What a Portsmouth 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.
Starts at the typical market value, $246,900; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.
- Property tax$3,062
1.240% of $246,900
- Flat charges on the tax bill$204
Stormwater management utility fee $204
- Electricity$2,380
1078 kWh a month $2,380
- Water and sewer$1,889
6.684 units (CCF) a month on City of Portsmouth Public Utilities: water $50, sewer $97, water utility tax, assuming 5,000 gallons a month (the regional comparison figure) $10 a month
- Trash$350
Residential refuse (one flat fee), $29 a month
- Home insuranceNot included
We don't have a typical premium for this city yet. Add yours with Adjust.
A Portsmouth house at the typical market value ($246,900) costs about $7,900 a year: $3,270 property tax and charges, $1,890 water and sewer, $350 trash, $2,380 electricity; home insurance is not included (no typical premium yet). 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:
Low income: Dominion Energy PIPP sets your electric bill by income6% or 10% of income
Households with income up to 150% of the federal poverty level pay a monthly electric bill based on income: 10% of income if they heat with electricity, 6% with another heat source.
How: Apply through the Virginia Department of Social Services at commonhelp.virginia.gov, or in person, by mail or by fax through your local Department of Social Services.
Money dates
- Sep 30 · Dec 31 · Mar 31 · Jun 30Real estate tax is billed quarterly: due September 30, December 31, March 31 and June 30.
Who serves this house
- Water
- City of Portsmouth Public Utilities
- Rates effective July 1, 2026, per 100 cubic feet (1 CCF); $10 monthly meter charge for most residential houses (5/8" meter)
- Property tax
- 1.24% of value
- FY 2027 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027), City of Portsmouth
- Garbage
- City of Portsmouth Public Utilities
- Residential refuse is $29.16 a month on the city utility bill
- Sewer
- City of Portsmouth
- Sewage is $4.71 per CCF from July 1, 2026
- Electricity
- Dominion Energy Virginia
- Schedule 1 residential service: $7.58 basic customer charge a month
Other VA cities
Chesapeake home costsFairfax home costsRoanoke home costsNewport News home costsHerndon home costsLynchburg home costsHampton home costsSalem home costsDanville home costsSuffolk home costsSmithfield home costsRadford home costsManassas home costsBristol home costsWarrenton home costsNorfolk home costsHopewell home costsWilliamsburg home costsMartinsville home costsPetersburg home costsHarrisonburg home costsVirginia Beach home costs
How these numbers are made
- Water: $6.00 per CCF plus the $10 monthly meter charge, from the city letter on rates effective July 1, 2026. Starting use is 6.684 CCF (5,000 gallons), the usage Chesapeake's Hampton Roads comparison assumes; Portsmouth publishes no typical use.
- Sewer: Portsmouth's $4.71 per CCF plus the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) treatment fee of $9.84 per CCF from its rate schedule effective July 1, 2026, added per unit of water used (HRSD's $0.45 per day minimum is not modelled).
- Water utility tax: 20% of the meter plus water charge, shown as a flat $10.02 a month at 6.684 CCF; it varies with use.
- Trash: $29.16 a month for residential refuse on the city utility bill.
- Property tax: the FY2027 real estate rate of $1.24 per $100 (Chesapeake's FY2027 Hampton Roads comparison) applied to the value you enter. The $204 a year stormwater fee is on the quarterly real estate bill. Starting value is the Census median market value, not an assessed value; assessments may be lower or higher. Virginia has no general homestead exemption. Personal property tax is not included.
- Electricity: Dominion Schedule 1 with riders, as in other Hampton Roads cities, with a weighted 4 summer / 8 winter months generation charge; the fixed charge adds Portsmouth's $3.40 maximum electric utility tax to the $7.58 customer charge. Starting use is 1,078 kWh (EIA 2020 average). Gas is not included: we could not confirm which gas utility serves most Portsmouth homes (Virginia Natural Gas or Columbia Gas of Virginia).
- Garbage: the rate letter says only 'Residential Refuse is $29.16/month'; the Public Utilities provider, utility-bill billing and weekly curbside service are not quoted, so the judged text omits them.
