Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at its March 18 meeting.
At the March 18 meeting of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Chairman Jeff McKay stressed that the board was building in some flexibility by advertising a possible increase in the Real Estate Tax rate of $1.14 per $100 of assessed value. That is an increase of $0.015 over the current rate for FY 2025. Also advertised is a meals tax of up to 4 percent. These advertised rates act as a ceiling.
The Board of Supervisors adopts the FY 2026 Budget on May 13. The actual rates can be less than advertised but not more.
"We have extensive public hearings, town halls, and a number of meetings with a number of groups that take place every budget season where we can discuss the pros and cons of the actions that we must take to balance our budget when it comes time for budget adoption," McKay said.
The Board unanimously (with Pat Herrity absent) approved authorizing staff to advertise a public hearing to be held on April 22, 2025, at 3 p.m. to consider the adoption of an ordinance to amend Chapter Four of the Fairfax County code by adding a new Article 31 food and beverage tax. It is sometimes called a meals tax. It does not apply to groceries.
"And just to be clear for folks, when we authorize this, we are authorizing the maximum amount that can be implemented. So anything below that number is still permissible."
— Jeffrey C. McKay, chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
The proposed amendment states a maximum tax rate of 4 percent at implementation and the option to provide a seller's commission of up to 3 percent of the tax collected, as outlined in the draft ordinance. The supervisors approved the action at their March 18 meeting. Chairman McKay said the board had held an "entire budget committee meeting dedicated to a conversation on this subject."
Wanting to ensure the public's understanding, McKay explained that they were authorizing the implementation of a potential food and beverage tax for consideration through a public hearing. He clarified that the Commonwealth of Virginia allows jurisdictions to implement a meal tax of up to 6 percent. His motion asked the board to consider implementing a potential meal tax at a cap of 4 percent.
"And just to be clear for folks, when we authorize this, we are authorizing the maximum amount that can be implemented. So, anything below that number is still permissible within the span of this motion," McKay said.
"We want to make sure that we have a public hearing on a potential meals tax for full transparency and disclosure, in concert with the annual adoption of the Fairfax County budget and related financial documents so that folks can understand the choices."
McKay asked the board to approve the publication of the FY 2026 advertised budget, the effective tax rate increase, the advertised capital improvement program, and the required tax rates outlined in administrative Item 8. The board voted unanimously (with Herrity absent) to give notice of the public hearings that would be happening as a result.
This includes the advertisement of a real estate tax rate of $1.14 per $100 of assessed value, which reflects a potential one-and-a-half cent increase over the current real estate tax rate of $1.125 per $100 of assessed value.
The county executive used this figure as the recommended tax rate in his budget presentation, echoing the meals tax discussion.