Louisa County, Virginia Tax Rates

Louisa County Tax Rates - At a Glance

Louisa County Current Tax Rates Summary (effective 1/1/2026, per official county Calendar Rates page)

Tax Type	County Rate (per $100)	Notes
Vehicles, Motorcycles, RVs, Trailers, Boats (car tax)	$2.07	Single rate effective 1/1/2026 (cut from DOT TY2025 $2.43). PPTRA on personal-use vehicles $20,000 and less.
Real Estate / Mobile Homes	$0.72	Assessed at 100% fair market value.
Machinery and Tools	$1.90	Same rate as Business Personal Property.
Business Personal Property (furniture, fixtures)	$1.90	Business tangible personal property.
Merchants' Capital	$0.65	RARE - Louisa still levies an active Merchants' Capital tax.
Aircraft	$0.48	Separately classified low rate.
Town of Louisa (RE overlay, on top of county)	+$0.164	Combined real estate inside the Town of Louisa $0.884. Town TPP +$0.710, M&T +$0.710.
Town of Mineral (RE overlay, on top of county)	+$0.200	Combined real estate inside Mineral $0.920. Town TPP +$0.480.
Meals (prepared food) Tax	4%	Of taxable gross receipts.
Transient Occupancy (lodging) Tax	7%	Of gross receipts (room charges only).
Sales Tax	5.3% (4.3% state + 1.0% local) - "Everywhere else" tier

County rates verified directly from the Louisa County official Calendar Rates and Personal Property pages (louisacounty.gov) on 2026-06-02 (Stage 3 Playwright MCP - the county site is WAF-protected against static fetch - high confidence). The Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 corroborates the county levies (RE $0.720 / M&T $1.900 / MC $0.650) and lists the general personal property rate at $2.430, which the county subsequently reduced to $2.07 effective 1/1/2026; DOT also lists the Louisa and Mineral town overlays (Table 3). Sales tax verified at the Virginia Department of Taxation.

Vehicle Personal Property (Car) Tax

Rate and Classification

Louisa County taxes vehicles, motorcycles, RVs, trailers, and boats at a single rate of $2.07 per $100 of assessed value, effective January 1, 2026. The Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 listed Louisa's general personal property rate at $2.43; the county reduced the rate to $2.07 for 2026, so this page leads with the current $2.07 figure and notes the change. Because boats are grouped with vehicles at $2.07, Lake Anna and North Anna boat owners pay the same personal property rate as car owners.

Assessment Method

Louisa assesses vehicles at 100% of the trade-in value shown in the January Eastern Edition of the NADA Official Used Car Guide. The county applies a high-mileage adjustment for vehicles with documented above-average mileage near January 1. Because assessment is at 100% of trade-in value, there is no separate fractional assessment ratio.

PPTRA Relief

Qualifying personal-use vehicles receive Virginia's Personal Property Tax Relief (PPTRA) on vehicles valued at $20,000 and less, under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3524. The relief percentage varies each year and is set by the Board of Supervisors; the county's historical percentages were 33.17% (2017), 28.24% (2018), 31.61% (2019), and 34.78% (2020). The current-year percentage is not published on the accessed county pages - confirm it with the Commissioner of the Revenue at 540-967-3432.

How the Car Tax Is Calculated

Once the NADA-based assessment is set, the tax is computed at $2.07 per $100. For example, a vehicle assessed at $10,000 produces a tax before relief of $10,000 × 2.07% = $207.00; PPTRA relief is then applied to the tax on a qualifying personal-use vehicle (valued $20,000 and less) at the current-year relief percentage. Because Louisa does not prorate, a vehicle with situs in the county on January 1 is taxed for the full year.

Source: Louisa County Commissioner of the Revenue - Personal Property (louisacounty.gov) and Calendar Rates. For a deeper explanation of PPTRA, see our Virginia PPTRA explained guide.

Real Estate Tax

Rate and Assessment

Louisa County's real estate tax rate is $0.72 per $100 of assessed value, effective January 1, 2026, as published on the county Calendar Rates page; this matches the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025. Mobile homes are taxed at the same $0.72 rate. All real estate in Virginia is assessed at 100% of fair market value under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3201; the specific Louisa reassessment cycle is set by the Board of Supervisors.

Town Overlays

Louisa County's two incorporated towns levy their own real estate tax on top of the county rate, per the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey (Table 3):

• Town of Louisa (county seat) - real estate +$0.164 (combined $0.884), town tangible personal property +$0.710, town Machinery and Tools +$0.710.
• Town of Mineral - real estate +$0.200 (combined $0.920), town tangible personal property +$0.480.

