Herndon, VA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Herndon home costs each year

Property tax, water, trash and energy from public rates. Look up your address to make it yours, and see how to pay less.

Suggestions as you type come from Google; the lookup uses free public map services to find who serves it. Not stored unless you save your house.

Example · a Herndon house

$14,468a year · $1,206 a month

Starts at $589,000 of value before exemptions. Typical use.

A typical Herndon house costs about $14,500 a year: $8,380 property tax and charges, $960 water and sewer, $120 trash, $3,670 electricity and gas, $1,330 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.

Rates checked Oct 22, 2026. Insurance: what you enter, or a typical premium until you do. Sources are listed at the bottom.

Ways to pay less

Nothing here applies to every house automatically. These are worth checking:

Seniors 65+ or disabled, income up to $90,000: Fairfax County real estate tax relief25% to 100% relief
Fairfax County gives real estate tax relief to owners 65 or older or permanently and totally disabled whose total combined income is $90,000 or less and whose net assets are $400,000 or less, not counting the home and up to one acre. Relief is 100% for income of $60,000 or less, then 75%, 50% or 25%; it applies up to 125% of the county's average assessed value.
How: Call the Department of Tax Administration at 703-222-8234 to have an application mailed; returning applicants file by May 1.
Disabled veterans rated 100%: no local real estate tax on your homeFull exemption
Veterans rated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as 100% service-connected and permanently and totally disabled (or paid at the 100% rate for individual unemployability), and their spouses, are exempt from local real estate tax on their occupied principal residence, up to one acre of land.
How: Apply to Fairfax County's Department of Tax Administration; questions to taxrelief@fairfaxcounty.gov.
Courtesy water leak adjustment66% (inside leak) or 100% (ground leak) of the excess water
Owners can ask the town to adjust a bill after an inside leak or a confirmed ground leak repaired within 10 days of discovery. An approved internal leak is adjusted for 66% of the excess water and a ground leak for 100%; only consumption charges are adjusted, and it is generally available once every five years.
How: Submit the Courtesy Water Leak Adjustment Application with the contractor's invoice or receipts for the repair.
Low income: Dominion Energy PIPP sets your electric bill by incomeBill based on income
Under Dominion Energy's Percentage of Income Payment Program, the monthly bill amount is based on a percentage of household income and primary heat source.
How: See Dominion Energy's Percentage of Income Payment Program page for how to apply.

Money dates

Dec 7, 2026in 44 daysSecond installment of the real estate tax is due; December 5 falls on a Saturday in 2026, so the due date moves to Monday, December 7.
Apr 1Deadline to file a real estate assessment appeal with Fairfax County's Department of Tax Administration.
Jun 1Deadline to file a real estate assessment appeal with the Board of Equalization.
Jul 28First installment of the Fairfax County real estate tax is due; the county also collects the Town of Herndon real estate tax on the same bill.

Who serves this house

Water: Town of Herndon; Town of Herndon rates for meter readings on or after July 1, 2026, billed quarterly
Property tax: 1.42% of value; 2026 tax year (FY 2027), Fairfax County tax district H0000 (Town of Herndon)
Garbage: Town of Herndon; Weekly trash and recycling collection for single-family, duplex and townhouse homes; the fee is payable on the same terms as water bill payments
Sewer: Town of Herndon; Sewer is charged on the town water bill, based on water consumed
Electricity: Dominion Energy Virginia; Schedule 1 residential service: $7.58 basic customer charge a month
Gas: Columbia Gas of Virginia; Residential Sales Service: $33.00 customer charge, the minimum monthly charge
Schools: Fairfax County Public Schools; Four FCPS elementary schools, Herndon Middle School and Herndon High School serve children living in the town

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: The town buys finished water from Fairfax Water, which draws from the Potomac River and the Occoquan Reservoir.
Lead: In 2023 lead sampling, no sample exceeded the 15 ppb action level, and the town's service line inventory has found no lead service lines.
Fluoride: Fluoride averaged 0.68 ppm in 2024 (range 0.54 to 0.75), below the 4 ppm limit.

