The tax sale runs through circuit court
Virginia does not auction tax liens on a courthouse step. Under Va. Code § 58.1-3965 real estate may be sold when taxes are delinquent on December 31 following the second anniversary of the due date, shortened to the first anniversary for parcels carrying a condemned structure, a nuisance, a derelict building, or blight, and for certain parcels assessed at $100,000 or less on the court's findings. Section 58.1-3967 requires the proceeding to be brought by complaint filed in the circuit court where the land sits, with a special commissioner appointed under § 58.1-3970.1 and the sale confirmed by the court. Notice to the owner and newspaper publication come first.
Land use assessment ends with a rollback
Virginia localities may adopt land use assessment by ordinance, taxing qualifying agricultural, horticultural, forest, or open space land on its use value rather than market value. The deferral is a loan, not a gift. Va. Code § 58.1-3237 provides that when the use changes to a nonqualifying use, roll-back taxes come due in the sum of the deferred tax for each of the five most recent complete tax years, and the current year is additionally extended on the basis of fair market value. Simple interest is added at a rate the governing body sets, no greater than the locality's delinquent tax rate. Confirm the parcel's status with the commissioner of the revenue.
The land preservation credit is transferable
Virginia runs one of the most generous conservation incentives in the country, and it is worth knowing before you price a parcel. Va. Code § 58.1-512 grants an income tax credit equal to 40 percent of the fair market value of land or an interest in land donated for conservation, for donations made on or after January 1, 2007. The per-taxpayer annual cap is $50,000 for taxable years 2018 and after, with $100,000 for a fee simple donation to the Commonwealth. The credit can be transferred and sold, and unused amounts carry forward. Credits of $1 million or more require verification by the Director of Conservation and Recreation.
Tidewater localities protect a 100-foot buffer
The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, Va. Code § 62.1-44.15:67 and following, requires the counties, cities, and towns of Tidewater Virginia to build water quality protection into their comprehensive plans, zoning, and subdivision ordinances, and to designate Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas. Under the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area Designation and Management Regulations, 9VAC25-830, those areas divide into Resource Protection Areas and Resource Management Areas, and 9VAC25-830-140 makes a 100-foot wide buffer the landward component of the Resource Protection Area, to be retained where it exists and established where it does not. Each Tidewater locality publishes its own criteria, so the local ordinance is the operative document.