Arlington homeowners will pay an average 5.2% more in real-estate taxes this year, under the county government’s $1.69 billion fiscal year 2027 budget adopted yesterday (Wednesday).
The total budget amount is nearly identical to the fiscal year 2026 spending plan now in place, marking a rare year without some degree of overall increase. But because of ongoing declines in values of commercial properties, more of the tax burden is shifting to homeowners.
County Board members split 4-1 on imposing a 2-cent tax-rate increase, to $1.053 per $100 assessed valuation, on top of higher assessed values for 2026. The impact on the owner of property valued at $1 million last year will be $537, with the tax bill rising to $10,867 when including the tax-rate increase and an average 3.2% assessment jump.
Commercial property is taxed at the residential rate plus a surcharge of 12.5 cents per $100 for transportation projects and, in some cases, another surcharge if located within a business-improvement district. In addition, all property owners pay a separate stormwater fee based on a lot’s impermeable surface.
Only Board member Susan Cunningham opposed the 2-cent rate increase, saying Board members should support the 1.5-cent rise proposed by County Manager Mark Schwartz in February.
“We absolutely could have stayed within that framework,” she said. “I was disappointed we did not work harder before asking residents for more.”
Cunningham said it was the wrong time to prioritize government operations over property owners.
Households and businesses “are navigating rising costs and increasing uncertainty,” she said. “These impacts are real, and people feel them.”
Her colleague Takis Karantonis countered that the budget plan was “mostly flat in what it demands of the taxpayer, but it’s still solid in what it delivers to the community.”
“We are trying … to economize and stretch the buck as much as we can,” he said.
Arlington’s tax-rate change is expected to be the highest among its three immediate Northern Virginia neighbors. Fairfax County and Falls Church leaders have opted not to raise their rates, relying solely on assessment increases, while the Alexandria City Council is considering a maximum increase of 1 cent.
Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said the final budget package aligned with the county’s values: “do core services and keep them going as well as possible” and “serve the most vulnerable.”
While the county’s new fiscal year starts July 1, the tax-rate increase will be retroactive to the start of the year. With the rate now set, property owners will see their tax bills arrive from the treasurer’s office in coming weeks.
Bills are due in installments in June and October.
At a March 11 forum sponsored by Advance Arlington, Schwartz said further increases couldn’t be ruled out in the future, given the ongoing challenges in the commercial-property sector that once was a golden goose for government coffers but, even before Covid, was showing signs of systemic weakness.
Other budget decisions
One last-minute budget change was a reduction in car-tax subsidies for owners of more expensive types of vehicles. That change will free up about $3.8 million for government use, with just over $2 million of it retained by the county government and the remainder going to the school system.
Board members voted on 22 separate budget motions, including a 1.5% increase to water/sewer rates and changes to a variety of service fees.
Board members also ratified their previous decisions not to shut Cherrydale Library or eliminate gymnastics programming. Both had been proposed by Schwartz as a way to cut costs.
Addressing a budget item that involved minimal money but generated outsized controversy, Board members rescinded a proposal from County Manager Mark Schwartz to impose a fee of between $250 and $1,000 for applications to designate properties as local historic districts.
Preservation advocates said the measure sent the wrong signal about Arlington’s desire to preserve its past.
