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2026 Session

Budget Amendments - SB30 (Member Request)

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Chief Patron: Diggs
Car Tax Backfill

Item 258 #1s

Item 258 #1s

First Year - FY2027 Second Year - FY2028
Finance
Department of Accounts Transfer Payments FY2027 $2,000,000,000 FY2028 $2,000,000,000 GF

Language
Page 288, line 26, strike "$950,000,000" and insert "$2,950,000,000".
Page 288, line 26, strike "$950,000,000" and insert "$2,950,000,000".

Page 289, after line 31, insert:

"F. Notwithstanding subsections A through E of this Item, the Secretary of Finance is hereby directed to distribute to localities the amounts appropriated in subsection A and $2,000,000,000 the first year and $2,000,000,000 the second year from the general fund to eliminate the personal property tax on vehicles pursuant to legislation enacted during the 2026 Session. The Secretary shall determine the distributions and distribute these funds based on a schedule as determined by the Secretary; however, the distributions shall be made no later than February 15 of fiscal year 2027. The Auditor of Public Accounts shall certify the distributions satisfy the Code of Virginia and the appropriation act by December 1, 2026."



Explanation

(This amendment is a placeholder amendment of $2.0 billion GF each year to backfill localities for legislation to be introduced in the 2026 Session, which effectively eliminates the tangible personal property paid to localities on passenger cars, motorcycles, autocycles, and pickup or panel trucks. Language provides the funding to the existing personal property tax relief program and directs the Secretary of Finance to determine a process to distribute the allocated funds to localities to backfill for revenue loss and requires the Auditor of Public Accounts to certify the distribution amounts satisfy the requirements under law. The general fund spending impact is an estimate based on the Comparative Report of Local Government Revenues and Expenditures from Auditor of Public Accounts and Department of Taxation data. At this time, the state lacks comprehensive data on local personal property revenues for passenger cars, motorcycles, autocycles, and pickup or panel trucks; therefore, the estimated cost to backfill localities is unknown.)