Estate	Tangible Personal Property	Machinery & Tools	Merchants' Capital
Bowling Green (county seat)	$0.130	$0.720	$0.720	$0.720
Port Royal	$0.000	$0.000	$0.000	$0.000

Combined real estate rate inside the Town of Bowling Green: $0.520 (county) + $0.130 (town) = $0.650/$100. Town overlays are charged in addition to the county rate. Verify current town rates with the Town of Bowling Green before making financial decisions.

Exemptions and Relief Programs

Caroline County offers tax relief programs for qualifying senior citizens and disabled residents. Disabled veterans who are 100% service-connected disabled may qualify for a full real estate tax exemption on their primary residence under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3219.5. Contact the Caroline County Commissioner of the Revenue for current eligibility thresholds and procedures.

Source: Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025 (pdfplumber extraction) and the Caroline County Commissioner of the Revenue.

Vehicle Personal Property (Car) Tax

Rate and Assessment Method

Caroline County's general personal property tax rate was $3.500 per $100 of assessed value countywide for tax year 2025, as reported in the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey. Under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3503, localities assess vehicles using a recognized pricing guide as of January 1 of the tax year.

Important note on rate classification: The Caroline County Commissioner of the Revenue states that the personal property tax rate "may vary according to category." The Virginia DOT survey reports the general tangible personal property rate, and the current personal use vehicle rate in Caroline County may differ from the $3.500 general rate. Contact the Caroline County Commissioner of the Revenue to confirm the rate that applies to your vehicle.

Proration, Filing, and Due Dates

Caroline County has prorated personal property tax by month since 2013. Tax on a motor vehicle, trailer, boat, boat motor, motor home, or camping trailer is due only for the months you own the property and have it registered in the county. Taxpayers must file with the Commissioner of the Revenue by February 1 for property owned on January 1; property subject to proration must be filed within 30 days of purchase or move-in. Personal property taxes are billed in two equal semi-annual installments due June 5 and December 5. A late filing penalty of 10% (minimum $10) and a late payment penalty of 10% apply, with interest at 10% per year on the tax and penalty.

PPTRA Relief

Virginia's Personal Property Tax Relief Act (PPTRA), Code of Virginia § 58.1-3524, provides partial state-funded relief on the first $20,000 of assessed value for qualifying personal use vehicles. Virginia distributes a fixed annual block grant among all localities, and Caroline County calculates its annual PPTRA relief percentage from its share of that grant. This percentage changes each year. For a deeper explanation of how PPTRA works, see our Virginia PPTRA explained guide.

Personal use vehicle-specific rate, PPTRA percentage, and personal property assessment ratio pending official confirmation. Contact the Caroline County Commissioner of the Revenue (804-633-1087) to confirm the current-year vehicle personal property tax rate, the relief percentage, and the assessment method. Proration, filing deadline, and due dates verified directly with the county (co.caroline.va.us).

Machinery, Tools, and Merchants' Capital

Caroline County levies a Machinery and Tools tax of $3.500 per $100 of assessed value for tax year 2025 per Virginia DOT - the same as its general tangible personal property rate. The county levies no Merchants' Capital tax ($0.000): like most Virginia counties, Caroline substituted a Business Tangible Personal Property tax for the older Merchants' Capital tax under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3508.1. Businesses operating in Caroline County should contact the Commissioner of the Revenue for Business TPP and Machinery and Tools filing requirements.

Source: Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025 Table 1 (pdfplumber extraction).

Sales Tax

Rate and Composition

The combined sales tax rate in Caroline County is 5.3%. Caroline County is not within the Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, or Central Virginia regional transportation districts, so no 0.7% regional levy applies. The standard Virginia statewide rate applies countywide.

Caroline County Sales Tax Rate Breakdown

Component	Rate
Virginia state rate	4.3%
Local rate	1.0%
Combined rate	5.3%

Qualifying food and grocery items are subject to Virginia's reduced 1.0% rate. Adjacent live jurisdiction Spotsylvania County (north) is also at 5.3%. Note that Hanover County to the south is in the Central Virginia 6.0% region, so a shopper crossing into Hanover sees a higher rate.

Source: Virginia Department of Taxation - Retail Sales and Use Tax (tax.virginia.gov)

Geography and Context: The I-95 Corridor

Caroline County lies along the Interstate 95 corridor in the Fredericksburg region, roughly midway between Fredericksburg and Richmond, which makes it a growing commuter and residential county. It borders live Spotsylvania County to the north and live Hanover County to the south, along with King George, Essex, and King William counties. The county was formed in 1728 and named for Caroline of Ansbach, queen consort of King George II. The county seat is the Town of Bowling Green; the other incorporated town is Port Royal on the Rappahannock River.

Caroline County is home to Fort Walker (the U.S. Army installation renamed in 2023 from Fort A.P. Hill), a major training and maneuver facility, as well as the Meadow Event Park area. Its position on the I-95 and U.S. Route 1 corridors continues to drive residential growth from both the Fredericksburg and Richmond job markets.

Disambiguation: Caroline County, Virginia is a distinct I-95 corridor county between Fredericksburg and Richmond. It should not be confused with Caroline County, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore. The county seat is the Town of Bowling Green, not to be confused with Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Adjacent jurisdictions: Spotsylvania County (live; north), Hanover County (live; south), with King George County (northeast), Essex County (east), and King William County (southeast) currently unbuilt.

Fredericksburg-Richmond Corridor Context

Caroline County connects the live Fredericksburg-area cluster to the live Richmond-area cluster on CountyTaxTools. To the north, live Spotsylvania County, Stafford County, and the City of Fredericksburg share Caroline's 5.3% sales tax. To the south, live Hanover County and the broader Richmond metro (Henrico, Chesterfield, Richmond City) sit in the Central Virginia 6.0% sales-tax region. Caroline's $0.520 real estate rate is moderate for the corridor, sitting below Spotsylvania and Hanover, which reflects its more rural land base outside the I-95 growth nodes.