Henrico County, VA Property Tax Appeal Guide for 2027

What deadline matters first

For Henrico County’s 2027 tax year, the modeled regular assessment appeal deadline is April 1, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time. Henrico reassesses real property annually, and the 2027 assessment is valued as of January 1, 2027.

Henrico’s recent Application for Appeal of Property Assessment states that the completed form must be returned by April 1 and that reassessment appeal applications must be filed by April 1 to be considered for the current year. The same application explains that assessments are effective January 1 each year and should be at 100% of fair market value (Henrico 2026 appeal application).

Do not wait until the last week if you can avoid it. Your best use of February and March is to read the notice, check the property facts, gather sales, and put your reason for review in writing.

As of this analysis on 2026-06-21, Henrico’s published base real estate tax rate is $0.83 per $100 of assessed value, or about 0.83% before any special district charges. The 2027 levy rate may be set later, so treat this as the published base rate at the time of review, not a promise of your 2027 bill (Henrico approved tax rates).

The common value appeal

The common homeowner value issue is Comparable sales do not support the current assessment. In plain English, you are saying similar properties sold for prices that point to a lower fair market value than Henrico placed on your home.

For the 2027 assessment, the strongest sales are recent, valid market sales from the prior calendar year, modeled here as January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026. Henrico’s application specifically tells owners appearing before the board that sales from the previous calendar year may help support an opinion of value (Henrico 2026 appeal application).

Try to compare your home with properties similar in use, location, quality, condition, style, and physical features. A house in the same neighborhood is not automatically a good comparable if it is much larger, newly renovated, on a very different lot, or has a different use.

Henrico does not publish a fixed residential mileage radius, gross living area percentage range, lot-size range, or maximum number of comparable sales. A careful, conservative packet usually favors a small number of close, similar, arm’s-length sales over a long list of weak matches.

Other reasons you might appeal

Henrico recognizes other official reasons too. Use the county’s labels carefully, because the label tells staff and the board what kind of problem you are asking them to review.

Incorrect property information means the county record has a factual mistake that affects value. Examples include too much finished area, the wrong bathroom count, a condition grade that is too high, an incorrect acreage figure, or a building feature that is listed but does not exist.

Inequitable compared to similar properties means your assessment appears uneven when compared with similar properties. This is not just “my tax bill is high.” It is a uniformity argument that similar homes with comparable physical characteristics are assessed materially lower.

Assessed value is below fair market value means the assessment appears lower than what the property would sell for at fair market value. Homeowners seeking a lower tax bill should be careful with this reason, because it can support an increase rather than a reduction.

If your Notice of Assessment says something else changed

A Notice of Assessment is the notice that tells you the assessed value Henrico plans to use for your property. In Henrico, assessment notices are normally mailed beginning in February, so this is often the first paper that alerts a homeowner to a value change.

If the notice shows a change you do not understand, start with the facts. Compare the notice and property record against your home’s actual finished area, basement finish, garage, bathroom count, porch, deck, condition, acreage, and any recent construction.

If the county data is wrong, the official reason may be Incorrect property information. If the facts are right but the value still looks too high, the issue may be Comparable sales do not support the current assessment or Inequitable compared to similar properties.

Keep copies of anything that explains the change. Photos, contractor estimates, floor plans, closing statements, appraisals, and county record screenshots can all help you show the difference between the record and the real property.

What evidence helps

Henrico’s application asks for the owner’s estimated fair market value and tells applicants to provide evidence if the property is assessed above fair market value or the assessment is not uniform. It also lists examples such as sales from the previous calendar year, income and expense information, photographs, and contractor repair estimates (Henrico 2026 appeal application).

For a typical home, start with three to five strong comparable sales if you can find them. The best sales are arm’s-length transactions, meaning a normal market sale between unrelated parties, not a family transfer, gift deed, $0 transfer, foreclosure, auction, or other distressed or unreliable sale.

For each comparable sale, write down the sale date, sale price, address, living area, lot size, age, condition, style, and major differences from your home. If your home needs repairs, include dated photos and estimates so the reviewer can see why condition matters.

Do not rely only on a tax bill increase. The question is whether the assessment is supported as of January 1, 2027. A clear one-page summary can help: your requested value, your reason, your best evidence, and the documents attached.

What the board can and cannot decide

Henrico’s official appeal body is the Board of Real Estate Review and Equalization. The county describes its purpose as hearing appeals by persons aggrieved by their real estate assessment (Board of Real Estate Review and Equalization).

After an application is filed, county staff may inspect the property, review the record, complete an analysis, and send a recommended assessment to the board. If you disagree with the county recommendation, you may appear before the board and present evidence.

The board can reduce, sustain, or increase an assessment. That means an appeal should be prepared carefully, especially if your evidence is mixed or if some facts suggest the property could be worth more than the current value.

The board does not set the countywide tax rate. It also is not the same as separate tax relief or exemption programs, such as programs for older homeowners, disabled homeowners, or qualifying veterans, which Henrico lists separately in its application materials (Henrico 2026 appeal application).

For volume context, the board’s June 3, 2026 minutes show an appeal count of 21 cases considered that day: 13 non-contested cases and 8 contested cases. That shows the board regularly handles scheduled appeals, but it does not predict the result in any individual homeowner’s case (June 3, 2026 board minutes).

How TaxSauce helps

TaxSauce helps you turn a confusing assessment notice into an organized review packet. We can help estimate value support, compare your home with similar sales, flag property-record issues, and prepare a plain-English summary of the evidence.

We do not promise that Henrico will reduce your value. We also do not file without your review and consent. You decide whether the evidence is strong enough and whether you want to submit the application.

For many homeowners, the hardest part is knowing what matters. TaxSauce helps separate useful evidence from noise, so your packet focuses on the official reason that best fits your facts.