Williamsburg Offers Real Estate Tax Relief Program to Property Owners

WILLIAMSBURG — The City of Williamsburg is offering a Real Estate Tax Relief program to property owners who struggled with the economic effects of COVID-19.

The new Fiscal Year 2022 adopted budget includes a four-cent increase to the real estate property tax rate. This new rate puts the City of Williamsburg at sixty-four cents per one-hundred dollars of assessed value.

The tax relief program is geared towards property owners who have struggled due to the economic effects caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Those property owners can now apply for real estate tax relief to offset this new tax rate increase.

The Williamsburg City Council has established two funds dedicated to property tax relief.

The first is called The Residential Tax Relief Program and it’s meant to assist homeowners located within the city. On the application, there are five criteria for homeowners to consider if they are applying for the residential tax relief program:

1. The Primary residence is in the City of Williamsburg and the resident pays real estate taxes to the City of Williamsburg.
2. If the resident’s income was at or below 80% of median income in 2020.
3. If the resident experiences a loss of income of 10% or more due to the COVID-19 pandemic when comparing 2019 to 2020 income.
4. If the resident can prove their income loss.
5. If the resident can verify that the income loss was due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The other fund is The Small Business Real Estate Tax Relief Program. This program specifically targets local business property owners. There are 5 eligibility requirements for a small business:

1. The Business must pay real estate taxes to the City of Williamsburg.
2. The Business must be licensed in the City of Williamsburg.
3. The Business must have employed fewer than 20 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees at any point in time between March 31 – June 30, 2021.
4. The Business must be able to demonstrate a 20% reduction in gross receipts from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020, compared to Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2019.
5. The Business must be able to validate that the reduction in gross receipts is due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Business property owners seeking more information can visit the Yes Williamsburg website.

The applications will be accepted through Nov. 30, 2021, and will be processed in the order that they are received. If approved, the tax relief payments will be issued in mid-December, 2021.