                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

APPLICATION TO COURT TO CORRECT ERRONEOUS ASSESSMENTS OF LOCAL LEVIES GENERALLY
(§ 58.1-3984)

A. Any person assessed with local taxes, aggrieved by any such assessment, may,
unless otherwise specially provided by law (including, but not limited to, as
provided under (i) § 15.2-717 and (ii) § 3 of Chapter 261 of the Acts of
Assembly of 1936 (which was continued in effect by § 58-769 of the Code of
Virginia; and now continued in effect by § 58.1-3260), as amended by Chapter
422 of the Acts of Assembly of 1950, as amended by Chapter 339 of the Acts of
Assembly of 1958, and as amended by the 2003 Regular Session of the General
Assembly), (a) within three years from the last day of the tax year for which
any such assessment is made, (b) within one year from the date of the
assessment, (c) within one year from the date of the Tax Commissioner&#8217;s
final determination under subdivision A 6 of § 58.1-3703.1 or subsection D of
§ 58.1-3983.1, or (d) within one year from the date of the final determination
under § 58.1-3981, whichever is later, apply for relief to the circuit court of
the county or city wherein such assessment was made. The application shall be
before the court when it is filed in the clerk&#8217;s office. The taxpayer
filing the application and the locality shall be necessary parties to the
proceedings in the circuit court. The locality shall be named in the application
as the &#8220;City of ____,&#8221; &#8220;Town of ____,&#8221; or &#8220;____
County,&#8221; as applicable. In such proceedings, except for proceedings
seeking relief from real property taxes, the burden of proof shall be upon the
taxpayer to show that the property in question is valued at more than its fair
market value or that the assessment is not uniform in its application, or that
the assessment is otherwise invalid or illegal, but it shall not be necessary
for the taxpayer to show that intentional, systematic, and willful
discrimination has been made.
			All proceedings pursuant to this section shall be conducted as an action at
law before the court, sitting without a jury. The county or city attorney or, if
none, the attorney for the Commonwealth shall defend the locality in any such
proceedings.
			Prior to the release of any information that constitutes confidential tax
information under § 58.1-3, pursuant to discovery or otherwise, for the
purposes of a proceeding under this section, the court shall, no later than the
issuance of the scheduling order, make the following order:
			&#8220;Unless otherwise ordered by the court, no entity or person who has
obtained confidential information protected by § 58.1-3 of the Code of Virginia
regarding [property reference], directly or indirectly through any party to this
action, shall disclose, exhibit, or discuss the confidential information except
as provided herein. Confidential information protected by § 58.1-3 may be
revealed to or discussed only with the following persons in connection with the
review or litigation of the assessment of the above-referenced property:

   1. The taxpayer or the locality (the &#8220;Parties&#8221;);

   2. Counsel for any Party to this action and employees of the counsel&#8217;s
   firm, including attorneys other than counsel;

   3. Outside experts retained by and assisting counsel for any Party in the
   preparation for or trial of this action;

   4. The court or an administrative board reviewing the assessment on the
   above-referenced property, persons employed by the court or administrative
   board, and persons employed to transcribe or record the testimony or argument
   at a hearing, trial, or deposition regarding the assessment of the
   above-referenced property; and

   5. Any person who may be called as a witness in a hearing, trial, or discovery
   that counsel believes in good faith to be necessary for the preparation or
   presentation of the case.
   				No person who is furnished with confidential information shall reveal it
   to, or discuss it with, any person who is not entitled to receive it under the
   terms of this order. Prior to their receipt of confidential information, those
   persons described in subdivisions 3 and 5 shall be required to sign an
   acknowledgement of this order and agree to be bound by the terms hereof and be
   subject to the jurisdiction of the court for enforcement thereof. Any person
   who violates the provisions of this order shall be subject to the penalty
   provided in subsection F of &#xA7; 58.1-3.&#8221;
   				Once the above-referenced order is entered, &#xA7; 58.1-3 shall not be
   applicable to prevent the release of any relevant information that is
   responsive to a request for discovery made in the course of an appeal pursuant
   to this section.

B. In circuit court proceedings to seek relief from real property taxes, there
shall be a presumption that the valuation determined by the assessor or as
adjusted by the board of equalization is correct. The burden of proof shall be
on the taxpayer to rebut such presumption and show by a preponderance of the
evidence that the property in question was assessed at more or less than its
fair market value or that the assessment is not uniform in its application, and
that it was not arrived at in accordance with generally accepted appraisal
practices, procedures, rules, and standards as prescribed by nationally
recognized professional appraisal organizations such as the International
Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) and applicable Virginia law relating to
valuation of property. Mistakes of fact, including computation, that affect the
assessment shall be deemed not to be in accordance with generally accepted
appraisal practice.
			However, in any appeal of the assessment of residential property filed by a
taxpayer as an owner of real property containing less than four residential
units, the assessing officer shall give the required written notice to the
taxpayer, or his duly authorized representative, under subsection E of &#xA7;
58.1-3331, and, upon written request, shall provide the taxpayer or his duly
authorized representative copies of the assessment records set out in
subsections A, B, and C of &#xA7; 58.1-3331 pertaining to the assessing
officer&#8217;s determination of fair market value of the property under appeal.
A written request by the taxpayer or his duly authorized representative shall be
made following the filing of the appeal to circuit court and no later than 45
days prior to trial, unless otherwise provided by an order of the court before
which the appeal is pending. Provided the written request is made in accordance
with this section or any applicable court order, the assessing officer shall
provide such records within 15 days of the written request to the taxpayer or
his duly authorized representative. If the assessing officer fails to do so, the
assessing officer shall present the following into evidence prior to the
presentation of evidence by the taxpayer at the hearing: (i) copies of the
assessment records maintained by the assessing officer under &#xA7; 58.1-3331,
(ii) testimony that explains the methodologies employed by the assessing officer
to determine the assessed value of the property, and (iii) testimony that states
that the assessed value was arrived at in accordance with generally accepted
appraisal practices, procedures, rules, and standards as prescribed by
nationally recognized professional appraisal organizations such as the
International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) and applicable Virginia
law relating to valuation of property. Upon the conclusion of the presentation
of the evidence of the assessing officer, the taxpayer shall have the burden of
proof by a preponderance of the evidence to rebut such evidence presented by the
assessing officer as otherwise provided in this section.

C. The presumptions, burdens, and standards set out in subsection B shall not be
construed to change or have any effect upon the presumptions, burdens, and
standards applicable to applications for the correction of erroneous assessments
of any local tax other than real property taxes.

D. In the event it comes or is brought to the attention of the commissioner of
the revenue or other assessing official of the locality that the assessment of
any tax is improper or is based on obvious error and should be corrected in
order that the ends of justice may be served, and he is not able to correct it
under &#xA7; 58.1-3981, the commissioner of the revenue or other assessing
official shall apply to the appropriate court, in the manner herein provided for
relief of the taxpayer. Such application may include a petition for relief for
any of several taxpayers.

HISTORY: Code 1950, §§ 58-1145, 58-1146, 58-1149, 58-1153, 58-1154, 58-1155;
1968, c. 360; 1974, c. 362; 1977, c. 99; 1980, c. 735; 1984, c. 675; 1988, c.
282; 1989, c. 86; 1991, c. 8; 1992, c. 382; 1997, c. 251; 1998, c. 529; 1999,
cc. 202, 407; 2003, c. 1036; 2011, cc. 184, 232; 2016, cc. 460, 635; 2022, c.
358.