Williamsburg Area Property Taxes: What You'll Pay in 2026

How much are property taxes in the Williamsburg, Virginia area?

Real estate tax rates in the Greater Williamsburg area run from $0.62 to $0.80 per $100 of assessed value as of July 2026. James City County dropped its rate from $0.83 to $0.80 per $100 effective July 1, 2026, and added a one-time two-cent credit for the FY2027 year. York County is $0.78 per $100. The City of Williamsburg is $0.62 per $100, the lowest rate of any city in Virginia. Every locality resets its rate with its annual budget, so confirm the current number before you build it into your payment.

By Jackie Berberabe | July 15, 2026

If you're shopping across the Historic Triangle, you've probably noticed something strange. Two homes at the same price can carry monthly payments that differ by seventy or eighty dollars, and nothing about the houses explains it.

The answer is usually the tax line.

The City of Williamsburg, James City County, and York County each set their own real estate tax rate. You can cross from one into another without noticing, and plenty of addresses that say "Williamsburg" in the listing are actually in James City County or York County. Your tax bill follows the jurisdiction, not the mailing address.

This question comes up constantly right now, and the timing isn't a coincidence. James City County's new rate took effect on July 1, so buyers who ran their numbers this spring are working from a figure that has already changed.

Here's how it actually breaks down.

What each locality charges right now

These are the real estate tax rates as of the date of writing, July 2026:

- James City County: $0.80 per $100 of assessed value. This is down from $0.83, effective July 1, 2026, as part of the FY2027 budget the Board of Supervisors adopted in May. That budget also included a one-time two-cent real estate tax credit, so your FY2027 bill will land a little lower than the rate alone suggests.
- York County: $0.78 per $100 of assessed value.
- City of Williamsburg: $0.62 per $100 of assessed value, the lowest rate of any city in the Commonwealth.

Two things to keep in mind before you lean on these numbers.

First, the rate is only half the equation. It gets applied to your assessed value, which is the locality's number, not the price you paid and not your Zestimate. Assessments in the Williamsburg area have been climbing, and a flat rate on a higher assessment still means a higher bill. When you compare localities, you're comparing rate and assessment practice together.

Second, these change. Each locality sets its rate through its own annual budget cycle, which is exactly what James City County just demonstrated. Verify the current rate with the county or city before you commit to a payment.

How to run the math on a home you're considering

The formula is straightforward. Take the assessed value, divide by 100, and multiply by the rate.

Say you're looking at a home assessed at $500,000, which is right around the James City County median. Here's what the annual real estate tax looks like in each locality:

- James City County at $0.80: $500,000 divided by 100 = 5,000, then 5,000 x $0.80 = $4,000 per year, or about $333 a month. Apply the one-time two-cent credit for FY2027 and you're closer to $3,900, roughly $325 a month.
- York County at $0.78: 5,000 x $0.78 = $3,900 per year, about $325 a month.
- City of Williamsburg at $0.62: 5,000 x $0.62 = $3,100 per year, about $258 a month.

So on the same assessed value, the spread between James City County and the City of Williamsburg is about $900 a year, or $75 a month.

That $75 matters more than it looks. If you're financing with a VA loan or any loan with an escrow account, the tax gets folded into your monthly payment, and your lender counts it in your debt-to-income ratio. Seventy-five dollars a month can move your approval number by real money. I've watched buyers qualify for a slightly different price point purely because of which side of a county line the house sat on.

Run the number on the actual assessed value of the actual house. Not the list price, and not an average. Your agent can pull the assessment for any address you're serious about, and it takes about a minute.

If you want to see how the tax line fits alongside everything else you'll bring to the table, my breakdown of VA loan closing costs in Williamsburg (link: https://jackieberberabe.com/blog/va-loan-closing-costs-williamsburg) walks through the full picture for military buyers.

What the rate does not tell you

A few things buyers regularly conflate with the property tax rate, so let's separate them.

The grantor's tax is not your property tax. The grantor's tax is a one-time transfer tax the seller pays at closing in the City of Williamsburg, James City County, and York County, calculated at $1 per $1,000 of the sale price, which is 0.1%. On a $500,000 sale, that's about $500, and it comes out of the seller's proceeds, not yours. It's worth knowing that some other Virginia localities calculate the grantor's tax on assessed value instead of sale price, so the rule you read on a national site may not match what happens here. If you're on the selling side, I cover this in more detail in my post on what it costs to sell a house in Williamsburg (link: https://jackieberberabe.com/blog/cost-to-sell-house-williamsburg).

