I'm in the process of refinancing a mortgage, and want to know what state and county taxes apply. I'm not talking about property tax here, but the recordation taxes and fees charged by the county and state when a mortgage is refinanced. In particular I'd like to know what the taxes and fees are in Fairfax County, Virginia, but I thought it might be useful to leave the question open so answers can be included for other counties in Virginia.
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Unfortunately, a big list by county isn't as useful as one would think. That information changes over time. What would be useful (and I hope someone includes in their answer) is how to go about getting this information.– George MarianAug 26, 2010 at 14:18
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I agree, at least if the list doesn't include references so it can be updated at a later point. I just answered this question, at least in part, including references to the Virginia Code, which should not change very often. From what I've seen so far, at least for Fairfax County, is that there is no county-specific fee levied, in other words all taxes and fees are identical for every county. I'm sure there are exceptions to this, which I hope someone will find and post.– joshdoeAug 26, 2010 at 14:50
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1 Answer
The county and state recordation taxes and fees in Virginia are mostly the same across the state, however I'm not sure if individual counties levy additional fees.
Refinancing with the same lender
If you refinance a mortgage in Virginia with the same lender, then you only have to pay recordation taxes on the difference between your original loan and the refinanced loan (Virginia Code § 58.1-803 D).
State recordation taxes
The Commonwealth of Virginia levies a tax of "25 cents on every $100" on the amount refinanced (Virginia Code § 58.1-803 A).
County recordation taxes
Counties in Virginia are allowed to collect "one-third of the amount of the state recordation tax", which would be 8.33 cents on every $100 (Virginia Code § 58.1-803 A).
Miscellaneous fees
The most significant fees come from the county and state recordation taxes, but there are some other miscellaneous fees. These include a clerk's fee of between $21 to $55, plus $20 per oversized plat sheet, and a $1.00 "Open Space Preservation Fee".
These taxes and fees are all nicely summarized in a PDF produced by Fairfax County.