How these numbers are made

Several Town of Herndon pages and PDFs are cited through Internet Archive copies (web.archive.org) of herndon-va.gov, because the town site refuses automated downloads; each copy is the town's own page as captured on the date in its link. FY 2027 rates come from the April 28, 2026 Town Council agenda packet (ordinances 26-O-08, 26-O-09 and 26-O-10), which the meeting minutes show were adopted as presented, 6-0.,Water and sewer: Town of Herndon rates for meter readings on or after July 1, 2026, billed quarterly and shown here per month: the $27.61 quarterly water service charge for a 5/8-inch meter ($9.20 a month) and $5.63 per 1,000 gallons; sewer $19.94 a quarter ($6.65 a month) plus $10.42 per 1,000 gallons; and the $0.50 quarterly sewer lateral repair charge from the town's rates page. The peak water rate ($9.58 per 1,000 gallons on top of the base rate for use above the winter-quarter average, on bills issued June through November) and the matching sewer exemption for that use are not modelled. Starting use is 4,000 gallons a month (about 5.35 CCF), the town's average household of 12,000 gallons a quarter. The EPA service-area map has no boundary for Herndon's water system (VA6059550), so address lookups inside the town will not name it.,Trash: the residential solid waste fee of $30.00 a quarter from FY 2027 (ordinance 26-O-10), billed with the water bill, shown as $10.00 a month. The cart size shown is a placeholder; the town lists 96 gallons as the largest allowed cart in automated areas and does not price carts by size.,Property tax: Fairfax County tax district H0000 (Dranesville, Town of Herndon) for tax year 2026: county real estate $1.12, Town of Herndon $0.27, stormwater service district $0.0325 and pest infestation $0.001 per $100 of assessed value, $1.4235 in all; parcels in the Dulles Rail Phase 2 district (district H00DW, commercial property only) pay more. The starting value is the town's average residential assessment of $589K from its FY 2027 levy staff report; it is an average over residential property (which in Herndon includes townhouses and condominiums), not a single-family median. Virginia has no general homestead exemption; county relief for seniors, people with disabilities and disabled veterans is in the tips. Car (personal property) tax is not included.,Electricity: Dominion Energy Virginia Schedule 1 as filed for usage from July 1, 2026, with every per-kWh rider in the Exhibit of Applicable Riders effective September 1, 2026 (fuel Rider A at 3.7648¢; C1A, C4A, CERC, DIST, E, GEN, SMR, SNA, T1, CCR, CE, OSW, RPS), the 0.2901¢ deferred fuel cost charge and the state consumption tax of $0.001565 per kWh; generation charges are a weighted average of four summer and eight winter months. Starting use is 1,032 kWh a month, EIA's 2024 average for Virginia homes. The Town of Herndon's consumer utility tax on electricity and natural gas (a base charge plus a usage charge, per the town budget) is not included because we could not obtain the town's current rate schedule; Virginia caps such taxes at a few dollars a month for homes.,Gas: Columbia Gas of Virginia Residential Sales Service billing rate of $17.159 per Dth ($1.7159 per therm; the rate sheet prints it as "$17,159" in its scanned text) for customers not on transportation service in the last 12 months, interim and subject to refund from October 12, 2026, which includes the purchased gas adjustment of August 27, 2026 (it changes), plus the $33.00 monthly customer charge. Starting use is about 49.9 therms a month: EIA's 2024 Virginia residential gas deliveries per residential consumer, at 1.037 therms per Ccf. Insurance is the 2022 Virginia average HO-3 premium (NAIC). Note: the Columbia Gas tariff page carries an "interim rates, subject to refund" label; the sewer charge is read from the Town rate ordinance as a quarterly charge.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Herndon compares

A typical Herndon house against the 23 Virginia cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	Herndon	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.42%	1.06%	higher than 22 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover
Water	$381	$571	lower than 17 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$582	$806	lower than 16 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover
Trash	$120	$300	lower than 13 of the other 18 Virginia cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,669	$3,284	higher than 15 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover
Home insurance	$1,332	$1,332	in the middle of 18 other Virginia cities we cover
Total	$14,468	$9,242	higher than 22 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover

Cities bill differently (some put trash on the tax bill, some cover more services), so a higher number isn't necessarily worse. The property tax rate is compared instead of dollars because house values differ.

Questions to ask your candidates

Each one starts from a number above. Any candidate can answer them.

1. Property tax rate

The fact: Herndon's property tax rate is 1.42%, higher than 22 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover. The rate adds up every agency on the bill, not only the city.

Ask: "Property tax in Herndon is 1.42%, higher than 22 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover. What should that money pay for first, and would you change anything about how it is set?"

2. Water

The fact: Water here costs about $381 a year at typical use, lower than 17 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $381 a year at typical use, lower than 17 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

3. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $120 a year for the standard cart, lower than 13 of the other 18 Virginia cities we cover. Where trash is billed through the tax bill or a separate hauler, it is not counted here.

Ask: "Trash pickup here costs about $120 a year for the standard cart, lower than 13 of the other 18 Virginia cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"

See who is running in your city →

Common questions about Herndon house costs

What is the property tax rate in Herndon?

About 1.42% of the value before exemptions a year (2026 tax year (FY 2027), Fairfax County tax district H0000 (Town of Herndon)), plus flat charges on the same bill.

How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Herndon?

About $7,118 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.

How much is the water bill in Herndon?

About $80 a month for water and sewer at typical use (4,000 gallons a month) on Town of Herndon.

How much does trash pickup cost in Herndon?

$10 a month for a house.

When is property tax due in Herndon?

Dec 7, 2026: Second installment of the real estate tax is due; December 5 falls on a Saturday in 2026, so the due date moves to Monday, December 7. Jul 28: First installment of the Fairfax County real estate tax is due; the county also collects the Town of Herndon real estate tax on the same bill.

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Herndon?

Yes. Seniors 65+ or disabled, income up to $90,000: Fairfax County real estate tax relief: Fairfax County gives real estate tax relief to owners 65 or older or permanently and totally disabled whose total combined income is $90,000 or less and whose net assets are $400,000 or less, not counting the home and up to one acre. Relief is 100% for income of $60,000 or less, then 75%, 50% or 25%; it applies up to 125% of the county's average assessed value.

How much does a house in Herndon cost to run each year?

All Virginia cities All cities