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Where Your Taxes Go

Chesterfield County · FY2026 · July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026

A plain-language look at the county’s budget: where the money comes from, where it goes, and what you pay. Figures are from the county’s official adopted budget, linked at the bottom so you can check the math yourself.

$1.04B
General Fund budget
$0.89
Real estate rate (per $100)
71%
Comes from property taxes
67%
Goes to schools + public safety

Where the money comes from

General Fund revenue, the county’s main local operating budget ($1.04B in FY2026). Most of it is the property taxes you pay.

Property taxes71.1% · $742.0M
Real estate 56.9% ($593.7M) + personal property 11.5% ($119.7M) + other
Other local taxes13.9% · $144.7M
Local sales tax, business license (BPOL), lodging, utility, recordation
State & federal aid9.2% · $96.2M
Intergovernmental revenue from the Commonwealth and federal government
Service charges, fees & permits4.0% · $42.2M
Charges for services, use of money/property, permits and fees
Reserves & other1.8% · $18.4M
Use of reserves, transfers in, recovered costs, fines

Where it goes

General Fund spending by function. Two of every three dollars go to schools and public safety.

Schools (transfer to CCPS)39.6% · $413.0M
Public safety (police, fire/EMS, sheriff)27.6% · $287.8M
General government / administration9.0% · $94.3M
Health & welfare / human services7.4% · $76.8M
Parks, recreation & libraries3.6% · $37.7M
Transfers to other funds3.5% · $36.1M
Debt service3.3% · $34.2M
Public works2.8% · $28.9M
Community development1.8% · $19.0M
Courts (administration of justice)1.5% · $15.8M

What you pay: tax rates

Current Chesterfield County tax rates.

Real estate (real property)$0.89 per $100Calendar year 2025. Fourth straight annual cut (was $0.90).
Personal property (vehicles)$3.35 per $100Down from $3.60. 2025 personal property tax relief: 40%.
Sales & use tax6.0% total4.3% state + 1.0% local + 0.7% regional (CVTA).
Machinery & tools$1.00 per $100Tax year 2025.
Data center computer equipment$0.24 per $100Reduced rate for data center hardware.
Lodging (transient occupancy)8%6% to tourism, 2% to the General Fund.
Meals / food & beverageNoneChesterfield County does not levy a meals tax.
Every figure on this page comes from the Chesterfield County FY2026 Adopted Budget and FY2026–FY2030 Capital Improvement Program. Adopted by the Board of Supervisors on April 9, 2025. More county budget documents are at the county Budget & Management department. The full county budget across all funds (including schools’ state money and ratepayer-funded utilities) is $2.40B; the General Fund shown here is the local operating portion.