Sellers in Prince William County and the City of Manassas pay two grantor-side transfer taxes at closing: Virginia's base grantor's tax under Code §58.1-802 and the Regional Congestion Relief Fee under §58.1-802.4, both calculated per $100 of consideration. Together they reflect Northern Virginia's Planning District 8 membership and are fixed by statute, not negotiable in rate.
What transfer taxes do sellers pay at closing in Prince William County and Manassas?
Sellers in Prince William County and the City of Manassas pay two grantor-side transfer taxes at closing: Virginia's base grantor's tax under Code of Virginia §58.1-802 and the Regional Congestion Relief Fee under §58.1-802.4. Both are calculated on the consideration or value of the property, whichever is greater, and both are fixed by Virginia statute, the rates are not set by the title company, not set by your agent, and not negotiable between the parties.
Key Takeaways
- Virginia's base grantor's tax is set at $0.50 per $500 (or fraction thereof) of consideration, which converts to $0.10 per $100, per Code of Virginia §58.1-802.
- The Regional Congestion Relief Fee adds another $0.10 per $100 of consideration for sellers in Northern Virginia's Planning District 8, which includes Prince William County and the City of Manassas, per §58.1-802.4.
- Both rates are statutory and fixed, neither your agent nor your title company can reduce them, though the contract can specify which party funds them.
- The taxable base is the greater of the contract sale price or assessed value, minus any existing liens that remain on the property at the time of sale.
- Prince William County's land records fee schedule, effective July 1, 2026, confirms the state grantor's tax formula at the local level.
How are Virginia's grantor's tax and the Regional Congestion Relief Fee actually calculated?
Here's where sellers in Prince William and Manassas often get confused: there are two separate line items on the closing statement, both charged to the grantor (seller), and both calculated on the same taxable base.
What is the taxable base?
The taxable base is the greater of the contract sale price or the assessed value of the property, minus any existing liens or encumbrances that will remain on the property after closing. In a standard residential sale where the buyer is getting new financing and the seller's mortgage is being paid off, the taxable base is typically the full contract sale price. The title company makes this determination, it's not something you calculate on the back of a napkin the night before closing.
Per §58.1-802, the taxable amount is also rounded up to the next highest $500 before the base grantor's tax is applied. That rounding is confirmed in Prince William County's Circuit Court land records fee schedule, effective July 1, 2026.
The two statutory rates, side by side
| Fee Name | Virginia Code Section | Rate per $100 | Who Pays (Statutory Default) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Base Grantor's Tax | §58.1-802 | $0.10 per $100 ($0.50 per $500) | Grantor (seller) |
| Regional Congestion Relief Fee | §58.1-802.4 | $0.10 per $100 | Grantor (seller) |
Both rates are confirmed in the full text of Title 58.1, Chapter 8, which governs Virginia's state recordation tax. The sections were revised in June–July 2026, so what you see there is the most current law as of this writing.
I walk my sellers through these numbers before we finalize a listing strategy, because knowing what's fixed by law versus what's negotiable changes how you read a net sheet. These two taxes are fixed. The rate won't move regardless of how your contract is structured.
Why does Prince William County show up on the Regional Congestion Relief map?
The Regional Congestion Relief Fee applies to transactions in Planning District 8 (Northern Virginia), as established by the Northern Virginia Authority's regional resolution on taxes and fees. Planning District 8 explicitly includes Prince William County and the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park. That's why sellers in Gainesville, Bristow, Haymarket, Manassas, and Nokesville face the same regional add-on as sellers in Fairfax or Loudoun. It's not a Prince William surcharge, it's a regional one that Prince William is part of.
This surprises some sellers who moved here from other parts of Virginia where only the base state grantor's tax applies. The difference is real, and it shows up as a separate line item on your closing statement.
What else shows up on a Prince William or Manassas seller's closing statement?
The grantor's tax and Regional Congestion Relief Fee are the two transfer-tax line items, but they're not the only charges on a seller's side of the ledger. Here's what a typical closing statement for a Prince William or Manassas seller also includes, none of these are surprise fees, but you want to see them itemized before closing day.
Transfer taxes and recording fees
- Virginia Grantor's Tax (§58.1-802): the base state tax, calculated per $500 of consideration.
- Regional Congestion Relief Fee (§58.1-802.4): the Northern Virginia add-on, calculated per $100 of consideration.
- Lien release recording fees: if you're paying off a mortgage at closing, there are recording fees to release the deed of trust from the land records. These are separate from the transfer taxes.
