Lease vehicles
Vehicles leased by a qualified military service member and/or spouse will receive a 100% state vehicle tax subsidy (PPTRA) as a tax credit on the first $20,000 of assessed value. The credit will be reflected on the bill, but the leased vehicle remains fully taxable on any remaining assessed value in excess of $20,000. Contact DTA to claim and document military eligibility.
Fort Belvoir - Taxation of Fairfax Military/Situs
Fairfax County has general taxing authority with respect to property not belonging to the United States, but otherwise located at Fort Belvoir. Fairfax County can tax the personal property of service members domiciled in Virginia who reside on Fort Belvoir military base in accordance with situs provisions of Virginia code (Code of Virginia, Section 58.1-3511).
For military personnel, taxation is controlled by the federal Service Members’ Civil Relief Act (SCRA) which states that:
- An active duty service member here on military orders who maintains domicile outside of Virginia is exempt from Fairfax County's personal property tax, regardless of whether a similar tax is paid within the state of domicile.
- Military personnel who claim Virginia as their state of domicile are subject to Fairfax County’s personal property tax based on the normal situs rules. The vehicle is taxable if:
- it is normally garaged, docked or parked in the county, or
- it is garaged in another state, but maintains a Fairfax County registration in the Virginia DMV (Code of Virginia, Section 58.1-3511)
Military Spouse
For military spouses, Military Spouses Residency Relief Act (Public Law No. 117-333) provides relief under certain circumstances.
PL 117-333 says that the spouse of qualified military personnel can also benefit from local tax exemption, when the three eligibility requirements are met. The spouse of an active duty service member who maintains domicile in another state and is stationed here on military orders can be exempt from personal property taxation when the spouse:
- Currently resides in Virginia, but maintains legal domicile outside of Virginia
- Resides in Fairfax County solely in order to live with the qualifying service member
- The active duty service member is here in compliance with military orders
Spouse Domicile
Both the qualifying military service member and the spouse must maintain a domicile outside of Virginia and provide evidence. Evidence of domicile includes documents such as property ownership, voter registration, driver’s license, and income tax filings. A military service member’s LES will show their state of domicile. Military spouses are also issued a military ID card that identifies the card-holder as a spouse, but it does not identify the spouse’s domicile; therefore, separate evidence of domicile will be required for military spouses before an exemption can be granted. Under Virginia law the burden of proof is on the one claiming an exemption.
Loss of exemption
- Everyday scenarios may cause the spouse to lose his or her tax exemption under PL 117-333. These scenarios include:
- Service member leaves the service
- Divorce
- Voluntary physical separation due to duty changes--i.e., orders move the service member to a location outside the state where the spouse is authorized to join the service member, but chooses not to do so. (This DOES NOT include service member’s deployment to a war zone or other location where the spouse is not allowed to follow. The military treats this as a “travel” or “TDY” situation; the service member’s orders do not change).
- Spouse commits an action that clearly establishes the state of residence as the state of domicile. Such actions would include accepting in-state tuition, voting locally, and, possibly, filing Virginia income taxes.
