Woman's property tax due despite moving

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - A Hampton Roads resident was recently told she owed property taxes in Norfolk, but she doesn't live in Norfolk and has already paid them in Virginia Beach.

10 On Your Side found out telling DMV you moved is not enough. WAVY.com was told only until recently has DMV been diligent in getting localities' "Move Out" information on residents moving from one Hampton Roads city to another.

Joy Shrum, a producer at WAVY TV 10, knew she would soon renew her registration on her car with DMV. Then came the letter from DMV saying Shrum had been red-flagged.

The letter from the agency read, in part:

" There are conditions on your record that will prevent us from renewing the registration."

"I have renewed the vehicle the past couple of years after I moved, so I'm not sure why I'm having a problem this year," Shrum said.

The condition noted by DMV said Shrum hasn't paid her Norfolk property tax on her car and her jet ski trailer.

"I thought to myself, 'I don't live in the City of Norfolk, so how is it possible I owe them taxes?'," Shrum recalled.

Shrum moved from Norfolk in the spring of 2010 to another property in Virginia Beach where she has paid the property taxes each year on the car and the trailer. She has the tax statements to prove it.

Norfolk Commissioner of Revenue Sharon McDonald knows exactly what happened. Shrum did what a lot of people do. She moved, but failed to tell Norfolk she had moved.

"If she didn't want to be taxed, the most important thing she needed to do was pick up the phone and call us," McDonald said.

So, Norfolk kept taxing Shrum thinking she still lived in Norfolk.

Then Treasurer Anthony Burfoot sent Shrum's name and hundreds of others to the DMV last October, telling the DMV Shrum hadn't paid the taxes.

"We are more aggressive against delinquent taxes that are owed to the city," Burfoot said.

DMV then sent that letter to Shrum.

"It really is the responsibility of the taxpayer to inform the local assessor that they are no longer responsible for that tax in that locality," McDonald said.

Shrum countered, "I never called them to tell them I was moving because in my experience (the DMV) would update the records and everything else would follow suit."

McDonald added, "When she notifies us she paid the tax in Virginia Beach, we will be happy to remove the lien from her account."

So here's your reminder. If you move, you must contact DMV and tell them where you're moving. Next, contact the Commissioner of Revenue of the city from which you're moving and the Commissioner of Revenue of the locality you're moving to.