GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — It's July, which means you'll be reaching into the mail to find your property tax bill.
No matter the size of your home, it's more than likely you'll see a larger number than you're expecting. It could be around a 15-20% increase.
Several homeowners said the sticker shock is real.
"Everybody has been hurt and even I would say the high-income people have been hurt because of how volatile the market is," said Greensboro homeowner Carole Fisher.
Robert Bell also owns a home in Greensboro.
"There are a lot of homeowners out in Greensboro and Guilford County where 100 dollars, 200 dollars, that's an impact on them that some of them are not all going to absorb," Bell said.
Every five years, houses are appraised by the county.
Reappraisal determines only one of the two pieces of your tax bill. The other piece is the tax rate, which is set by elected officials like county commissioners and city councilmembers.
With the recent housing boom, that cost impacted how much your house is worth. In turn, property tax goes up.
Guilford County commissioner chairman Skip Alston said in appraisal years, the tax rate remains neutral.
The 2022 tax rates were set in June of this year. The elected officials determine how much revenue is needed to operate for July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.
The commissioners did try to raise sales tax by about three cents, so they could lower property tax, but that did not pass.
Alston said the tax rate remains the same because a recent bond of 1.7 billion dollars was passed to support schools, worker shortages and more.
Alston said not many people addressed concerns after the new appraisal came out at the beginning of the year.
"We saw as people saw that the tax rate was fair and they had the right to appeal, we had the lowest amount of appeals that we've had in any reevaluation year, this year," Alston said.
Alston said that next year if the housing market slows down, the commission will revisit the cost of property taxes.
You can look at how your tax dollars in Guilford County are spent through the tax department.
Those property tax bills should be in your mailbox by the end of July. For a 0.5% discount, the bill would need to be paid by August 31. To avoid interest, the deadline is on or before January 5.
There are options for discounts for veterans, people 65 and older, and those who are disabled. Those details can be found here.
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