- Home
- Your Government
- Commissioner of the Revenue
- Real Estate
- Land Use Program
Land Use Program
About
In compliance with § 58.1.3233 Code of Virginia, the land use rates for 2019-2024 are listed below. If you have any questions, please call Troy Taylor at (804) 469-4500 option 4.
The Land Use Value Rates are as follows:
- Agriculture / Piedmont: $530 per acre
- Agriculture / Coastal: $488 per acre
- Forestry: $696 per acre
Reduced Assessments
As allowed under the Code of Virginia, Dinwiddie County has adopted an ordinance to allow taxpayers to apply for specially reduced assessments on certain real estate, depending on its use. Following very closely on the calculations of the State Land Evaluation Advisory Council (SLEAC), reductions of assessment are given on each qualifying parcel.
Such reduction encourages the continuation of farms, orchards, and forests in a time when development is driving the value of land up in a greater ratio than the return on products generated from such land.
Taxpayers owning and operating qualifying agricultural, horticultural, forestry, and open space land may apply for special annual deferment of real estate taxes on the property. Certain minimums apply as to acreage and use in each category and an annual application must be filed. New applications are due by November 1 of the current year for the following tax year. No new applications for 2022 will be accepted after November 1, 2021.
If a taxpayer has put land in a conservation easement, please contact the Real Estate Division.
More Information
Owners of new parcels, either broken off from qualifying land or never before in the program, must apply for each parcel. The initial application fee is $10 per application. Site visits and details as to production income, use plan, forestry plan, and other information will be required when making an application. Information requested will depend on the category of land in use. Assessment values are reduced based on soil quality and category, using capitalized farm revenue similar to SLEAC values.
Applicants with land in forestry use will need to have a plan designed by a forester or other pre-approved plan. Such plans must be renewed every 10 years. Copies of the completed plan should be presented to the commissioner of the revenue staff.
Forestry Management Plan (PDF)
Should property in land use change to non-qualifying, immediate notification must by law be sent to the commissioner of the revenue. When property is removed from land use due to a more intense change in use, roll-back taxes will be applied for the current and preceding five years plus interest. Because land use taxes are only a deferral of tax, roll-back taxes make the County harmless to the extent of the tax rate and full value should the property have not been in the land use assessment program.