The Virginia General Assembly enacted the Personal Property Tax Relief Act (PPTRA) in 1998. Code of Virginia Section 58.1-3523 et. seq. provides relief of personal property taxes otherwise payable on the first $20,000 of value for qualifying vehicles.

About the Personal Property Tax Relief Act

The following requirements must be met to qualify for tax relief. The vehicle must be:

• a passenger car, pickup or panel truck, or a motorcycle
• privately owned by a natural person or leased by a natural person under contract requiring such person to pay the personal property tax
• used for non-business purposes

Motor homes, campers, trailers, and farm use vehicles do not qualify for tax relief.

Using the definitions as set forth in the Code of Virginia Section 46.2-100

• Passenger Car: Every motor vehicle designed and used primarily for the transportation of no more than ten persons including the driver.
• Pickup or Panel Truck: Every motor vehicle registered for personal use, designed to transport property on its own structure independent of any other vehicle, and having a registered gross weight in excess of 7,500 pounds but not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Motorcycle: Every motor vehicle designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground and capable of traveling in excess of 35 miles per hour. Motorcycle does not include any "farm tractor", "golf cart", or "moped" as defined in this section.

HB 30

The 2002 General Assembly also enacted HB 30, which requires the Department of Taxation to develop and implement, not later than January 1, 2003, a comprehensive Personal Property Tax Relief Act Compliance Program. The objectives of the program are:

• To enhance taxpayer knowledge and compliance with PPTRA
• To establish cost-effective verification and audit procedures

HB 30 authorizes the tax commissioner to promulgate administrative guidelines to implement the PPTRA Compliance Program.

Vehicle Qualification

If you can answer yes to any of the following questions, your motor vehicle is considered by state law to have a business use and does not qualify for car tax relief.

• Is more than 50% of the mileage for the year used as a business expense for Federal Income Tax purposes or reimbursed by an employer?
• Is more than 50% of the depreciation associated with the vehicle deducted as a business expense for Federal Income Tax purposes?
• Is the cost of the vehicle expensed pursuant to Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Service Code?
• Is the vehicle leased by an individual and the leasing company pays the tax without reimbursement from the individual?

The State of Virginia is currently paying a portion of your Personal Property Tax on qualifying vehicles.

• 2017: 50% (relief)
• 2018: 49% (relief)
• 2019: 35.15%  (relief)
• 2020: 42.50%  (relief)
• 2021: 39.50% (relief)
• 2022: 38% (relief)

It is very important that you certify that each vehicle is either personal use or business use on your City of Waynesboro Motor Vehicle Personal Property Return.

Important: If you do not certify that your vehicles are either business use or personal use each year at the times specified and anytime that we request this information, we will have no alternative but to not qualify your vehicle for the tax relief.

If, after reading this, you still are not sure if your vehicle is for business use or personal use, please give our office a phone call and we will determine the use of your vehicle based on the guidelines that we have been given and the actual individual facts per case.

If you have any questions, please contact the Commissioner of the Revenue's Office at 540-942-6610.