Taxes get prorated at closing, and it's not always intuitive. You and the seller each pay for the portion of the tax year you own the home. Depending on the timing, you may owe the seller a credit for taxes they already paid, or they may credit you. Your settlement agent calculates the exact split and puts it on the settlement statement. In Virginia, the buyer chooses the settlement agent, and I recommend a real estate attorney for this. Ask them to walk you through the proration line before closing day rather than reading it for the first time at the table.

Other local taxes are moving too, and they're separate from your home. The City of Williamsburg raised its restaurant meals tax to 6.5% in early 2026, and James City County's FY2027 budget added a new admissions tax along with a meals tax increase. None of that touches your real estate bill. It's part of your cost of living here, not your mortgage payment, and it's worth understanding as its own thing.

HOA dues are not taxes. If you're considering a community with a mandatory HOA, like Kingsmill, Ford's Colony, Greensprings West, or Scott's Pond, those dues are a separate monthly or annual line that has nothing to do with the county. Some neighborhoods, Windsor Forest among them, have a voluntary HOA instead, which is a different structure entirely.

Which locality should you buy in?

That's the wrong question, and I say that as someone who fields it every week.

The tax rate is one input. It's a real one, and $900 a year is not nothing. But you can't buy a rate, you buy a house, and the houses that fit what you need may only exist on one side of a line. If you're set on Ford's Colony or Kingsmill, that's James City County. If your commute points at Yorktown, York County is doing something for you that no rate sheet can.

What I tell clients is this: find the homes that fit what you actually need, then run the real tax number on each one. Let the math inform the decision instead of leading it. The line on the county's rate sheet is a starting point, not a verdict.

That's the kind of thing that's much easier to sort out with someone who knows where the lines are and what the assessments look like street by street. If you're weighing two addresses in two different jurisdictions and trying to understand what each one really costs you every month, that's a conversation worth having before you write an offer, not after.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the property tax rate in James City County, Virginia in 2026?
James City County's real estate tax rate is $0.80 per $100 of assessed value as of July 1, 2026, reduced from $0.83 as part of the FY2027 budget. The county also approved a one-time two-cent real estate tax credit for that budget year. Rates are reset annually, so verify the current figure with James City County before budgeting.

Are property taxes lower in Williamsburg or James City County?
The City of Williamsburg's rate of $0.62 per $100 is lower than James City County's $0.80 per $100 as of July 2026. On a home assessed at $500,000, that's a difference of about $900 a year. Your actual bill depends on the assessed value of the specific home, so compare real assessments rather than rates alone.

How are property taxes prorated at closing in Virginia?
The buyer and seller each cover the portion of the tax year during which they own the home. Your settlement agent calculates the split and shows it on the settlement statement. In Virginia, the buyer selects the settlement agent, and a real estate attorney is a good choice for this role.

Do property taxes affect how much house I can afford with a VA loan?
Yes. When your taxes are escrowed, they're part of your monthly payment, and lenders include that payment in your debt-to-income calculation. A higher tax rate can lower your maximum purchase price, which is why it's worth running the real number on any home you're seriously considering.

Is the grantor's tax the same as property tax in Williamsburg?
No. The grantor's tax is a one-time transfer tax the seller pays at closing, calculated at $1 per $1,000 of the sale price, or 0.1%, in the City of Williamsburg, James City County, and York County. Property tax is an ongoing annual bill the owner pays based on assessed value.

Before you write the offer

The short version: know which jurisdiction the home sits in, pull its actual assessed value, and run the tax on that number rather than on a rate sheet or an average. James City County just changed, so anything you calculated before July is out of date.

Planning a move to the Williamsburg area? I put together the Williamsburg Military Relocation Guide, loaded with local insights, tips, and the details that make a PCS or relocation go smoothly. Grab your copy here: https://jacquelinedeleon.lofty.me/military-relocation-guide

Happy to talk this through if you're comparing addresses across county lines. Call or text me at 757-870-1902.

About Jackie Berberabe

Jackie Berberabe is a licensed real estate agent in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a Military Relocation Professional with Real Broker LLC, serving Greater Williamsburg, including James City County and York County. With more than 20 years of experience, she helps military families, relocating buyers, and local sellers move through every step from preparation to closing, with deep knowledge of VA loans and the local market. Reach Jackie at 757-870-1902 or jackie@goodtobeehome.com. Real Broker LLC, 855-450-0442.

Tax rates cited are current as of July 2026 and are subject to change with each locality's annual budget. Verify current rates with the City of Williamsburg, James City County, or York County, and confirm your specific proration with your settlement agent.