The Arlington County’s Office of the Commissioner of Revenue bases the annual tax assessments for motor vehicles garaged in Arlington County on the “Clean Loan Value”, established by the “J.D Power (formally NADA Guides)”, which is published every January. Under this guidance, assessments are prepared every summer for bills to be mailed in preparation for the annual motor vehicle tax payment due date of October 5.
Generally, a vehicle is a depreciating asset, so customers would expect lower assessments as their vehicle ages. However, our office has learned that some vehicle values may have increased this year due to a number of factors, including a slowdown in production of vehicles in 2020 and 2021, partly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has caused an increase in prices for new and used vehicles. Limited availability and associated price increase drive up prices for customers shopping in the used car market as well as the new vehicle market. These higher values may result in increased assessments for some vehicles.
At this time, our office is unable to predict how this potential increase could affect our customers. Commissioner of Revenue Ingrid Morroy wants to assure Arlingtonians that they will receive a fair assessment based on market value data.
