taxes | ALXnow

Alexandria City Council to kick off budget talks Saturday in annual retreat

Published November 4, 2026 at 1:45PM

The Alexandria City Council (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria City Council will start its annual budget deliberations with a retreat in the West End on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Council will meet with city departments and get a revenue forecast, expenditure overview and other preliminary budget gap information. Alexandria City Public Schools, for instance, takes up nearly 30% of the city’s budget and faces a $17 million budget gap and is working toward a collective bargaining agreement the School Board wants approved before the next fiscal year starts on July 1, 2027.

News

Alexandria climbs to 2nd in Condé Nast Traveler’s best small cities ranking

By Emily Leayman

Published October 6, 2026 at 11:45AM

The waterfront of Old Town, seen from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria ranked ahead of cities like Santa Fe, N.M.; St. Augustine, Fla. and Savannah, Ga. in the latest national travel magazine city rankings.

For the first time, Alexandria took the second place spot on the Condé Nast Traveler Best Small Cities in the U.S. list. The city ranked third last year and has been in the top five since the small cities category was created in 2018.

News

Residential developments, outdoor stage and fine increase on City Council’s Sept. 19 docket

By James Cullum

Published September 14, 2026 at 11:45AM

415 N. Alfred Street (via Google Maps)

It’s going to be a long public hearing with the Alexandria City Council on Saturday, Sept. 19.

New construction in the Parker-Gray Historic District, adding outdoor entertainment to a Del Ray business and increasing fines for writing bad checks to the city are just a few of the items the Alexandria City Council will consider. This is City Council’s first public hearing since returning from summer recess.

News

Alexandria City Council weighs car tax extensions for furloughed federal workers during shutdowns

By James Cullum

Published September 3, 2026 at 3:45PM

Money on a table (staff photo via Vernon Miles)

The Alexandria City Council will consider a measure to allow due date extensions for personal property tax payments from federal employees when furloughed by a government shutdown.

The item is on City Council’s Sept. 8 docket and would give federal employees impacted by a shutdown a 90-day extension to pay personal property taxes after the government reopens. The last government shutdown was from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12, 2025, making it the longest in history, and in Alexandria it coincided with the personal property tax deadline. The measure also comes as Congress recently passed a short-term funding bill to avoid a shutdown until Dec. 11.

News

Alexandria residential parking permit confusion prompts apology from Mayor Gaskins

By Emily Leayman

Published September 1, 2026 at 1:45PM

Parked cars in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

As residents received their latest car tax bills in the mail starting last week, they were surprised to find their residential parking permit stickers have not arrived.

Vehicle owners used to receive permit stickers at the same time as personal property tax bills. But that did not occur this year when the tax bills arrived.

News

Alexandria shoppers can skip the sales tax on certain back-to-school items this weekend

By Emily Leayman

Published August 6, 2026 at 9:15AM

School supplies (via Tim Gouw/Unsplash)

This weekend is the time to stock up on school supplies, clothing and emergency supplies at stores in Alexandria and across the state.

Virginia will hold its annual three-day sales tax holiday, from Friday, Aug. 7 to Sunday, Aug. 9. During the three days, state and local option sales taxes are temporarily lifted on qualifying clothing, footwear and school supplies, as well as emergency preparedness products and some appliances. The tax exemption applies to in-store and online shopping.

Around Town

17 Old Town boutiques to cover entire sales tax for shoppers this weekend

By Emily Leayman

Published August 3, 2026 at 3:45PM

Tax free weekend at participating boutiques in Old Town (via Old Town Boutique District)

As retailers across Virginia will have tax-free promotions on certain items during this weekend’s sales tax holiday, a group of Alexandria’s independent boutiques will cover the sales tax for their entire stores.

More than 15 Old Town Alexandria boutiques are participating in a tax-free shopping weekend Friday, Aug. 7 through Sunday, Aug. 9, covering the sales tax for customers on clothing, gifts, home decor and other items. The Old Town Boutique Community is hosting the event with support from the City of Alexandria to encourage support for local businesses during back-to-school shopping.

News

‘Faith in Housing’ bill on by-right affordable housing will require new ordinance in Alexandria

By Emily Leayman

Published May 18, 2026 at 3:45PM

Virginia State Capitol in Richmond (staff photo)

A bill allowing church-based by-right housing development and several other laws passed during the 2026 Virginia General Assembly will require or allow local action, according to a presentation to Alexandria City Council last week (May 12).

Wendy Ginsberg, the city’s legislative director, provided an update on key bills the city has been tracking or will be impacted by during City Council’s May 12 meeting. Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, which means localities can only use authority granted through state law.

News

BPOL tax increase, no new ACPS funding in City Council’s add/deletes as budget vote nears

By James Cullum

Published April 14, 2026 at 2:45PM

Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins in Council Chambers, April 8, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Council members have submitted their proposed additions — and one deletion — in their Fiscal Year 2027 budget deliberations.

The proposed additions to the budget include a 5-cent increase to the city’s Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) tax; $200,000 for a jail operational efficiency study; and $350,000 for improvements to the pedestrian zone in the 200 block of King Street.

News

Gov. Spanberger signs first group of bills on housing, health care, energy

By Emily Leayman

Published April 1, 2026 at 8:30AM

Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs bills on March 31, 2026 (via Office of the Governor of Virginia)

After more than 1,200 bills passed in the Virginia General Assembly, Gov. Abigail Spanberger has signed the first set of bills tackling several areas of affordability.

The governor’s action marks the first major set of bills signed from the 2026 General Assembly session. Spanberger had previously signed voter referendum legislation allowing mid-decade congressional redistricting to go before voters on April 21. The signed bills address housing, health care and energy.

News

City Council sets one-cent tax hike as ceiling for budget talks

By James Cullum

Published March 11, 2026 at 1:45PM

Alexandria City Council Member John Taylor Chapman (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria’s City Council set a one-cent ceiling for the city’s real estate tax rate on Tuesday night.

City Councilman John Taylor Chapman made the motion to increase the ceiling, which is not the final adopted tax rate. While City Manager Jim Parajon’s proposed $977 million Fiscal Year 2027 budget has no tax increase, the one-cent ceiling gives the city more options in crafting the budget, which is set for a final council vote on April 29.