Powhatan County, Virginia Tax Rates

Powhatan County Tax Rates - At a Glance

Powhatan County Current Tax Rates Summary (calendar year 2026 per official county Tax Rates page)

Tax Type	County Rate (per $100)	Notes
Vehicles (personal-use)	$3.60	Cars, pickups, campers, motorcycles; PPTRA relief on first $20,000 for qualifying vehicles. Uniform 2024-2026.
Real Estate	$0.77 (2026)	Assessed at 100% fair market value. 2025 rate $0.75; 2024 rate $0.69.
Business Personal Property	$3.60	Same rate as vehicles.
Machinery and Tools	$3.60	TPP=M&T parity (unusual - most VA counties have separate, lower M&T rates).
Trailers, Campers, RVs / Motorcycles / Aircraft	$3.60	Same rate as vehicles.
Specially Equipped Vehicles (handicap)	$0.00	Concessional rate per county code.
Volunteer Fire and Rescue personal property	$0.00	Concessional rate for qualifying volunteers.
Merchants' Capital	$0.00	Substituted to Business TPP under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3508.1.
Sales Tax	6.0% (4.3% state + 1.0% local + 0.7% Central Virginia regional)

All calendar-year rates verified directly from the Powhatan County official Tax Rates page (powhatanva.gov/1808/Tax-Rates) on 2026-05-30 (Stage 1 Fetch, high confidence). Due dates verified directly from the Powhatan County Treasurer page (powhatanva.gov/316/Treasurer). Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 used as the secondary cross-check; DOT TY2025 RE $0.750 matches the county-published 2025 rate. Sales tax verified at Virginia Department of Taxation.

Vehicle Personal Property (Car) Tax

Rate and Classification

Powhatan County taxes personal-use vehicles at $3.60 per $100 of assessed value, as published on the Powhatan County official Tax Rates page. This rate has been uniform across calendar years 2024, 2025, and 2026, and it applies to all vehicle categories - Vehicles, Trailers and Campers and RVs, Motorcycles, and Aircraft - as well as to Business Personal Property, Machinery and Tools, and Public Service personal property. Two exceptions are taxed at $0.00: Specially Equipped Vehicles (handicap-modified) and personal property used by Volunteer Fire and Rescue.

The $3.60 county-published rate matches the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey general TPP rate for tax year 2025. Unlike some neighbouring counties such as Goochland (which adopted a lower $2.99 rate for PPTRA-eligible personal-use vehicles) and Mecklenburg (which adopted $3.26 below the DOT general rate), Powhatan applies one unified $3.60 rate across all personal-property categories.

PPTRA Relief

Qualifying personal-use vehicles receive Virginia's Personal Property Tax Relief (PPTRA) on the first $20,000 of assessed value under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3524. The annual relief percentage is set by the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors during the budget cycle; the current percentage is not published on the Powhatan Tax Rates page. Confirm the current-year PPTRA percentage with the Commissioner of the Revenue at 804-598-5616.

How the Car Tax Is Calculated

Virginia counties value personal property using a recognized pricing guide under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3503. The specific guide and assessment ratio Powhatan uses are not published on the Tax Rates page (confirm with the Commissioner of the Revenue). Once the assessment is set, the tax is computed at $3.60 per $100. For example, if the assessed value of a personal-use vehicle is $10,000, the tax before PPTRA is $10,000 × 3.60% = $360.00; the PPTRA relief is then applied to the tax on the first $20,000 of assessed value at the current-year relief percentage.

Source: Powhatan County Commissioner of the Revenue and Board of Supervisors - Tax Rates (powhatanva.gov). For a deeper explanation of PPTRA, see our Virginia PPTRA explained guide.

Real Estate Tax

Rate and Assessment

Powhatan County's real estate tax rate is $0.77 per $100 of assessed value for calendar year 2026, as published by the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors. The 2025 rate was $0.75 (matching the Virginia DOT TY2025 Local Tax Rates Survey), and the 2024 rate was $0.69. All real estate in Virginia is assessed at 100% of fair market value under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3201; the specific Powhatan reassessment cycle is set by the Board of Supervisors. Mobile homes are taxed at the real estate rate.

