Southampton County, Virginia Tax Rates

Southampton County Tax Rates - At a Glance

Southampton County 2025 Tax Rates Summary (Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025; due dates per the county Commissioner of the Revenue)

Tax Type	County Rate (per $100)	Notes
Real Estate	$0.71	Virginia DOT TY2025. Assessed at 100% fair market value.
Tangible Personal Property (general)	$5.00	General TPP rate (Virginia DOT TY2025). Among the highest in Virginia. Vehicles prorated, assessed on N.A.D.A. loan value. Personal-use vehicles may be a separate class - confirm with the Commissioner.
Machinery and Tools	$2.40	Per Virginia DOT TY2025.
Merchants' Capital	$0.50	Southampton levies a merchants' capital tax (non-zero - uncommon among Virginia counties).
Town of Courtland (county seat, RE overlay)	+$0.140	Combined real estate inside Courtland $0.850. Five other towns also add overlays (Boykins, Branchville, Capron, Ivor, Newsoms), per DOT Table 3.
Sales Tax	6.0% (4.3% state + 1.0% local + 0.7% Hampton Roads regional)

The real estate rate ($0.71), general tangible personal property rate ($5.00), Machinery and Tools ($2.40), and merchants' capital rate ($0.50) are from the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 (Table 1, County Levies); the town overlays are from Table 3. The December 5 personal-property due date, the March 15 filing deadline, the N.A.D.A. loan-value assessment basis, monthly vehicle proration, and the greater-of-10%-or-$10 penalty are from the Southampton County Commissioner of the Revenue's published personal property pages (southamptoncounty.org), which returned an access error to our automated tools in June 2026 and were corroborated through the site's indexed content. The real estate due date, the current-year PPTRA percentage, any separate personal-use vehicle classification rate, the interest terms, and the reassessment cycle are pending direct confirmation with the Commissioner of the Revenue (757-653-3030; county seat Courtland). Sales tax verified at the Virginia Department of Taxation.

Vehicle Personal Property (Car) Tax

Rate and Classification

Southampton County's general tangible personal property rate is $5.00 per $100 of assessed value, per the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 - among the highest general personal property rates in Virginia. Personal property tax is levied as of January 1 each year on automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, trailers, mobile homes, boats, and business personal property. Virginia State Code § 58.1-3503 allows the Board of Supervisors to set a separate rate for personal-use vehicles; the DOT survey publishes the general nominal rate, and the exact personal-use vehicle rate for Southampton is pending confirmation with the Commissioner of the Revenue.

Proration and Due Date

Southampton County prorates motor vehicles and trailers by the month - the assessed tax is prorated on a monthly basis for the number of months the vehicle maintains situs in the county or is owned by the taxpayer. Personal property tax is due December 5, and the personal property filing deadline is March 15. Vehicles and trailers moved into the county after the filing date receive a supplement bill due 30 days from the billing date, per the county Commissioner of the Revenue.

Assessment Method

Personal property in Southampton County is assessed as of January 1 each year using the N.A.D.A. (National Automobile Dealers Association) loan value from the used car guide, per the county Commissioner of the Revenue. The use of loan value is distinctive - most Virginia localities assess vehicles on the higher clean trade-in value - so a Southampton vehicle assessment may come in lower than the same vehicle in a neighboring jurisdiction. Owners must file and certify qualifying vehicles annually.

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 for Southampton is not published on the accessed county pages - confirm it with the Commissioner of the Revenue.

Source: Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025 (general TPP $5.000) and the Southampton County Commissioner of the Revenue. For a deeper explanation of PPTRA, see our Virginia PPTRA explained guide. The personal-use vehicle classification rate and current PPTRA percentage are pending direct confirmation.

Real Estate Tax

Rate and Assessment

Southampton County's real estate tax rate is $0.71 per $100 of assessed value, per the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025. All real estate in Virginia is assessed at 100% of fair market value under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3201; real property is assessed as of January 1 each year. The county's general reassessment cycle is pending confirmation.