- HRSD's role in Portsmouth sewer is modelled in the fee fields, not asserted in facts.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
- City of Portsmouth: FY2027 rate letter (PDF)
- City of Chesapeake: FY 2027 Local Tax Comparisons (PDF)
- City of Portsmouth: Real estate collection and rates
- Norfolk Water & Sewer Rates (HRSD fee)
- Census ACS 2024 B25077 Portsmouth
- Dominion Energy: PIPP
- Dominion coverage
- schedule-1.pdf?rev=8d2a08dc7d4841c4988a5fe9ccacef09&hash=c14
- rider-a.pdf?rev=de0194afcc82492cb85e708a5864d5ca&hash=ef43f5
- rider-c1a.pdf?rev=578a19b51d6141188a47f7598985634d&hash=3858
- rider-c4a.pdf?rev=23b5b5ed2cc841feb22511bc646422d1&hash=6e3c
- rider-cerc.pdf?rev=642589e54f574a148f01bf73f09f3241&hash=89b
- rider-dist.pdf?rev=9e5554fcdc544190b48edac526873140&hash=321
- rider-e.pdf?rev=2168c6e55852431d8a5cc4149dd6020d&hash=03c0af
- rider-gen.pdf?rev=5d5a3c3c30d04cc1aa11fa3733fc05f8&hash=9255
- rider-smr.pdf?rev=99ad8878bbbb460f8e7bd99b98269024&hash=a18f
- rider-sna.pdf?rev=392a801f12c84caf9ee71ec6adafec13&hash=f46d
- rider-t1.pdf?rev=df08275f75e94ce288772b750003b1c7&hash=d0679
- rider-ccr.pdf?rev=3b74751b96fe4299a45e45500b3428fe&hash=856d
- rider-ce.pdf?rev=e73281ce2adf4b03a8776b2e1e666f96&hash=dd693
- rider-osw.pdf?rev=efecdba6edc34aad946556b726caefaa&hash=dbea
- rider-rps.pdf?rev=ddfb368bc5244104aa4a06257f564b49&hash=1a71
- deferred-fuel-cost-charge-tariff.pdf?rev=e617a20e6f464646b49
- consumption-tax.pdf?rev=964d9254139f42aca6d4a49e25396ef2&has
- hrsd-today.pdf
- facts-statistics-homeowners-and-renters-insurance
- Useful-Links-for-New-Residents
How Portsmouth compares
A typical Portsmouth house against the 23 Virginia cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | Portsmouth | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 1.24% | 1.06% | higher than 19 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover |
| Water | $601 | $571 | higher than 13 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $1,287 | $806 | higher than 17 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover |
| Trash | $350 | $300 | higher than 11 of the other 18 Virginia cities we cover |
| Electricity and gas | $2,380 | $3,284 | lower than 15 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover |
| Total | $7,884 | $9,242 | lower than 15 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: Portsmouth's property tax rate is 1.24%, higher than 19 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 Portsmouth is 1.24%, higher than 19 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. Sewer and utility-bill fees
The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $1,287 a year, higher than 17 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover. Some cities bill sewer on the property tax bill instead, which is not counted here.
Ask: "Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here cost about $1,287 a year, higher than 17 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"
Common questions about Portsmouth house costs
What is the property tax rate in Portsmouth?
About 1.24% of the value before exemptions a year (FY 2027 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027), City of Portsmouth), plus flat charges on the same bill (Stormwater management utility fee $204).
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Portsmouth?
About $6,404 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions, including $204 of flat charges.
How much is the water bill in Portsmouth?
About $157 a month for water and sewer at typical use (6.684 units, or 5,000 gallons a month) on City of Portsmouth Public Utilities.
How much does trash pickup cost in Portsmouth?
$29 a month for a house.
How much does a house in Portsmouth cost to run each year?
A Portsmouth house at the typical market value ($246,900) costs about $7,900 a year: $3,270 property tax and charges, $1,890 water and sewer, $350 trash, $2,380 electricity; home insurance is not included (no typical premium yet). Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.