Frequently Asked Questions

Currently, Wise County has a tax relief program that will deduct up to $200 from your real estate taxes if you are over the age of 65 or totally and permanently disabled and meet the income and asset guidelines. Currently, there is no tax relief program available for personal property, except the TAX EXEMPTION FOR DISABLED VETERANS.

Wise County reassessments are performed every 4 years.

Based on sales studies, most real estate property values increase within the 4 year period.

Assessments are based upon a sales study conducted during the most recent reassessment. Even though the market may change, the assessment remains the same until the next reassessment if there are no changes in acreage, zoning, or new construction.

The Attorney General's office opinioned that values adopted by the Board of Assessors who oversees the reassessment cannot be changed until the next reassessment without changes being made in the size of the property, new construction, rezoning or demolition.

The Wise County Assessment Team conducts a general reassessment of all properties in the county, in accordance with Section 58.1-3252 of the Code of Virginia. Currently, this assessment takes place every four years. The Assessment Office follows the principle of "ad-valorem taxation", which mandates that values reflect the fair market. The Assessment Office is able to determine this by conducting a sales study of all recent transactions in the market. Therefore, assessed values are established by what citizens of Wise County are currently paying for property on the open market, as analyzed by the sales study. The contributions of size, location, and condition of your property will all be considered before final values are determined.

Reassessments are conducted to equalize the values of real estate property throughout the county.

Yes. Real estate values are public record, and are available at our online assessment website, EagleWeb.

State Law mandates that the burden of proof rests with the taypayer to prove that an assessment is in error. The Assessment team does not have the authority to adjust a value between reassessments unless one of the following conditions is true:

1. An error was made in the previous assessment which, once found, is corrected.
2. Boundary lines are adjusted by survey or division.
3. Changes in zoning.
4. Court orders.
5. New construction: including additions, porches, garages, or any other feature that adds value.
6. Improvements to the property, including renovation of a structure. If homes suffer from a condition that can be corrected, assessors will monitor the home periodically, and adjust the value if and when the condition is corrected.
7. Demolition or significant damage to a property.

An appeal process has been established, when an Assessor will review all the features of your property to ensure they reflect that fair market at the time of the last Reassessment, and to ensure that none of the seven criteria above should influence the value. Please be aware that values can go up or down based on the result of the appeal, and in order to obtain more information, the Assessor may need to conduct an inspection of the interior of the dwelling or structures on a property.

If you feel the need to file an appeal with our office, please download the Assessment Appeal Application form and submit it to our office. An Assessor will contact you once the application has been received.

This information is available on our online assessment website at EagleWeb or on the land books located in the Commissioner's office as well as the Circuit Court Clerk's office.

There is a three year statute of limitations on making a tax adjustment.