The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has approved a budget totaling approximately $6.9 billion in total appropriations for the general county government and school system for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. The adopted budget includes a real property tax rate of $0.865 cents per $100 in assessed value for tax year 2024, which is one cent lower than the current tax rate.
The adopted budget also includes a personal property tax rate of $4.15 per $100 in assessed value for tax year 2024, which is the same as the current rate. Due to pending legislation adopted by the Virginia General Assembly, the county anticipates the ability to set separate personal property tax rates for computer equipment and vehicles. If authorized, the Board expects to consider lowering the personal property tax rate on vehicles later this year to be effective for tax year 2025, which begins on January 1, 2025.
The adopted budget fully funds the Loudoun County School Board’s budget request of $131 million by recognizing $19 million in additional state revenue that is anticipated for the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) and by providing total funding in the amount of $1.3 billion, which is $112 million more than last year’s local funding transfer to LCPS.
While the Board lowered the real property tax rate, the average tax bill in Loudoun is likely to increase due to a number of factors, such as increased property assessments, ranging from 3.7% to 5%, depending on the type of home. Based on the adopted tax rate, homeowners would on average countywide have a real property tax bill increase of approximately $200 in tax year 2024.
The FY 2025 adopted budget also includes:
- $15.7 million in base budget adjustments to continue providing core services.
- An increase of $41 million for employee compensation to keep Loudoun competitive in the market, which consists of:
- A 7% merit increase for the general county workforce.
- A step increase and a 9.4% salary scale adjustment for uniformed Fire and Rescue personnel and Sheriff’s deputies, for an average pay increase of 12.4%.
- The addition of 256 positions in 26 county departments.
- Funding in an amount equivalent to one-half cent of the real property tax rate dedicated to affordable housing programs, which amounts to approximately $7.4 million in FY 2025. (The Board intends to consider additional funding later this year amounting to another half-cent of the real property tax.)
- $40 million for the Revenue Stabilization Fund, which was created by the Board of Supervisors in 2023 to assist in the mitigation of the risk of overreliance on revenues generated by the data center industry.
Capital Improvement Program
The Board also adopted the FY 2025-FY 2030 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) that totals over $3.5 billion for the six-year planning period and includes county and school projects. The category with the largest expenditure percentage is transportation projects at 40% followed by general government projects at 32% and school projects at 28%.
New county projects include the Cascades Library and Senior Center complex renovation, funding to begin preliminary design of an Eastern Loudoun Community Arts Center, and an addition to the Purcellville Fire and Rescue Station.
New transportation projects include Bull Run Post Office Road Realignment, Route 15/Hogback Mountain Road Roundabout, and an expanded scope of the Route 7 Improvements: Route 9 to Dulles Greenway Long Term Improvements project.
School projects include the addition of an Eastern Transportation Facility and a school replacement program.
Fiscal Year 2025
The FY 2025 budget will go into effect July 1, 2024. The real property tax rate of $0.865 per $100 assessed value and the personal property tax rate of $4.15 per $100 of assessed value are effective as of January 1, 2024, and will be used for the spring tax collection.
The complete adopted budget document will be posted on the county’s website by the start of FY 2025, which is July 1, 2024. Information about the county’s budget is posted at loudoun.gov/budget.
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