City Of Williamsburg Establishes COVID-19 Tax Relief Programs

WILLIAMSBURG — The City of Williamsburg voted unanimously on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, to launch two COVID-19 tax relief programs that will target both residential and small business property owners respectively.

The newly-approved tax relief programs will assist property owners, within the City of Williamsburg, that have struggled with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Business and residential property owners can now apply for real estate tax relief to offset the 4-cent increase to the real estate property tax rate that the city plans to adopt for the Fiscal year of 2022.

The Residential Real Estate Tax Relief Program will specifically target households that may have become economically disadvantaged due to COVID-19. Citizens may be eligible for relief if they meet the following requirements:

1. The Primary residence is in the City of Williamsburg and the resident pays real estate taxes.
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.
4. If the resident has verification of their income loss and the COVID-19 impact.

The Small Business Real Estate Tax Relief Program will specifically target 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.

The City of Williamsburg will be accepting applications for both relief programs up to Nov. 30, 2021. If approved, the tax relief payments will be issued in mid-December 2021.

More information on how homeowners can apply to the residential real estate tax relief program can be found on the city website.

Business property owners seeking more information can head over to the Yes Williamsburg website.