Two McLean Homes, Same Value, Different Tax Bills: What the Extra Lines Actually Buy

A buyer comparing two McLean listings usually does the same quick math. They take the assessed value, multiply it by Fairfax County's real estate rate, and treat the result as the annual tax bill. For the 2026 tax year, the Board of Supervisors set that base rate at $1.12 per $100 of assessed value, down from $1.1225 the year before. The rate was adopted at the May 5, 2026 Board meeting and covers calendar tax year 2026.

No McLean parcel actually pays $1.12. Every parcel sits in a numbered tax district, and the county's Tax Year 2026 rate and fee table shows that districts with a McLean address carry different combinations of add-ons. Two houses assessed at the same value can get bills that differ by close to a thousand dollars a year. In McLean, the higher bill usually means the county is providing more services. The lower bill can mean the household pays for those services some other way.

The same assessment across four district codes

Every McLean district code in the county's table pays the base rate plus a stormwater levy of $0.0325 and a pest infestation levy of $0.001. Stormwater applies countywide, except on federal property and in the City of Fairfax. Beyond those three charges, the tax districts that cover McLean start to differ. The table below runs a $1,500,000 assessment, used purely as an example, through four district codes from the county's 2026 table.

The gap between the first and last rows is $1,260 a year on the same assessment. Three line items account for all of it: the McLean Community Center levy at $0.023, the leaf collection levy at $0.019 and the refuse fee of $630 per dwelling unit. Each one pays for a specific service, and the refuse fee matters most for understanding why the lowest bill can be misleading.

The refuse fee replaces a bill that most households pay privately

The county's own county collection customers page says only about 10% of residents get trash and recycling pickup from Fairfax County Government. The other 90% of residents and businesses use private collection companies, which bill them directly or through homeowners association fees.

So the $630 on a #1A1 or #1A21 bill is not an extra cost layered on top of what everyone else pays. It is the trash and recycling bill, collected with property taxes. A household in #1 or #1A pays for the same service under a private hauler contract or through its HOA dues, and that cost never appears on the county bill. Comparing the two houses on tax alone makes the house without the county fee look cheaper by a cost it still has to pay.

The service itself is similar either way. County collection customers get one 95-gallon trash cart and one 95-gallon recycling cart per residence. For private haulers serving single-family homes and townhouses, the county code requires weekly refuse removal, weekly recycling pickup and weekly yard-waste recycling from March 1 through December 24. Yard waste cannot be set out in plastic bags. County customers follow the same calendar. Yard waste goes out in compostable paper bags or rigid containers until December 24, and from December 25 through the end of February it goes in the trash cart.

The county fee has also risen over time. It was $555 in 2024, $610 in 2025 and $630 in 2026. Condo buyers can set this line aside, because the adopted rate resolution excludes apartments and multi-family condominiums from the refuse charge.

The leaf levy pays for a service that runs this season

The leaf collection levy is the one most likely to be visible by the time this post is read. Vacuum leaf collection is a sanitary district service charged at $0.019 per $100. Within the MCC area, the 2026 adopted list includes Dranesville Local Districts 1A11, 1A21, 1A22 and 1A61, plus Small Districts 3, 7, 12 and 15, among others. On the $1.5 million example, the levy comes to $285 a year.

In an October 15, 2026 video, the county describes three rounds of collection in designated areas from November through January. Residents are asked to rake leaves into piles within 4 feet of the edge of the street, keep the piles clear of storm drains, mailboxes and fire hydrants, and leave sticks, branches, rocks, soil and grass out of them. Last season's collection finished on January 23, 2026, according to the county's FY2027 budget.

The county's leaf collection schedule and status page carries a notice updated November 4, 2026. It says the county is improving service through better operations and quality checks, and that residents may see teams before and after collection while crews do additional training. The page also has neighborhood schedules, status updates and email alerts.

In districts without the levy, leaves are handled through yard-waste pickup: paper bags on the weekly schedule through December 24, under either county or private service. For a buyer looking at a lot with mature trees, that difference shows up every November.

The MCC levy buys district-resident pricing

The $0.023 McLean Community Center levy is the largest of the three on a percentage basis. It is also the line that separates #1 from #1A in the table. According to the center's FY2027 adopted budget, the special tax on residential and commercial property in Small District 1A, Dranesville is the center's primary source of funding. It supports the 383-seat Alden Theatre, the Old Firehouse Center, classes, performances and community events.

District residents get specific benefits for that money. MCC's Fall 2025 program guide says district residents and businesses pay reduced fees when they rent center facilities for private functions. The same guide asks people to confirm their district status before registering for programs that charge nonresident fees. The district also controls who can enter Light Up McLean, the holiday decorating competition. It is open to MCC tax district residents and, for the first time this year, to businesses in the district. Registration closes December 11, and public voting runs December 21, 2026 through January 3, 2027. Only residential entries are eligible for prizes.

A McLean mailing address does not guarantee district membership. MCC defines the district by the Potomac River to the north, the Arlington County line to the east and Difficult Run to the west. The southern edge is whichever of I-66, the Dulles Access Road or Route 7 lies farthest north. A house in Dranesville District #1 pays $0.023 less per $100, and its household registers as nonresident for MCC programs that charge nonresident fees.

Part of the 22102 ZIP code adds another possible line. The Tysons Service District levies $0.05 per $100 on commercial and residential property within its boundaries to fund transportation improvements there. County parcel records show at least some 22102 addresses, including a commercial parcel on International Drive, inside a Tysons transportation district. Before you make an offer near Tysons, check that property's district code rather than relying on the ZIP code.

Checking a specific address before you make an offer

The district code is public, and it takes a few minutes to confirm for any house you are comparing.

1. Search the address in the county's ICARE property search and note the tax district on the record. MCC says a parcel in its district will show "Dranesville District #1A."
2. Find that code in the Tax Year 2026 rate and fee table to see its total rate and whether a $630 refuse fee applies. The county's tax rates page describes this process and notes that the assessment notice also lists the rates for the parcel.
3. If the code has no refuse fee, ask the seller or the HOA who collects the trash and what it costs. Fairfax County keeps a list of permitted solid waste collection companies.
4. Confirm leaf and trash service on the county's refuse collection area map, which shows the areas where the county collects trash, recycling and leaves and was last updated May 15, 2026.

Add the tax bill to the trash bill for each house, and compare those totals.

Frequently asked questions

Did McLean tax bills go down this year? The base rate dropped from $1.1225 to $1.12 per $100 for tax year 2026. The district levies stayed at the same rates as 2025, and the refuse fee went up $20. Whether a particular bill went down also depends on how that property's assessment changed.

Does a condo owner pay the $630 refuse fee? The adopted resolution excludes apartments and multi-family condominiums from the refuse charge. In those buildings, trash service is usually arranged by the association.

Can a home switch districts? Sanitary district boundaries can change. The adopted resolution prorates leaf charges for property added to or removed from a district as of July 1, 2026.

This post is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Please confirm the details of a specific property with the county and the appropriate professional.

When you're weighing two McLean homes, Jennifer Fang Homes can pull the district code for each address and show you what the tax bill and service costs add up to before you make an offer. If you're thinking about selling, request your free home valuation. We'll include your parcel's district and county services so a buyer's math matches the bill you actually pay.