Last week, the City’s Department of Finance issued “2025 Second Half Real Estate Tax Bills” to residents. These bills accurately reflect what taxpayers owe. However, for those with mortgages, these bills are typically sent to mortgage lenders to be paid on their behalf. This time, that process did not occur as expected, resulting in several thousand taxpayers receiving their bills directly.
During the importation of new taxpayer data from mortgage lenders—a process conducted twice a year—at least 33,000 taxpayer records were incomplete. This resulted in missing data necessary to link taxpayers with their mortgage lenders, causing many residents to receive real estate tax bills directly.
The MUNIS system, which handles the real estate billing process, was upgraded mid-cycle this year. The first-half billing was successful under the old system. The Department of Finance is collaborating with MUNIS’s team to diagnose what occurred during the second-half billing process.
To resolve this issue, the Department will reimport and verify the data before issuing real estate tax bills to mortgage lenders.
The Department of Finance is working with MUNIS’s vendor to identify the root cause of this problem. Once identified, additional Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and training will be provided for all staff involved in real estate tax billing. If necessary, technical updates may be applied to MUNIS.
New SOPs and review processes will also be developed for all external communications from the Department—not just related to real estate tax billing.
For those who received an unexpected “2025 Second Half Real Estate Tax Bill,” contacting your lender about payment arrangements is advised if your lender usually pays on your behalf. If you typically handle your own bill payments, ensure it is paid by June 16.
If you have already paid and your lender subsequently pays as well, credits or refunds can be requested through account checks online or via calling 311.
Individuals who normally receive a bill because they do not use a mortgage lender should proceed as usual. Those who receive a bill but do not own the property should cancel any electronic fund transfers online or contact 311 for help.
Real estate tax payments are due by June 16 in Richmond. While bills are anticipated soon for mortgage lenders’ processing, taxpayers should confirm payment success with their lenders.
For further questions or assistance, individuals can call 311 for more information.
