Penalty and Interest

Real Estate Taxes

Penalty for late payment (PLP) of real estate taxes is 10% of the amount due and is applied automatically after the due date. Real estate is paid in two installments, so a penalty will be applied for each installment that is late. For Tax Year 2020 ONLY, the Board of Supervisors reduced that rate to 5%.

Interest at 1% per year will apply.

Vehicles and Business Tangible Property Taxes

There is a penalty for late filing of vehicle and business tangible property tax returns. This penalty is 10% or $10, whichever is greater and not to exceed the amount of tax due, and will be applied automatically.

• For vehicles new to the county, a vehicle registration form must be filed with the Department of Tax Administration (DTA) within 60 days of purchase or move-in.

• For business tangible property, businesses must file a tax return with DTA each year by May 1st listing their equipment and furniture for taxation.

There is also a 10% penalty for late payment (PLP) of vehicle and business tangible property taxes. The PLP will increase to 25% for any delinquencies over 45 days past due. For Tax Year 2020 ONLY, the Board of Supervisors reduced that penalty rate to 5% and eliminated the increase after 30 days.

Interest at 5% per year will apply.

Business, Professional and Occupational Licenses (BPOL) Tax

There is a 10% penalty for late filing of BPOL applications (due March 1st or within 75 days of start-up). There is also a 10% penalty for late payment of BPOL tax. Interest at 5% per year will apply.

Delinquent Collections Actions and Associated Fees 

DTA’s Delinquent Collection section has several enforcement and collection methods to aid in the collection of past due taxes that do not require court intervention. These methods include:

Administrative Collection Fee

An Administrative Collection Fee of $30 will be automatically applied to all delinquent accounts 30 days after the first delinquent billing.

DMV Hold

DTA will place a hold with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on delinquent accounts that will prevent DMV renewal transactions. There is a $25 fee charged by DMV associated with this hold. This fee and the total delinquency must be paid before the hold is released.

Set-off Debt

DTA will notify the State of Virginia that the taxpayer owes delinquent taxes to Fairfax County. The state will notify the county when funds owed to the taxpayer become available at the state level that may be used to satisfy the local tax liabilities. Typically, the source of these state-level funds are the taxpayer's pending state income tax refunds and lottery winnings. There is a $25 fee associated with this action. In addition, the state will collect 4% of the amount withheld.

Delinquent Payment Plans

Late payment penalties, interest, and other fees still assessed. This is a formal, signed agreement between the taxpayer and DTA and is only offered in cases of financial stress or hardship and where the taxpayer is working cooperatively with DTA to pay off the delinquency.

Collection Agencies ^{(Code of Virginia § 58.1-3919.1 and § 58.1-3934)}

Accounts forwarded to a collection agency will be assessed an additional 20% fee. Fairfax County currently uses the following collection agents: 

Nationwide Credit Corporation (NCC) - 703-398-1502 - http://www.nccarm.com/ . NCC collects the following:

• Vehicle and business tangible property taxes
• BPOL
• Non-tax receivables
• Parking tickets

Taxing Authority Consulting Services, P.C. (TACS) - 703-880-1078 - https://taxva.com/

• Real estate taxes
• Real estate auctions
• Certain zoning violations

DTA or its assigned agents will use the following collection methods

• Wage lien
• Bank lien
• Boot/tow
• Public auction of real estate
• Public auction of vehicles

Public Auctions of Real Estate

Because Fairfax County has a wide array of collection actions available and our collection rate is high, it is usually only an action of last resort for us to sell real estate properties at public auction. If real estate must be sold to collect delinquent taxes, any tax sale would be handled by the County's contract legal firm for such collections, with oversight from the County Attorney's Office. If you have questions or would like to be added to a potential bidders list for real estate public auctions, please visit our collection attorney, Taxing Authority Consulting Services PC online at https://taxva.com/. You will only be notified in the event a public auction is scheduled. Please note, the Code of Virginia does not authorize the sale of tax lien certificates. Sales only occur at public auction, and the sale conveys title to the property itself.

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If you have any questions regarding the collection of delinquent taxes, call DTA at 703-222-8234 (TTY 711).