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Fairfax County supervisors have set the upper limits for two potential tax changes as they work toward adopting the fiscal year 2026 budget: a real estate tax rate of $1.14 per $100 of assessed value and a new meals tax of up to 4 percent.

The advertised property tax rate is 1.5 cents higher than the current fiscal year 2025 rate of $1.125 per $100. Both advertised figures are ceilings, meaning supervisors may approve lower rates but cannot exceed them without further action.

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to adopt the fiscal year 2026 budget on May 13.

Chairman Jeff McKay said advertising the maximum rates gives the board flexibility while residents and community groups weigh in through hearings, town halls and other budget-season meetings.

“We want to make sure that we have a public hearing on a potential meals tax for full transparency and disclosure, in concert with the annual adoption of the Fairfax County budget and related financial documents so that folks can understand the choices,” McKay said.

At its March 18 meeting, the board voted unanimously, with Supervisor Pat Herrity absent, to authorize an April 22, 2025, public hearing at 3 p.m. on a proposed food and beverage tax ordinance. The measure would add Article 31 to Chapter Four of the Fairfax County Code.

Commonly called a meals tax, the charge would not apply to groceries. The proposed ordinance allows a maximum initial rate of 4 percent and could provide sellers with a commission of up to 3 percent of the tax they collect.

Virginia permits localities to impose a meals tax as high as 6 percent, but McKay’s motion capped the Fairfax County proposal at 4 percent. He emphasized that authorizing the hearing did not commit the county to adopting the maximum rate.

“When we authorize this, we are authorizing the maximum amount that can be implemented,” McKay said. “So anything below that number is still permissible within the span of this motion.”

McKay said the board had already devoted an entire budget committee meeting to the subject.

Supervisors also unanimously approved advertising the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, the potential effective tax-rate increase, the capital improvement program and related tax rates. The county executive used the $1.14 real estate tax rate in his recommended budget presentation, alongside the meals-tax proposal.