[Archived] Alexandria City Council Sets Potential Range for 2020 Real Estate Tax Rate

­­For Immediate Release: March 11, 2020

On March 10, the Alexandria City Council voted unanimously to consider a 2020 calendar year real estate tax rate of up to $1.155 per $100 of assessed value. The real estate tax rate City Council eventually adopts could be higher, lower, or the same as the current rate of $1.13, but cannot be higher than $1.155. No increase will be considered for the tax rates on personal property (vehicles) or business tangible property.  

On February 18, City Manager Mark Jinks proposed a Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Operating Budget that funds 100% of City government and Alexandria City Public Schools operating costs at the current tax rate of $1.13. The proposed budget also recommends a two-cent tax rate increase (for a total tax rate of $1.15) to be used solely for Schools and City capital needs, including the $248 million construction cost of new buildings for Douglas MacArthur Elementary School and the Minnie Howard Campus of T.C. Williams High School.

If City Council adopts the real estate tax rate in the proposed budget of $1.15 for 2020, the average residential tax bill would increase $428 or 6.82% when compared to 2019 residential tax bills. If City Council were to adopt the maximum real estate tax rate of $1.155 for 2020, the average residential tax bill would increase $457 or 7.29%.

No decision has been made yet on what the adopted tax rates will be. City Council will adopt final rates in conjunction with the adoption of the FY 2021 budget on April 29. A public hearing on the ordinance establishing the real estate tax rate will be held on Saturday, April 18, at 9:30 a.m., in the City Hall Council Chamber (301 King St.).  

For more information about the FY 2021 budget process, visit alexandriava.gov/Budget.

For media inquiries, contact Craig Fifer, Director of Communications and Public Information, at craig.fifer@alexandriava.gov, or 703.746.3965.