Just as Guilford County leaders are preparing to set a new property tax rate that’s expected to come in higher than revenue neutral, lawmakers in Raleigh are moving forward with legislation that would temporarily block the use of the county’s newly increased property values.

The proposal – Senate Bill 889 –would require Guilford County and 11 other counties that completed reappraisals effective Jan. 1, 2026, to ignore those updated values for the upcoming 2026-2027 fiscal year and instead use older, pre-2026 property values when calculating tax bills.

In other words, after months of homeowners opening notices showing sharply higher property values, the state could step in and say: not so fast.

The bill was filed April 28 and has already moved quickly through the early stages of the legislative process. It passed its first reading in the Senate and was referred to the Senate Rules and Finance committees, a sign that leadership is taking it seriously and could bring it up for a vote in the near future.

And it doesn’t stand alone.

A separate proposal in the House – House Bill 1089 – would go even further by asking voters to amend the North Carolina Constitution to require limits on how much local governments can increase property tax levies going forward. If that measure advances, it would appear on the statewide ballot in November 2026.

Taken together, the two bills represent a significant push by state lawmakers to rein in local property tax increases – something that could have major implications for counties like Guilford, where commissioners are currently debating how much to raise taxes following a revaluation that increased property values by roughly 45 percent on average.

Right now, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners is working toward adopting a new budget in mid-June that will take effect July 1.

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston has already made it clear that the new tax rate won’t be revenue neutral – meaning the county intends to bring in more money than it did before the revaluation – though he’s said the increase will fall somewhere between revenue neutral and the current rate.

That has already set up a debate locally.

But Senate Bill 889 could upend the entire discussion.

Under the bill, Guilford County would be required to use its previous schedule of values – essentially rolling back the revaluation for one year — when calculating tax bills for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

That doesn’t necessarily mean taxpayers wouldn’t see higher bills. The county commissioners could still set a higher tax rate. But it would dramatically change the math.

Instead of applying a lower tax rate to higher property values – which is how revaluations typically work – Guilford County would be forced to apply whatever rate it sets to the older, lower property values.

That would likely reduce the amount of revenue the county could generate unless commissioners raised the tax rate even more to compensate.

Under the bill, the new 2026 reappraisal values wouldn’t disappear entirely – they would simply be delayed.

Beginning in the 2027-2028 fiscal year, counties like Guilford would then be required to use the new, higher values going forward until the next reappraisal cycle.

So, the legislation doesn’t eliminate the impact of the revaluation – it just postpones it.

Still, even a one-year delay could have major ripple effects.

Guilford County is facing increasing demands for funding, including school funding, public safety, and other services. Commissioners have already been hearing at meetings and town halls from residents, many of whom are concerned about rising property values translating into higher tax bills.

At the same time, local governments rely heavily on property taxes as their primary source of revenue.

That’s where the tension lies.

Supporters of the legislation have framed it as a way to provide immediate relief to homeowners who were shocked by large increases in their assessed values.

However, organizations representing counties, including the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, have raised concerns about preserving local control and ensuring counties have the ability to fund services.

Meanwhile, House Bill 1089 introduces a longer-term question.

That proposal would require the General Assembly to enact laws limiting how much property tax revenue local governments can raise – potentially tying increases to factors like inflation or population growth.

If approved by voters, it would put a permanent cap on property tax growth across the state, fundamentally changing how counties like Guilford budget and plan for the future.

For now, both bills are still moving through the legislative process.

Senate Bill 889 appears to be on a fast track, with expectations that it could reach the Senate floor soon for debate and a vote.

The House constitutional amendment is at an earlier stage, having been referred to committee.

But even at this point, the message from Raleigh is clear: property taxes are going to be a major issue this year.

And all this puts Guilford County in a particularly complicated position.

Commissioners are expected to finalize a tax rate in mid-June — a decision that will determine how much homeowners pay beginning July 1.

But depending on what happens in Raleigh, that decision could end up being based on a set of property values the state might not allow the county to use.

In other words, just as Guilford County is about to lock in its budget and tax rate, the rules of the game may be changing.

And for taxpayers, that could mean more uncertainty as to what their final bill will look like – and when the full impact of the recent revaluation will actually hit.

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