The Big Stretch

Marie Howland, professor of urban studies and planning at the University of Maryland, said higher taxes benefit residents in the form of better schools and more desirable communities in which to live and work.

"It's like everything in life. There's this tradeoff. If prices were falling, we'd be complaining," she said, noting that property taxes in the Washington area are relatively low compared with places such as New Jersey. "It's been a huge capital gain for people who own houses. . . . It's hard for me to muster up a lot of sympathy."

But it's a different story, Howland said, for homeowners on fixed incomes.

For instance, since he retired in 2000, George Sauer of Potomac has seen his property taxes increase by a third to $4,000, even with more than $1,000 of tax and homestead credits.

He and his wife, Wilma, who together receive about $22,000 annually in Social Security, have been paying their taxes with a credit card and money from retirement accounts, Sauer said.

"My wife pays the property taxes and I pay for the cars and medicines," said George, 71, a former systems analyst for a government contractor. "When September rolls around, she tries to save up for the taxes, but she tends to run a little short. . . . We've had to carry a balance from time to time."

To save money, the Sauers were considering selling the four-bedroom house where they have lived since 1964. However, the forces of the local real estate market produced an intergenerational solution. Their daughter's family was relocating to the area, and needed a place to live.

"They could afford to rent but they couldn't afford to buy," Sauer said. "So they moved in to help us with the costs, of which property taxes are a big chunk."

But even those at the prime of their earning capacity say they feel the bite.

In recent years, Michael and Marguerite Willner of Lorton have watched the value of the Georgian-style house they built in 1989 make a breathtaking rise. Since 2001, their property taxes have more than doubled, to $30,311.58 last year.

Marguerite said she sees the benefits her dollars will bring to her community. Her two teenage children attend the new South County Secondary School. One problem, she said, is that it is difficult to plan for the tax increases, particularly because her family's income fluctuates.

"It's just thrust upon you. My husband is an inventor. He works at home," said Willner, who wants assessment caps in Virginia and joined the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance a few years ago. "I think it's safe to say most people's incomes don't double."

Bill Helbig, 53, a commercial airplane pilot from Berryville in Clarke County, said his income has actually shrunk. His salary, he said, was cut by 25 percent because of financial problems at the airline where he works.

He and his wife were just two years into paying off their 30-year mortgage when they received a letter from the local tax office a few weeks ago. Their home, it said, was now worth $626,500. The house was assessed at $300,400 when the couple moved there in 2004.

Anticipating a substantial rise in property taxes, the mortgage company notified them that the monthly payment would go up by more than $300, Helbig said.

The news has forced the Helbigs, who have asked the county to review the assessment, to shift their short-term plans and reevaluate their long-term ones.

For the time being, they have put off replacing their 1994 Mazda van.

And although their house -- a bungalow with an open layout, stone fireplace and catwalk -- is where they had hoped to retire, Helbig said future is now uncertain. "I'm all for paying taxes . . . but you can't control the value of your house," he said. "It's blindsided a lot of people."