Clarke County, Virginia Tax Rates

Clarke County Tax Rates - At a Glance

Clarke County 2025 Tax Rates Summary (Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025; assessment and payment details per the county Commissioner of the Revenue and Treasurer)

Tax Type	County Rate (per $100)	Notes
Real Estate	$0.451	Virginia DOT TY2025. 100% fair market value; 4-year reassessment, current effective 2025. Due June 5 + Dec 5.
Tangible Personal Property (general)	$4.496	General TPP rate (Virginia DOT TY2025). Vehicles at NADA trade-in value, prorated. Due June 5 + Dec 5.
Machinery and Tools	$2.00	Per Virginia DOT TY2025.
Merchants' Capital	$0.00	Clarke County does not levy a merchants' capital tax.
Town of Berryville (overlay)	RE +$0.139 / PP +$1.25 / M&T +$1.30	Town levy on top of county rates (verified at berryvilleva.gov). Town RE due June 5 + Dec 5; town PP due Dec 5.
Town of Boyce (overlay)	RE +$0.025 / PP +$0.60	Town levy on top of county rates, per DOT Table 3.
Sales Tax	5.3% (4.3% state + 1.0% local) - no regional district

The county rates above are from the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 (Table 1 county levies; Table 3 town levies) - Clarke County's own web pages describe assessment methods and due dates but do not publish the rate figures, so the DOT survey is the rate source pending county corroboration. The NADA trade-in assessment basis, proration rules, PPTRA variability, reassessment cycle, exemption parameters, and June 5 / December 5 due dates were verified directly on clarkecounty.gov (Commissioner of the Revenue and Treasurer pages). Berryville town rates were verified directly at berryvilleva.gov and match DOT Table 3 exactly. The current-year PPTRA percentage, the exact penalty and interest terms, and any vehicle license fee are pending direct confirmation - see Official Sources below.

Vehicle Personal Property (Car) Tax

Rate and Classification

Clarke County's general tangible personal property rate is $4.496 per $100 of assessed value, per the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025. This applies to automobiles, trucks, trailers, boats, motorcycles, and recreational vehicles. Virginia State Code § 58.1-3503 allows a governing body to classify personal-use vehicles separately; the DOT survey publishes the general nominal rate, and whether Clarke County applies a separate personal-use vehicle classification is pending confirmation with the Commissioner of the Revenue.

Assessment Method - NADA Trade-In Value

Clarke County assesses vehicles using the NADA annual guide's trade-in value (verified on the county's Personal Property page) - a notable taxpayer-favorable choice, since trade-in value runs below the loan and retail values used by many other Virginia localities. Other guides are used for some vehicle types. The county gives consideration for high mileage or poor condition, but the mileage amount must be provided by February 1 every year using the most recent inspection or garage service receipt.

Proration

Motor vehicles, trailers, and boats are prorated for tax based on the time they are actually in Clarke County - any period greater than two weeks counts as a full month. Vehicles arriving from non-prorating localities may owe a full year to the previous locality, and if a vehicle moves from Clarke to a non-prorating community, Clarke County taxes it for the entire year (verified county rules).

PPTRA Relief - Varies Annually

Qualifying personal-use vehicles receive Virginia's Personal Property Tax Relief (PPTRA) discount under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3524. Clarke County's published explanation is unusually candid: the discount is based on Virginia's fixed annual block grant, which the county divides by the number of eligible vehicles - so the discount percentage varies from year to year and is not published in advance. Vehicles used for business more than 50% of the time, exceeding 7,500 pounds gross weight, taking excessive federal income tax deductions, or farm-licensed are not eligible. Confirm the current-year percentage with the Commissioner of the Revenue at (540) 955-5108.

Due Dates

County personal property tax is due in two halves: June 5 and December 5, per the Clarke County Treasurer. Vehicles inside Berryville or Boyce town limits also owe the town personal property levy (Berryville's is due December 5).

Source: Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025 (general TPP $4.496) and the Clarke County Commissioner of the Revenue Personal Property page (clarkecounty.gov), verified June 2026. For a deeper explanation of PPTRA, see our Virginia PPTRA explained guide. The current-year PPTRA percentage, any separate personal-use vehicle rate, the penalty/interest terms, and any vehicle license fee are pending direct confirmation.

