When is the land use application due?
An initial application is due at least 60 days before the tax year it is for, under Virginia's statute, with more time in a general reassessment year. Localities with a program post their own dates: Carroll County's 2026 window is October 1 to November 1, 2026; Wythe and Pulaski list November 1; Montgomery and Floyd take applications October 1 to November 1, Floyd with a late-fee extension to December 31.
Sixty days before the tax year, counted backward
The land use deadline is not a date in Virginia's Code. It is a count, and it runs backward from the tax year the owner wants the lower assessment for.
The property owner shall submit an initial application, unless it is a revalidation form, at least 60 days preceding the tax year for which such taxation is sought
Va. Code 58.1-3234
Three things follow from that sentence. The rule is about an initial application; revalidation forms are handled separately. The count is measured from the start of the tax year the application is for, not from the day the land was bought. And "at least" makes 60 days a floor: an initial filing made later than that count is not timely under this sentence alone, whatever late-filing ordinance a locality may add.
A general reassessment year stretches the clock. In that year the owner may apply until 30 days after the notice of increase in assessment is mailed, or 60 days preceding the tax year, whichever is later. Montgomery County prints the same idea for itself: in a reassessment year its deadline is extended to 30 days after the reassessment notice is mailed.
The clock matters only where land can be enrolled. Land use taxation is a local option, and Va. Code 58.1-3231 makes land used in agricultural and forestal production inside an agricultural or forestal district eligible whether or not an ordinance has been adopted. Which localities here have one is set out in which counties here have land use taxation, and what makes land qualify is on Virginia's land use program. The term itself is defined under land use taxation.
The late-fee window, the further extension, and the filings that come back around
The statute's count is the regular deadline. Two local ordinances can add time after it, and three more rules decide whether a filing is needed again or accepted at all.
A late filing window
A governing body may by ordinance permit applications within no more than 60 days after the filing deadline, on payment of a late filing fee it sets.
A further extension
A locality may also by ordinance permit a further extension, on an extension fee no greater than the late filing fee, to a date not later than 30 days after notices of assessments are mailed.
When use or acreage changes
An application must be submitted whenever the use or acreage of previously approved land changes.
Revalidation
A locality may require owners to revalidate at least every six years.
Fees and back taxes
An application fee may be required, and except as local ordinance provides, no application is accepted or approved if the tax on the land is delinquent when it is filed.
Floyd County shows the first of those in practice. Its published dates list land use applications from October 1 to November 1, then a land use extension with late fee from November 2 to December 31. Read together, November 1 is Floyd's regular date and December 31 the end of its late-fee window. Whether another county has a late-fee ordinance, what it charges, and how often it asks for revalidation are questions for that county's Commissioner of the Revenue.
What each Commissioner of the Revenue actually publishes
Each locality with a program sets its own window, and they are not the same. Here is what each office's own page says, read as of September 2026.
| Locality | Published window or deadline | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Carroll County | 2026 window: applications taken October 1, 2026 through November 1, 2026; deadline November 1, 2026 | Commissioner of the Revenue, 605-7 Pine Street, Hillsville; (276) 730-3080 for appointment or assistance |
| Wythe County | November 1 deadline for filing land use applications | Commissioner of the Revenue, 290 South Sixth Street, Wytheville; 276-223-6015 |
| Pulaski County | Application deadline November 1 | Assessor, within the Commissioner of Revenue's office, 52 W Main St, Pulaski; 540-980-7753 |
| Montgomery County | October 1 through November 1; in a reassessment year, until 30 days after the reassessment notice is mailed; revalidation forms due by December 5 | Commissioner of Revenue, 755 Roanoke St., Christiansburg; 540-382-5710 |
| Floyd County | October 1 to November 1; extension with late fee November 2 to December 31 | Commissioner of the Revenue, 201 E Main St, Floyd; (540) 745-9345 |
| Grayson County | Status rests on the Virginia Tech use-value list, which shows no use-value assessment ordinance | Commissioner of the Revenue, Independence; confirm status and any date at 276-773-2381 |
| City of Galax | Status rests on the Virginia Tech use-value list, which shows no use-value assessment ordinance | Commissioner of Revenue, Galax; confirm status and any date at 276-236-2528 |
Every regular deadline the five counties publish lands on November 1. The differences are in what comes around it, Montgomery's reassessment-year extension and Floyd's late-fee window through December 31. The offices behind the other land questions in these seven localities are on the six counties and the City of Galax page.
Carroll County's office keeps the land use program in the county's real estate files, and its general real estate line is (276) 730-3030; the land use line for appointments is (276) 730-3080. What Carroll farm ground looks like on the plateau around one crossroads community, and how the program fits there, is on Woodlawn VA real estate.
A posted window does not always make plain which tax year it serves
The statute counts from a tax year. A county page lists calendar dates. Putting the two together is where the confusion starts, especially after a purchase.
Carroll County's program page pairs its October 1 to November 1, 2026 window with a line about eligibility for tax year 2026. Read against an initial application made at least 60 days before the tax year it is for, those two do not obviously fit together, so the tax year a filing in that window serves is a question to put to the Commissioner of the Revenue at (276) 730-3080 rather than one to assume. The same office answers whether Carroll accepts late filings and for what fee, and whether it asks for revalidation, and on what cycle.
Just bought a tract, or planning to enroll one, and unsure of the land use filing window?
Send the county and the acreage. Lowell can tell you which locality's Commissioner of the Revenue handles the tract, and the filing itself stays with that office. No cost, no obligation.
Got it. Thank you.
We'll be in touch shortly with an honest read.
Questions this raises
Can I still file a land use application after the deadline?
Only where the locality allows it. Virginia lets a governing body, by ordinance, accept applications within no more than 60 days after the deadline on payment of a late filing fee, and permit a further extension to a date not later than 30 days after assessment notices are mailed. Floyd County publishes an extension with late fee from November 2 to December 31. Elsewhere, ask the Commissioner of the Revenue.
Will a land use application be accepted if the taxes on the land are behind?
Generally not. Va. Code 58.1-3234 says that, except as provided by local ordinance, no application for assessment based on use is accepted or approved if the tax on the land is delinquent at the time the application is filed. The Treasurer can say what is owed, and the Commissioner of the Revenue whether a local ordinance changes that rule.
How often does a land use application have to be renewed?
That depends on the locality. The statute lets a governing body require owners to revalidate at least every six years. Montgomery County says its revalidation form must be returned to the Commissioner of the Revenue by December 5, with no form accepted after that date. For Carroll County and the others, the Commissioner of the Revenue sets out the cycle.
Where this page's facts come from
Every rule, office and figure above traces to one of these. Rules change; check the office before you act on one.
- Va. Code 58.1-3234, application by property owners, deadlines, late filing, revalidation and fees Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 58.1-3231, use value assessment as a local option and the ordinance adoption deadline Virginia General Assembly
- Commissioner of the Revenue: Special Assessment Land Program, 2026 application window Carroll County, Virginia
- Commissioner of the Revenue: office, phone lines and real estate files Carroll County, Virginia
- Commissioner of the Revenue: land use filing deadline Wythe County, Virginia
- Land Use Value FAQ (PDF): application deadline Pulaski County, Virginia
- Assessor, within the Commissioner of Revenue's office Pulaski County, Virginia
- Commissioner of Revenue: land use information Montgomery County, Virginia
- Commissioner of the Revenue: land use dates and extension with late fee Floyd County, Virginia
- Land Use Value Assessment program: use-value estimates by locality Virginia Tech
- Commissioner of the Revenue Grayson County, Virginia
- Commissioner of Revenue City of Galax