RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — More than 66,000 personal property taxes were wrongly assessed by the City of Richmond, according to a Dec. 5 audit report.
According the report, the City wrongly assessed 66,057 personal property tax bills — with 41,476 tax bills reportedly corrected and 24,581 bills still needing corrections.
The timing of the due date change in Ordinance No. 2022-156, which updated the due date to pay personal taxes to August 5, 2022, was cited as the reason the tax bills were wrongly assessed.
The report stated that, due to this timing, personal property bills had already been mailed to taxpayers as required by the Virginia code. Additionally, the waiver meant to remove penalties and interest within the system did not correct all affected accounts.
Additionally, $16,024 in penalties on 444 bills were reported to have been applied prior to the due date — which included business personal property.
According to City Code Section 26-431, interest on unpaid taxes will be charged annually at a 10% rate from the day following the due date of the year or month in which taxes are due and payable.
The report stated personal property taxes are the second largest local revenue source for the City of Richmond, accounting for 12% of the City’s revenue. Real estate taxes are the largest source.
Personal property covers multiple different objects such as motor vehicles, farming equipment, boats, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, campers and trailers.
The audit recommended the Director of Finance refund those who were wrongly assessed by the system from bills between June 7, 2022 and August 7, 2022.
The Director of Finance was also recommended to review individual personal property tax accounts with a penalty assessed before the due date on August 5, 2022 to ensure they were correct or need correction.
