City of Norton, Virginia Tax Rates

City of Norton Tax Rates - At a Glance

City of Norton Tax Rates Summary (city rates confirmed on the city Treasurer's Taxes page and the Commissioner of the Revenue's Personal Property page; real estate, personal property, and machinery and tools rates also match the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025; payment and assessment details per the city Treasurer and Commissioner of the Revenue)

Tax Type	City Rate (per $100)	Notes
Real Estate	$0.90	City Treasurer Taxes page + Virginia DOT TY2025. 100% fair market value. Due May 15 / Oct 15.
Personal Property (vehicles)	$2.05	City Personal Property page + Treasurer + Virginia DOT TY2025. NADA clean trade-in value. Non-prorating. Due Oct 15.
Machinery and Tools	$2.05	Virginia DOT TY2025 (Table 2 city levies).
Merchants' Capital	$0.00	Norton levies no merchants' capital tax (Virginia DOT TY2025).
Mobile Homes (residence)	Real estate rate	Assessed as personal property, taxed at the real estate rate (Wingate Appraisal Guide); exact figure pending confirmation.
Meals Tax	8.5%	On prepared meals; held in trust, remitted monthly (city Treasurer).
Lodging Tax	7%	Transient occupancy tax on hotel/motel stays (city Treasurer).
Sales Tax	5.3% (4.3% state + 1.0% local) - no regional district

The city rates above are confirmed directly on the City of Norton Treasurer's Taxes page (real estate $0.90, personal property $2.05) and the Commissioner of the Revenue's Personal Property page (personal property $2.05, NADA clean trade-in valuation, non-proration); the real estate, personal property, and machinery and tools rates match the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 (Table 2 city levies). The non-proration rule, the NADA clean trade-in valuation, and the May 15 / October 15 due dates were verified directly on nortonva.gov. The current-year PPTRA percentage, the exact mobile-home rate, the elderly and disabled relief details, the real estate reassessment cycle, and the real estate and personal property penalty and interest specifics are pending direct confirmation - see Official Sources below.

Vehicle Personal Property (Car) Tax

Rate and Classification

The City of Norton's personal property (vehicle) tax rate is $2.05 per $100 of assessed value, verified directly on the city Commissioner of the Revenue's Personal Property page and the Treasurer's Taxes page. The $2.05 rate applies to automobiles, trucks, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, boats, boat trailers, and utility trailers. Mobile homes are assessed as personal property but taxed at the real estate rate. Machinery and tools are also taxed at $2.05, and Norton levies no merchants' capital tax. The Norton City Council sets the personal property rate.

Assessment

The Commissioner of the Revenue is required by law to assess vehicles using a recognized pricing guide. Norton uses the NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association) Official Used Car Guide and Official Older Used Car Guide, applying the clean trade-in value. If a vehicle is not listed in the guide, the assessment is based on a percentage of purchase cost or a percentage of MSRP. Mobile homes are assessed using the Wingate Appraisal Guide, and most other personal property is assessed at a percentage of original cost. The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles provides the city an annual update of all vehicles with a Norton garage jurisdiction.

No Proration

The City of Norton does not prorate personal property tax. The Commissioner of the Revenue's Personal Property page states it directly: personal property, mobile homes, and business equipment taxes are not prorated. Assessments are based on ownership as of January 1, so anyone who owned the vehicle on January 1 owes the full year's tax. This is a meaningful contrast with prorating Virginia localities, where tax is split by months of ownership - and it matches the surrounding far-southwest counties.

Relief and Exemptions

Qualifying personal-use vehicles receive Virginia's Personal Property Tax Relief (PPTRA) discount under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3524 on the first $20,000 of value; Norton's current-year relief percentage is not published and should be confirmed with the Commissioner of the Revenue at (276) 679-0031. A military exemption is available for active-duty service members maintaining a legal residence outside Virginia and residing in Norton under military orders, subject to documentation requirements. A full-time college student whose vehicle is registered solely in the student's name is not liable in Norton if paying personal property tax on it in their home domicile.

Due Dates

Personal property tax is billed annually and due October 15, per the City of Norton Treasurer. The late-payment penalty and interest schedule for personal property and real estate is pending direct confirmation; for prepared meals, the city charges a 10% penalty plus 10% annual interest after the monthly deadline.

