FDIC Sues Virginia County Over Headquarters’ Property Tax Value

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is contesting two years of property tax bills totaling almost $500 million from Arlington, Va., over a disagreement on how to measure the value of the buildings’ vacancy.

In a complaint, FDIC said Arlington County has “inflated” the real estate tax assessments on its headquarters for 2019 and 2020. In those years, the county assessed the buildings at $243.9 million and $249 million respectively, numbers the FDIC claims are “tens of millions” of dollars off the property’s fair market value.

The FDIC, which owns the building free-and-clear, declined to comment.

Arlington County assessed the buildings ...