Commissioner of the Revenue's Office

Personal Property (Vehicle Registration now available online)

Salem prorates personal property taxes based on the number of months a vehicle is owned in a given year. Tax bills are due each May 31, and are for the current calendar year (January through December). When you have purchased or have been given a vehicle, you must notify the Commissioner's office within 30 days of the date of purchase. You can do this by bringing your registration or bill of sale to our office, calling with the new vehicle title number, or register online HERE. You will have an additional 30 days to pay the prorated tax bill. Citizens must also notify the commissioner's office within 30 days if you sell, give away, junk, or retitle a vehicle.

New residents also must file within 30 days. When moving from another locality that prorates, you will pay a portion of the tax year to your prior locality and the remainder of the year to Salem. When moving to Salem from a non-prorating locality after January 1, you must bring the registration to your vehicle and documentation from your former commissioner's office showing that you have filed there for the current tax year. Taxpayers moving to Salem from out of state must file within 30 days of titling their vehicle in Virginia.

When moving out of Salem to a prorating locality, we must see documentation from the locality you are moving to proving your vehicles have been filed there. Your new locality may simply fax the information to us. When moving to a non-prorating locality after January 1, taxes are owed to Salem for the full year. Your new locality will not bill you until the following year. If you are moving out of state, we must see a copy of your title or registration from the new state in order to prorate your Salem taxes.

When assessing vehicles, we use the January National Auto Dealer's Association (N.A.D.A.) guide. When available, we use the loan value from this book, which is the lowest value listed. When that figure cannot be obtained, we use a percentage of the manufacturer's suggested retail price. If neither of these values can be found, we then use a percent of cost. Our personal property tax rate is $3.20 per $100 of the assessed value.