Henry County adopts FY27 budget with $0.50 tax rate as reassessment adds 51% to property values

Henry County property owners heading into fiscal year 2027 are looking at a tax bill math that many did not anticipate. The Board of Supervisors adopted the new budget on May 5, 2026, setting the real-estate tax rate at $0.50 per $100 of assessed value — a reduction from the current $0.555 rate. But because a county-wide reassessment lifted total property values by roughly 51 percent overall and 66 percent for residential properties, the lower rate still translates into higher annual bills for most homeowners.

That gap between headline rate and actual cost is at the center of how the county presented the budget. Officials noted the revenue-neutral rate — the rate that would produce no more money than last year's collection — would have been set lower, around the $0.37 to $0.38 range identified in earlier planning sessions. The adopted $0.50 rate generates additional revenue to address what budget staff described as a structural operating shortfall of roughly $5.5 million built up over several years of relying on reserve funds to cover recurring costs.

Education, public safety, and debt service drove most of the pressure on the spending side. County leaders have repeatedly described a decade-long increase in school funding, expanded sheriff's office staffing, and capital investments in emergency services as the foundation of the current operating baseline. Maintaining that baseline into FY27 while moving away from reserve dependence required a rate above what pure neutrality would permit.

For residents, the practical question is how much the bill changes on a specific property. A home assessed last year at $150,000 that is now valued at $225,000 under the new assessment would owe $1,125 at the $0.50 rate, compared to $832 at the old $0.555 rate applied to the old value. Owners who believe the assessment is inaccurate may file an appeal with the county's assessor office. The county has materials on the reassessment and the appeal process available through Henry County's government website.

Source: Reporting based on Henry County Board of Supervisors budget adoption, May 5, 2026. See Henry County Virginia official site for assessment and appeal information.