Vehicle owners in the City of Falls Church will likely see an increase in the Personal Property Tax (also known as the “car tax”) when bills are delivered to mailboxes this week. In April, the F.C. City Council approved a 14 percent temporary decrease in the personal property tax rate to help with the expected increase. The rate for this year is $4.30 per $100 of assessed value (down from $5.00).
“This nationwide increase in new and used vehicle values is caused by a combination of factors,” City of Falls Church Chief Financial Officer Kiran Bawa said in a statement from the City. “There is a high demand for used vehicles, low inventory of used vehicles, and supply chain issues caused by the pandemic that creates a low inventory issue for new vehicles.”
The decrease in the rate will not cancel out the total increase in all vehicle values. The increase varies widely from year, make, model and type of vehicle. This year about 85 percent of vehicles owned by City residents increased in value, compared to 15 percent of vehicles increasing in value last year.
The tax is due October 5 and can be paid online at www.fallschurchva.gov. Payment can also be mailed or placed in the yellow drop box outside the City Hall main entrance; payment and the bill stub should be included. The mailing address is Treasurer, 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church, VA 22046.
Questions about vehicle assessments can be directed to the Commissioner of the Revenue’s Office (commissioner@fallschurchva.gov or 703-248-5450, TTY 711). To register a vehicle or to give notice of a moved out vehicle, go to www.fallschurchva.gov/vehiclereg. For billing and online payment questions, contact the Treasurer’s Office (treasurer@fallschurchva.gov or 703-248-5046, TTY 711). Information about payment options can be found online at www.fallschurchva.gov/Payments.
In terms of the value of a used vehicle, the following is taken from the website for NADA:
“NADA is the National Association of Automobile Dealers. The first NADA guides were issued in 1933 during the Great Depression at the request of the federal government. Over the years, the NADAguides (the yellow book) has become the premier resource for finding the value of vehicles in the used vehicle industry. Since 2015, the NADAguides have been licensed to J.D. Power.
The NADA value is the value of your used vehicle based on many different value factors. The NADA guides have values for automobiles, motorcycles, boats, RVs, and even manufactured homes. The NADA used car guide provides multiple values for each vehicle. This depends on whether it is the auction value, actual cash value, retail value, trade-in value, private party value, or even the used car or new car dealer price. The prices are compiled from actual purchase information and are regularly updated. This provides some of the most important information when it comes to used car values, and is a useful research tool online for anyone looking to sell their vehicle at a fair price, offering several options as well. An individual owner, an automotive dealership, banks, and auctioneers: all rely on NADA to find out more about the automobile marketplace and get an estimated market price.
Several different factors and data affect the NADA value of your vehicle. In fact, all of the factors combine together to give an accurate picture of the genuine value of the vehicle. Sentimental value is not one of these. There are four major factors that affect NADA value: 1 Location of vehicle, 2 Optional Accessories, 3. Mileage, 4 Condition.
It’s pretty straightforward to know that mileage and condition affect the value (if you didn’t know, you can check a vehicle’s history report by entering the VIN number on the guide by NADA site as well). For example when it comes to average retail value in terms of mileage, it should be within the acceptable range for the model year. In addition to condition, it’s something car dealers also take into account all the time, but less so when it comes to vehicle location and optional accessories.
Optional accessories affect NADA value because they definitely add value to a vehicle. Of course, optional accessories like automatic transmission and air conditioning are very important selling points for a vehicle. Generally, the more optional accessories or products the vehicle has then the higher the NADA value is.
Location affects pricing and cash offers as well. Not only is there a rural vs. urban divide when it comes to car prices, but there is also a regional disparity. This disparity can be caused by economic differences between areas. It can also be caused by supply and demand issues. There can even be seasonal price differences. Not surprisingly, there is less demand for a convertible model car in December in a place like North Dakota than there is in another state like Florida. While location doesn’t play a huge part in vehicle values, it is something to be aware of.
NADA Guides (National Appraisal Guides) shares the vehicle valuation market with Kelley Blue Book (KBB), and many consumers often want to know which of these tools is better. They both are trusted guides for vehicle valuations with almost a century of experience, but there are some key differences, mostly in how they calculate the value. NADA relies more on hard data about sales and prices from sellers, retailers, trying to be more comprehensive, while the KBB focuses on auctions a bit more. More importantly for us, unlike the NADA Guide, KBB does not offer valuations for RVs and motorhomes, focusing just on used cars, new cars, SUVs, and trucks.”