Parcels outside the two towns pay only the $0.72 county real estate rate.

Due Dates

Louisa County collects all property tax in a single installment due December 5 of the tax year - real estate, personal property, business equipment, and merchants' capital are all due on the same date, per the Louisa County Treasurer. This is different from the two-installment (June/December) schedule many Virginia localities use. The annual Personal Property Form (mailed in late February) is due back to the Commissioner of the Revenue by May 1. The late-payment penalty is 10% of the unpaid tax, and interest accrues at 10% APR beginning December 6 and on the first of each month thereafter until paid in full, under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3916. Confirm specifics with the Treasurer at 540-967-3435.

Exemptions and Relief Programs

Louisa County offers real estate tax relief for qualifying residents who are at least 65 years old or permanently and totally disabled, with income and asset limits set by the Board of Supervisors (the application is due by May 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, and a qualifying veteran's primary personal-use vehicle may be exempt under Article X, Section 6-A(8) of the Constitution of Virginia. Contact the Louisa County Commissioner of the Revenue for current eligibility thresholds and procedures.

Source: Louisa County - Calendar Rates and Due Date / Late Penalty / Interest (direct verification, June 2026). Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 used for the Louisa and Mineral town overlays (Table 3).

Machinery, Tools, and Merchants' Capital

Louisa County levies Machinery and Tools at $1.90 per $100 and Business Personal Property at $1.90 per $100. Distinctively, Louisa is one of a small minority of Virginia counties that still levies an active Merchants' Capital tax, at $0.65 per $100 - most counties substitute Business Tangible Personal Property under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3508.1 and show a $0.00 Merchants' Capital rate. The Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 confirms Louisa's nonzero $0.650 Merchants' Capital rate. Aircraft are separately classified at $0.48 per $100.

Source: Louisa County Calendar Rates (louisacounty.gov/164/Calendar-Rates) and Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025 - direct verification, June 2026.

Sales Tax

Rate and Composition

The combined sales tax rate in Louisa County is 5.3%. Louisa falls in Virginia's baseline 5.3% "Everywhere else" tier, per the Virginia Department of Taxation. This is a notable boundary case: Louisa borders Hanover and Goochland, both of which are in the Central Virginia 6.0% regional transportation district - but the Central Virginia district covers only Charles City, Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent, Powhatan, and Richmond City. Louisa is not on that list, so it stays at 5.3%.

Louisa County Sales Tax Rate Breakdown

Component	Rate
Virginia state rate	4.3%
Standard local rate	1.0%
Combined rate	5.3%

Qualifying food and grocery items are subject to Virginia's reduced 1.0% rate. A shopper crossing east into Hanover or southeast into Goochland moves up to the 6.0% Central Virginia rate.

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

Geography and Context: Lake Anna, the Town of Louisa, and the I-64 Corridor

Louisa County sits in the central Virginia Piedmont between Charlottesville and Richmond, traversed by Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 33. The county was formed in 1742 from Hanover County and was named for Princess Louisa, a daughter of King George II. The county seat is the Town of Louisa; the other incorporated town is Mineral, named for the area's historic gold and pyrite mining.

Louisa's defining feature is Lake Anna, one of Virginia's largest lakes, created in the early 1970s as the cooling reservoir for the North Anna Nuclear Generating Station. Lake Anna anchors a substantial second-home, recreation, and boating economy, which is why the boat personal property rate and the no-proration rule matter to many out-of-county owners. The North Anna power station is also a major component of the county's real estate and business tax base.

Adjacent jurisdictions: Hanover County (live; east, 6.0% sales), Goochland County (live; southeast, 6.0% sales), Albemarle County (live; west, 5.3% sales), Spotsylvania County (live; northeast, 5.3% sales), with Fluvanna County (south) and Orange County (northwest) unbuilt.

Central Piedmont Cluster Context

Louisa County extends the live central Virginia / Richmond-west cluster on CountyTaxTools. It connects the live Charlottesville-area Albemarle coverage (west) to the live Richmond-west pair of Goochland and Hanover (east and southeast), and to Spotsylvania in the Fredericksburg corridor (northeast). Louisa's standout features within this cluster are (1) the recent reduction of the vehicle rate to $2.07, with boats taxed at the same rate (Lake Anna), (2) the rare active $0.65 Merchants' Capital tax, (3) the single December 5 due date for all property tax, and (4) the 5.3% sales-tax classification despite sitting between two 6.0% Central Virginia counties.