Real Estate Tax

Rate and Assessment

Clarke County's real estate tax rate is $0.451 per $100 of assessed value, per the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 - one of the lowest rates in the region. All real estate in Virginia is assessed at 100% of current market value; Clarke County hires an appraisal firm for a general reassessment every four years, and the current reassessment took effect in 2025 (verified on the county's Real Estate page). Reassessment values remain in place until the next reassessment, with the Commissioner of the Revenue assessing new construction between cycles. Property owners can appeal first to the reassessment team, then to a court-appointed Board of Equalization, and finally to the Circuit Court.

Due Dates, Penalty, and Interest

County real estate tax is due in two halves: June 5 and December 5, per the Clarke County Treasurer. Payments can be made online at tax.clarkecounty.gov (e-checks carry no processing fee) or at the Treasurer's Office, 101 Chalmers Court, Berryville. The exact late-payment penalty and interest terms are pending direct confirmation; under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3916, Virginia localities commonly apply a 10% penalty and 10% annual interest on unpaid balances.

Exemptions and Relief Programs

Clarke County offers real estate tax relief for residents age 65 or older or permanently disabled, with a household income limit of $55,000 (prior year) and a net worth limit of $250,000 excluding the residence and one acre (verified county parameters); applications are due May 1. The county also operates a land-use assessment valuation program for qualifying agricultural and open-space land - applications are due by November 1. Disabled veterans who are 100% service-connected disabled may qualify for a full real estate exemption on their primary residence under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3219.5.

Source: Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 (Table 1) and the Clarke County Commissioner of the Revenue Real Estate page and Treasurer page (clarkecounty.gov), verified June 2026. The county's pages publish assessment rules and due dates but not the rate figures; county-published rate corroboration and penalty/interest terms are pending direct confirmation.

Machinery, Tools, and Business Property

Clarke County levies Machinery and Tools at $2.00 per $100, per the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025. The county does not levy a merchants' capital tax ($0.00) and instead taxes business-farm tangible personal property - furniture, fixtures, and equipment - with valuation based on the cost of the equipment and the year purchased (verified county description). Businesses inside Berryville town limits also owe the town's $1.30 machinery and tools levy.

Source: Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025 (Table 1) - Clarke County RE $0.451, TPP $4.496, M&T $2.000, Merchants' Capital $0.000.

Sales Tax

Rate and Composition

The combined sales tax rate in Clarke County is 5.3%: the 4.3% Virginia state rate plus the 1.0% standard local rate. Clarke County is not part of any regional sales tax district, per the Virginia Department of Taxation - notably, it is not in the Northern Virginia 6.0% region even though it borders Loudoun County. Crossing from Loudoun into Clarke, the sales tax drops from 6.0% to 5.3%.

Clarke County Sales Tax Rate Breakdown

Component	Rate
Virginia state rate	4.3%
Standard local rate	1.0%
Regional district	None
Combined rate	5.3%

Qualifying food and grocery items are subject to Virginia's reduced 1.0% rate.

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

Town Taxes in Berryville and Boyce

Clarke County has two incorporated towns, and property inside either town is taxed by both the town and the county. The county seat, Berryville, levies $0.139 per $100 on real estate, $1.25 on personal property, and $1.30 on machinery and tools - verified directly at berryvilleva.gov and matching the Virginia DOT Table 3 town levies exactly. Berryville's town real estate taxes are due June 5 and December 5, and its town personal property taxes are due December 5. The smaller Town of Boyce adds $0.025 per $100 on real estate and $0.60 on personal property, per DOT Table 3. A Berryville homeowner therefore pays a combined real estate rate of $0.590 per $100 (county $0.451 + town $0.139), still below most neighboring jurisdictions' county-only rates.

How Clarke County Compares to Its Neighbors

Per the Virginia DOT TY2025 Local Tax Rates Survey, Clarke County's $0.451 real estate rate is the lowest among its live neighbors - just below Warren County's $0.479 and Frederick County's $0.48, and well below Loudoun County's $0.805. Its $4.496 general personal property rate is higher than Frederick's $4.23 and Warren's $4.28, while Loudoun classifies personal-use vehicles separately at $3.09 - a reminder that headline TPP rates are not always directly comparable. On sales tax, Clarke (5.3%) matches Frederick and Warren but is a step below Loudoun's 6.0% Northern Virginia rate. Each jurisdiction sets its own PPTRA relief, assessment basis, and due dates - never assume one county's terms apply in another.