Guilford County Property Tax Revaluation Notices Coming Next Month

Here's a news flash: the last few years have seen declining real estate values here in Guilford County.  To add to the problem, North Carolina property tax rules act to "lock in" the tax value of property.  In the old days, when property could be expected to rise in value, this was a good thing.  Now, it means taxpayers are often paying tax based on a value well above current market value.   

The county tax assessor must undertake a general reappraisal of all real property every eight years unless the local taxing authority has chosen to advance its reappraisal schedule to every four years.  This means that when a reappraisal occurs, property is supposed to be adjusted to its market value on January 1 of the reappraisal year.  Between reappraisals, adjustments can occur for physical changes to the specific property (like a building being built or destroyed) but not for economic changes affecting the county generally.  The current slump falls into the second category so values have not adjusted downward.

Here in Guilford County, we have labored under the values set as of January 1, 2004; that is, before the downturn.  The "good news" is that properties are now being reappraised as of January 1, 2012.  Other counties, including New Hanover are revaluing in 2012.  Our neighbor Forsyth County is scheduled to revalue in 2013.  Guilford County says that notices of the new values will be going out in March.

Our firm works on tax appeals in counties around the state and we are expecting to hear from taxpayers dissatisfied with their Guilford valuations.

When you receive your appraisal amount, you may be happy with the Tax Department's determination or you may decide that it is still too high.  The first level of appeal is with the Tax Department itself.  In general, the Tax Department is sincere in wanting to make adjustments when warranted.  However, if you can't reach agreement with the Tax Department, the next step is to appear before the Board of Equalization and Review.  We have found that this Board usually sides with the Tax Department and frequently struggles with more complicated issues.  However, the Board of Equalization and Review is a fairly informal and cost effective way to be heard.

If a taxpayer is not happy with the decision of the Board of Equalization and Review, the next level of appeal is to the North Carolina Property Tax Commission.  The Property Tax Commission is a formal, evidentiary hearing, similar to a court.  The North Carolina Department of Revenue employs staff tasked with settling Property Tax Commission cases.  These staff members are often able to convince taxpayers and counties to resolve their disagreements.    Unless the tax is fairly large, a Property Tax Commission hearing is hard to justify due to the expense involved.  Our firm's property tax appeal group has had good luck working through this mediation process in a number of cases.

One note: all of the appeal steps have deadlines.  If you are not satisfied with your value, it is important to understand and comply with these deadlines and the other rules for the appeal.

Lastly, the values set by the County do not necessarily mean your actual tax will change.  That will depend on the tax rates set by the County Commissioners and City Council each year.