Orange County, Virginia Tax Rates

Orange County Tax Rates - At a Glance

Orange County Current Tax Rates Summary (real estate effective 2025; other rates per Virginia DOT TY2025)

Tax Type	County Rate (per $100)	Notes
Real Estate	$0.62	$0.47 General Fund + $0.15 Fire & EMS. Reduced from $0.75 after the 2025 reassessment. Assessed at 100% fair market value.
Tangible Personal Property (vehicles, general)	$3.60	DOT TY2025 general rate. PPTRA on first $20,000 of a qualifying personal-use vehicle.
Machinery and Tools	$1.83	Per Virginia DOT TY2025.
Merchants' Capital	$0.40	RARE - Orange still levies an active Merchants' Capital tax.
Town of Orange (RE overlay, on top of county)	+$0.130	Combined real estate inside the Town of Orange $0.750. Town TPP +$0.620, M&T +$0.066.
Gordonsville (RE overlay, Orange side, on top of county)	+$0.117	Combined real estate $0.737. Town TPP +$0.990, M&T +$0.240. Gordonsville straddles the Orange/Louisa line.
Sales Tax	5.3% (4.3% state + 1.0% local) - "Everywhere else" tier

Real estate $0.62 ($0.47 General Fund + $0.15 Fire & EMS, reduced from $0.75 after the 2025 reassessment) and the non-pro-rating rule and June 5 / December 5 due dates were verified directly from the Orange County Commissioner of the Revenue pages (orangecountyva.gov) in June 2026. The general personal property $3.60, Machinery and Tools $1.83, Merchants' Capital $0.40, and the Town of Orange and Gordonsville overlays are from the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 (Table 1 and Table 3). Sales tax verified at the Virginia Department of Taxation. The separate lower personal-use vehicle rate (if any) and the current-year PPTRA percentage are pending confirmation with the Commissioner of the Revenue.

Vehicle Personal Property (Car) Tax

Rate and Classification

Orange County's general tangible personal property rate is $3.60 per $100 of assessed value, per the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025. Virginia State Code § 58.1-3503 defines personal property to include automobiles, trucks, manufactured homes, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, boats, trailers, and aircraft. The Board of Supervisors sets the rates annually and may set different rates for different classes of personal property; if Orange adopts a separate lower rate for personal-use vehicles, that figure is being confirmed with the Commissioner of the Revenue and will be reflected here once verified.

Assessment Method

Personal property in Orange County is assessed as of January 1 each year by the Commissioner of the Revenue. Virginia localities most commonly value vehicles from a recognized pricing guide (such as the NADA / J.D. Power Official Used Car Guide); the specific guide and edition Orange uses are being confirmed with the Commissioner of the Revenue.

PPTRA Relief

Qualifying personal-use vehicles receive Virginia's Personal Property Tax Relief (PPTRA) on the first $20,000 of value, under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3524. The relief percentage varies each year and is set by the Board of Supervisors; the current-year percentage is not published on the accessed county pages - confirm it with the Commissioner of the Revenue at 540-672-4441.

No Proration

Orange County is a non-pro-rating locality. Assessments are subject to tax as of January 1 of each calendar year. If you owned a vehicle on January 1 you pay personal property tax for the full year; a vehicle you purchase after January 1 is not taxed by Orange County until the following year.

Source: Orange County Commissioner of the Revenue - Personal Property Tax (orangecountyva.gov). General rate from Virginia DOT TY2025. For a deeper explanation of PPTRA, see our Virginia PPTRA explained guide.

Real Estate Tax

Rate and Assessment

Orange County's real estate tax rate is $0.62 per $100 of assessed value, made up of $0.47 for the General Fund and $0.15 for Fire & EMS. The Board of Supervisors reduced the overall rate from $0.75 to $0.62 following the 2025 general reassessment, which raised assessed values. All real estate in Virginia is assessed at 100% of fair market value under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3201; real property in Orange is assessed as of January 1 each year by the Commissioner of the Revenue.

Town Overlays

Orange 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 Orange (county seat) - real estate +$0.130 (combined $0.750), town tangible personal property +$0.620, town Machinery and Tools +$0.066.
• Gordonsville (Orange side; the town straddles the Orange/Louisa line) - real estate +$0.117 (combined $0.737), town tangible personal property +$0.990, town Machinery and Tools +$0.240.

Parcels outside the two towns pay only the $0.62 county real estate rate.

Due Dates

Orange County collects real estate and personal property tax in two installments, due June 5 and December 5. A 10% late-payment penalty is added the day after each due date (June 6 and December 6), and interest accrues at 10% per year beginning July 1 on the first installment and January 1 on the second. Confirm specifics with the Commissioner of the Revenue at 540-672-4441 or the Treasurer at 540-672-2656.

Exemptions and Relief Programs

Orange 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. 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 Orange County Commissioner of the Revenue for current eligibility thresholds and procedures.

Source: Orange County - Real Estate Tax and Tax Rates (direct verification, June 2026). Town overlays from Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 (Table 3).

Machinery, Tools, and Merchants' Capital

Orange County levies Machinery and Tools at $1.83 per $100. Distinctively, Orange is one of a minority of Virginia counties that still levies an active Merchants' Capital tax, at $0.40 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 Orange's nonzero $0.400 Merchants' Capital rate and the $1.830 Machinery and Tools rate.

Source: Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025 (Table 1, County Levies) - Orange County RE $0.620, TPP $3.600, M&T $1.830, Merchants' Capital $0.400.

Sales Tax

Rate and Composition

The combined sales tax rate in Orange County is 5.3%. Orange falls in Virginia's baseline 5.3% "Everywhere else" tier, per the Virginia Department of Taxation - it is not part of any regional transportation district (no Northern Virginia, Central Virginia, or Hampton Roads regional add-on applies).

Orange 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.

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

Geography and Context: Montpelier, the Town of Orange, and the Piedmont

Orange County sits in the central Virginia Piedmont, northeast of Charlottesville and south of Culpeper. The county was formed in 1734 and named for William of Orange. The county seat is the Town of Orange; the other incorporated town is Gordonsville, a historic railroad junction that straddles the Orange/Louisa boundary.

Orange County is best known as the home of Montpelier, the lifelong estate of President James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution," at Montpelier Station. The county also includes part of the Wilderness Civil War battlefield on its eastern edge, the historic Germanna colonial settlement, and a growing Monticello-area wine region. Agriculture, heritage tourism, and commuting toward Charlottesville and the Washington exurbs anchor the local economy and tax base.

Adjacent jurisdictions: Culpeper County (live; north, 5.3% sales), Spotsylvania County (live; east, 5.3% sales), Louisa County (live; southeast, 5.3% sales), Albemarle County (live; southwest, 5.3% sales), with Madison County (northwest) and Greene County (west) unbuilt.

Central Piedmont Cluster Context

Orange County completes the live central Virginia Piedmont ring on CountyTaxTools. It connects Culpeper (north) to Louisa (southeast) and Albemarle (southwest), and ties into Spotsylvania in the Fredericksburg corridor (east). Orange's standout features within this cluster are (1) the recent reduction of the real estate rate to $0.62 after a reassessment, (2) the rare active $0.40 Merchants' Capital tax, (3) the no-proration rule for personal property, and (4) the shared town of Gordonsville with neighboring Louisa.