No Town Overlays

Powhatan County has no incorporated towns. The county seat at Powhatan Court House is an unincorporated census-designated place, not an incorporated town. As a result, the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 shows no Powhatan town overlay, and the county rate applies countywide without any town-level addition. This contrasts with neighbouring Chesterfield (which also has no incorporated towns within its border) and with most Virginia counties that have at least one town with its own additional rate.

Due Dates and Penalties

Powhatan collects both real estate and personal property taxes in two installments: the first installment is due June 5 and the second installment is due November 5, per the Powhatan County Treasurer. Note: in 2025 the first-half deadline was extended to June 30 by Board action due to software complications. That was an exception; the standard published pattern is June 5 / November 5. The county-published penalty is a 10% one-time penalty assessed immediately after the deadline, plus 10% annual interest beginning the first of the month following the bill due date and accruing monthly. Failure to receive a bill does not excuse late penalty or interest. Confirm specifics with the Treasurer at 804-598-5625.

Exemptions and Relief Programs

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

Source: Powhatan County Treasurer / Board of Supervisors - Tax Rates page; Powhatan County Treasurer - Treasurer page (direct verification, May 2026). Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 used as secondary cross-check.

Machinery and Tools

Powhatan County levies a Machinery and Tools tax of $3.60 per $100 of assessed value - the same as the personal-property and vehicle rate. This TPP=M&T parity is unusual; most Virginia counties tax Machinery and Tools at a separate, lower rate. Powhatan does NOT levy a Merchants' Capital tax; it follows the standard Code of Virginia § 58.1-3508.1 substitution of Business Tangible Personal Property for Merchants' Capital.

Source: Powhatan County Tax Rates (powhatanva.gov/1808/Tax-Rates) - direct verification, May 2026.

Sales Tax

Rate and Composition

The combined sales tax rate in Powhatan County is 6.0%. Powhatan is explicitly listed in Virginia's Central Virginia 6.0% regional transportation district - alongside Charles City, Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent, and Richmond City - per the Virginia Department of Taxation. Consumers in Powhatan pay the same 6.0% combined rate as in neighbouring Chesterfield, Hanover, and Henrico.

Powhatan County Sales Tax Rate Breakdown

Component	Rate
Virginia state rate	4.3%
Standard local rate	1.0%
Central Virginia regional transportation district	0.7%
Combined rate	6.0%

Qualifying food and grocery items are subject to Virginia's reduced 1.0% rate. A shopper crossing the county line west from Powhatan into Cumberland County drops to the 5.3% Everywhere-else tier.

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

Geography and Context: Richmond West Exurb on the James River

Powhatan County sits on the south side of the James River as a western exurb of the Richmond MSA, traversed by U.S. Route 60. The county was formed in 1777 from parts of Cumberland and Chesterfield Counties and was named for the paramount chief Powhatan (Wahunsenacah), father of Pocahontas and head of the Powhatan Confederacy at the time of the 1607 Jamestown settlement. The county seat at Powhatan Court House is an unincorporated census-designated place; Powhatan County has no incorporated towns at all.

Powhatan is one of the wealthier, fastest-growing exurban counties around Richmond. Major county features include the James River along the northern boundary, the Powhatan State Park on the river, the Fighting Creek Park and the Powhatan Village Farmers Market (formerly at Macon Reservation, now at Fighting Creek Park as of the 2026 season). The county is anchored economically by residential development from Richmond commuters along U.S. 60 and on the State Route 711 corridor.

Adjacent jurisdictions: Chesterfield County (live; east), Cumberland County (live; west), Hanover County (live; north across the James), Goochland County (live; north - paired with Powhatan in the same build batch), unbuilt Amelia County (south), unbuilt Charles City County (east).

Richmond West Cluster Context

Powhatan County, together with Goochland County (paired in the same batch and on the north side of the James), forms the new Richmond west cluster on CountyTaxTools. The live Richmond region now includes City of Richmond (6.0% sales), Chesterfield County (south, 6.0%), Henrico County (north, 6.0%), Hanover County (further north, 6.0%), Powhatan (west, 6.0%), and Goochland (west, 6.0%) - all sharing the Central Virginia 6.0% sales-tax base. Powhatan's standout features within this cluster are (1) the absence of any incorporated towns, simplifying property-tax math, (2) the TPP=M&T parity at $3.60 per $100, and (3) the rate trajectory from $0.69 (2024) to $0.75 (2025) to $0.77 (2026) on real estate, reflecting recent property-tax adjustments tied to assessment growth and budget pressure.