A. Notwithstanding any provision of § 58.1-3503, household goods and personal effects are hereby defined as separate items of taxation and classified as follows:

Terms Used In Virginia Code 58.1-3504

  • City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • real estate: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights and appurtenances thereto and interests therein, other than a chattel interest. See Virginia Code 1-219
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254

1. Bicycles.

2. Household and kitchen furniture, including gold and silver plates, plated ware, watches and clocks, sewing machines, refrigerators, automatic refrigerating machinery of any type, vacuum cleaners and all other household machinery, books, firearms and weapons of all kinds.

3. Pianos, organs, and all other musical instruments; phonographs, record players, and records to be used therewith; and radio and television instruments and equipment.

4. Oil paintings, pictures, statuary, curios, articles of virtu and works of art.

5. Diamonds, cameos or other precious stones and all precious metals used as ornaments or jewelry.

6. Sporting and photographic equipment.

7. Clothing and objects of apparel.

8. Antique motor vehicles as defined in § 46.2-100 which may not be used for general transportation purposes.

9. All-terrain vehicles, mopeds, and off-road motorcycles as defined in § 46.2-100.

10. Electronic communications and processing devices and equipment, including but not limited to cell phones and tablet and personal computers, including peripheral equipment such as printers.

11. All other tangible personal property used by an individual or a family or household incident to maintaining an abode.

The classification above set forth shall apply only to such property owned and used by an individual or by a family or household primarily incident to maintaining an abode.

The governing body of any county, city or town may, by ordinance duly adopted, exempt from taxation all of the above classes of household goods and personal effects.

B. Notwithstanding any provision set forth above, household appliances in residential rental property used by an individual or by a family or household incident to maintaining an abode shall be deemed to be fixtures and shall be assessed as part of the real property in which they are located.

For purposes of this subsection, “household appliances” shall mean all major appliances customarily used in a residential home and which are the property of the owner of the real estate, including, without limitation, refrigerators, stoves, ranges, microwave ovens, dishwashers, trash compactors, clothes dryers, garbage disposals and air conditioning units.

Code 1950, § 58-829.1; 1958, c. 72; 1984, cc. 675, 768; 1997, c. 250; 2006, c. 896; 2013, c. 783; 2014, c. 279.

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