Taxes in Chesapeake
Virginia's near-flat 5.75% income tax and the Hampton Roads region's standard 6.0% combined sales tax apply to Chesapeake residents same as their neighbors, layered with a genuinely competitive $1.010-per-$100 real estate tax rate (roughly 0.82% effective).
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Learn moreVirginia's graduated income tax -- restated as place-level context
Virginia applies a graduated state income tax: 2% on the first $3,000 of taxable income, 3% on $3,001-$5,000, 5% on $5,001-$17,000, and 5.75% above $17,000 -- effectively a near-flat 5.75% rate for most earners, unchanged for 2026. Social Security income is fully exempt; an age-65 deduction of up to $12,000 phases out above $50,000 (single) / $75,000 (joint) federal AGI. This applies identically to every Hampton Roads city in this project.
Chesapeake's 6.0% combined sales tax
Chesapeake's minimum combined 2026 sales tax rate is 6.0% (4.3% state + 1% local + 0.7% Hampton Roads regional transportation tax) -- identical to every other city in the Hampton Roads planning district, including Newport News, Hampton, and Suffolk covered alongside this record.
Property tax: a real, competitive rate
Chesapeake's FY2025/2026 real estate tax rate is $1.010 per $100 of assessed value, translating to roughly a 0.82% effective rate against a $359,100 median assessed home value and a $2,937 median annual bill -- competitive with the region, though not quite matching Virginia Beach's disclosed $0.97/$100 (the lowest of the region's seven cities).
No state estate or inheritance tax
Virginia levies no state estate tax or inheritance tax. Confirm current guidance directly for any actual estate-planning decision, since sufficiently large estates may still owe the federal estate tax.
Key takeaways
- Virginia's graduated income tax runs near-flat 5.75% for most earners; Social Security is fully exempt, with an age-65 deduction up to $12,000 phasing out above $50K/$75K federal AGI.
- Chesapeake's combined sales tax is 6.0%, identical across every Hampton Roads city in this project.
- Chesapeake's real estate tax rate ($1.010/$100, ~0.82% effective) is competitive with the region, just above Virginia Beach's disclosed $0.97/$100.
- Virginia levies no state estate or inheritance tax, though the federal estate tax can still apply to sufficiently large estates.
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