Source: City of Norton Commissioner of the Revenue (Personal Property, nortonva.gov) and Treasurer (Taxes, nortonva.org), plus the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025, verified June 2026. For a deeper explanation of PPTRA, see our Virginia PPTRA explained guide. The current-year PPTRA percentage and the penalty and interest specifics are pending direct confirmation.

Real Estate Tax

Rate and Assessment

The City of Norton's real estate tax rate is $0.90 per $100 of assessed value, confirmed on the city Treasurer's Taxes page and matching the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025. All real estate in Virginia is assessed at 100% of fair market value, established by the Commissioner of the Revenue. Mobile homes used as a residence are assessed as personal property but taxed at the real estate rate. The city's general-reassessment cycle is not stated on its public tax pages and is pending direct confirmation.

Due Dates

Real estate taxes are due May 15 and October 15, per the City of Norton Treasurer. The late-payment penalty and interest schedule is pending direct confirmation. Payments and tax questions can be directed to the Treasurer's office at (276) 679-7246, 618 Virginia Avenue NW, Norton VA 24273.

Exemptions and Relief Programs

Norton administers Virginia's personal property tax relief for qualifying vehicles. A real estate exemption or deferral for elderly and disabled homeowners, and a real estate exemption for 100% service-connected disabled veterans, are common across Virginia localities but are not detailed on the city's public tax pages and are pending direct confirmation. Contact the Commissioner of the Revenue at (276) 679-0031 for current programs, income limits, and application windows.

Source: City of Norton Treasurer (Taxes, nortonva.org) and Commissioner of the Revenue (Personal Property, nortonva.gov), plus the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 (Table 2 city levies), verified June 2026. The general-reassessment cycle, the elderly/disabled and veteran real estate relief details, and the real estate penalty and interest schedule are pending direct confirmation.

Machinery, Tools, and Business Property

The City of Norton levies Machinery and Tools at $2.05 per $100 and no merchants' capital tax, per the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025 (Table 2 city levies). Business personal property is assessed by the Commissioner of the Revenue at a percentage of original cost. Norton also collects a meals tax of 8.5% on prepared food and a transient occupancy (lodging) tax of 7%, both held in trust by the business and remitted by the 20th of each month, and a cigarette tax of $0.40 per pack.

Source: City of Norton Treasurer (Taxes, nortonva.org); Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025 (Table 2): City of Norton RE $0.900, TPP $2.050, M&T $2.050, Merchants' Capital $0.000.

Sales Tax

Rate and Composition

The combined sales tax rate in the City of Norton is 5.3%: the 4.3% Virginia state rate plus the 1.0% standard local rate. Norton is not part of any regional sales tax district, per the Virginia Department of Taxation.

City of Norton 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. Note that Norton's local meals tax of 8.5% applies separately to prepared restaurant food, on top of the sales tax.

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

Norton as an Independent City

Like all 38 of Virginia's independent cities, Norton is not part of any county for tax or government purposes, even though it is completely surrounded by Wise County. A Norton resident pays the city's real estate ($0.90) and personal property ($2.05) rates, not Wise County's rates, and files with the City of Norton Commissioner of the Revenue rather than the county. Norton is the smallest city by population in Virginia, but it has long served as a commercial and retail center for the surrounding coalfield communities. Confirm whether your property is inside the City of Norton or in Wise County, because the rates, due dates, and assessment guides differ between the two jurisdictions.

How Norton Compares to Its Neighbors

Norton's $0.90 real estate rate is the highest among the far-southwest jurisdictions on this site - above live Scott County's $0.77, Lee County's $0.69, and Wise County's $0.69 - which is typical of independent cities, where a single city-wide rate funds services that a county splits with its towns. Its $2.05 vehicle rate is also the highest in the immediate area, above Lee's and Russell's $1.95, Wise's $1.79, and Scott's $1.65. Like its neighbors, Norton does not prorate vehicle tax. Confirm each jurisdiction's own proration, PPTRA relief, assessment basis, and due dates rather than assuming they carry across jurisdiction lines.