Tax Type
Local Taxes
Property Tax
Description
Appraisal Techniques
Topic
Basis of Tax
Local Power to Tax
Local Taxes Discussion
Date Issued
11-17-1978
The appraisal technique of "hotspotting,' defined as a technique which enables the taxing authority to conduct an annual review of all tax parcels within its jurisdiction and make selective reappraisals when value changes are disproportionate, may be used in all localities which reassess on a biennial basis due to local conditions, to the extent that the rationale of the Virginia Supreme Court in Perkins v. Albermarle, 214 Va. 416 (1976) is applicable. In that decision, the court approved of "hotspotting' as an appraisal-assessment technique in areas which could not be physically inspected on an annual basis, provided that the principle of uniformity was upheld and that the technique was not applied arbitrarily to all tax parcels within one geographic segment of the tax jurisdiction to the exclusion of all tax parcels in other geographic segments.
Attorney General's Opinion