Title company and settlement charges
- Settlement/closing fee: charged by the title company for conducting the closing. This is a service fee, not a tax.
- Owner's title insurance: whether the seller pays this is locally negotiable and varies by contract.
HOA and property-related items
- HOA resale package and document fees: if your home is in an HOA (and most communities in Gainesville, Bristow, and Haymarket are), Virginia law requires a resale disclosure package. The fees for that package are set by the HOA or its management company.
- Prorated property taxes and HOA dues: adjusted to your closing date, not a cost per se, but they affect your walk-away number.
- Inspection or repair credits: anything you agreed to cover for the buyer.
What I tell every seller I work with: the only way to see your actual walk-away number is to run a full net sheet with all of these line items filled in. The statutory taxes I can explain right now. The rest depends on your specific contract, your loan balance, your HOA, and your closing date. That's a conversation, not a blog post. If you want to see your numbers before you decide whether to list, reach out and I'll put one together for you.
For a broader look at the full range of costs sellers face, see my post on what it costs to sell a home in Northern Virginia. And if you're curious about how buyer-agent compensation works after the 2024 NAR settlement, I cover that in detail at Buyer's Agent Commission: Do Northern VA Sellers Have to Pay?
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the grantor's tax calculated when I sell a house in Prince William County?
The grantor's tax is calculated at $0.50 per $500 (or fraction thereof) of the taxable consideration, which is the greater of your sale price or assessed value, minus any liens remaining on the property after closing. The title company rounds the taxable amount up to the next highest $500 before applying the rate, as confirmed in Prince William County's land records fee schedule. So on a sale with a taxable base of, say, $480,200, the title company rounds up to $480,500 before calculating the tax.
What is the Regional Congestion Relief Fee, and does it apply to my sale in Manassas?
Yes, it applies. The Regional Congestion Relief Fee is an additional grantor-side tax authorized under Code of Virginia §58.1-802.4, charged at $0.10 per $100 of consideration on transactions in Northern Virginia's Planning District 8. The City of Manassas is explicitly included in Planning District 8 per the Northern Virginia Authority's regional resolution, so it applies to every qualifying residential sale in Manassas, Manassas Park, and throughout Prince William County.
Who pays the Regional Congestion Relief Fee, the buyer or the seller?
By statute, both the base grantor's tax and the Regional Congestion Relief Fee are imposed on the grantor, meaning the seller. That said, Virginia law doesn't prohibit parties from negotiating contract terms that shift who actually funds these costs, a buyer credit, for example, could effectively have the buyer covering a portion. The statutory obligation stays with the seller, but the contract can address who provides the funds. Confirm the allocation in your specific purchase contract with your title company.
Are grantor's tax and congestion fees based on my sale price or my assessed value?
They're based on whichever is greater: the contract sale price or the assessed value of the property. In the vast majority of Prince William and Manassas residential sales, the contract price exceeds the assessed value, so the sale price is used. But the title company checks both figures, if your assessed value is higher than your contract price for any reason, that higher number becomes the taxable base under §58.1-802.
Do Manassas and Manassas Park have different grantor's tax rates from Prince William County?
No. Manassas and Manassas Park are independent cities, not part of Prince William County administratively, but all three jurisdictions fall within Planning District 8 and are subject to the same Virginia statutory rates: $0.50 per $500 for the base grantor's tax and $0.10 per $100 for the Regional Congestion Relief Fee. The rates are set by state law, not by each jurisdiction individually, so sellers across the region face the same calculation.
Can the grantor's tax and congestion relief rates be negotiated down?
No. The rates themselves are fixed by Virginia statute and cannot be reduced by agreement between buyer and seller. What can be negotiated is which party funds the payment, the contract can include credits or adjustments that effectively shift the economic burden, but the tax amount owed to the state and regional authority is calculated the same way regardless of how the parties split it. Your title company collects and remits these amounts; they have no discretion over the rate.
Understanding what's fixed by law and what's negotiable is one of the most practical things you can do before you list. If you're planning to sell in Prince William County, Gainesville, Bristow, Haymarket, or anywhere in the Manassas area, I'd be glad to walk you through a full picture of your seller-side costs before you make any decisions. Request a free home valuation and net sheet consultation here.
Equal Housing Opportunity. Karyl Allen is licensed in Virginia with Pearson Smith Realty. This article is general information only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Statutory rates and fee schedules are subject to change; confirm all figures applicable to your transaction with your title company, tax advisor, or lender before closing.