Town Overlays

Southampton County contains six incorporated towns, each of which adds its own real estate levy on top of the county rate, per the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey Table 3: the county seat Courtland (+$0.140, combined $0.850), Boykins (+$0.170), Branchville (+$0.180), Capron (+$0.030), Ivor (+$0.100), and Newsoms (+$0.104). Parcels outside any town pay only the $0.71 county real estate rate. The independent City of Franklin - enclosed by the county - is a separate jurisdiction with its own rates, not a town overlay.

Due Dates, Penalty, and Interest

Southampton County collects personal property tax due December 5, per the county Commissioner of the Revenue. The late-payment penalty is the greater of 10% of the tax or $10, and the penalty cannot exceed the tax itself. The real estate due date and the exact interest terms are pending direct confirmation; under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3916, Virginia localities commonly apply 10% annual interest on unpaid balances.

Exemptions and Relief Programs

Real estate tax relief is available in Virginia for qualifying residents who are at least 65 years old or permanently and totally disabled, with income and asset limits set by the locality. 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 Southampton County Commissioner of the Revenue for current eligibility thresholds, land use programs, and procedures.

Source: Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025 (Table 1 county levies, Table 3 town overlays) and the Southampton County Commissioner of the Revenue, corroborated June 2026. The reassessment cycle, real estate due date, and interest terms are pending direct confirmation.

Machinery, Tools, and Business Property

Southampton County levies Machinery and Tools at $2.40 per $100 and a merchants' capital tax at $0.50 per $100, per the Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey tax year 2025. The non-zero merchants' capital rate is uncommon among Virginia counties - most levy $0.00 and instead tax business tangible personal property under Code of Virginia § 58.1-3508.1. Southampton applies the merchants' capital tax to the inventory of qualifying merchants in addition to taxing machinery and tools.

Source: Virginia DOT Local Tax Rates Survey TY2025 (Table 1, County Levies) - Southampton County RE $0.710, TPP $5.000, M&T $2.400, Merchants' Capital $0.500.

Sales Tax

Rate and Composition

The combined sales tax rate in Southampton County is 6.0%. Southampton is part of Virginia's Hampton Roads regional sales tax district, per the Virginia Department of Taxation - so on top of the 4.3% state rate and the 1.0% standard local rate, a 0.7% Hampton Roads regional transportation levy applies. The Hampton Roads 6.0% region also includes Chesapeake, the enclosed City of Franklin, Hampton, Isle of Wight, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach.

Southampton County Sales Tax Rate Breakdown

Component	Rate
Virginia state rate	4.3%
Standard local rate	1.0%
Hampton Roads regional transportation	0.7%
Combined rate	6.0%

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: Courtland, Franklin, and Western Tidewater

Southampton County sits in Western Tidewater Virginia on the North Carolina border, south of the Blackwater and Nottoway rivers. The county seat is the Town of Courtland, and the county geographically encloses the independent City of Franklin, a separate county-equivalent tax jurisdiction. Peanuts, cotton, and forestry are long-standing parts of the local economy, and the county is part of the broader Hampton Roads region for sales tax purposes.

Adjacent jurisdictions: the enclosed City of Franklin (live; 6.0% sales), Isle of Wight County (live; east, 6.0%), the City of Suffolk (live; east, 6.0%), and Greensville County (live; west, 5.3%), with live Sussex County (north) and North Carolina to the south.

Western Tidewater Cluster Context

Southampton County extends CountyTaxTools' live Western Tidewater / Hampton Roads coverage southwest from live Isle of Wight and Suffolk, completing a county-plus-enclosed-city pair with the City of Franklin. Southampton's distinguishing features within this cluster are its enclosed independent city (Franklin), its N.A.D.A. loan-value vehicle assessment, its $5.00 general personal property rate, and its non-zero merchants' capital tax.