Guilford County property owners who thought Senate Bill 889 meant they were definitely getting a break on their property tax bills this year may want to hold off on the celebration.

They may also want to hold on to their wallets.

Here’s the thing.  While the new bill that everyone and his or her brother expects to become law will force some counties like Guilford County to use older property values, there’s nothing that says the county can’t just take the old values and slap a giant tax hike on there to make up for the fact that it can’t use the 2026 reevaluation numbers.  That’s essentially what the City of Greensboro just did.

Guilford County sent out a press release just after 1 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17 providing an update on Senate Bill 889, the “Property Tax Reappraisal Moratorium,” and the county’s message was clear: Guilford County still doesn’t have a new budget, the tax bills are going to be delayed and the final tax rate decision is still up in the air.

Senate Bill 889 was approved by the North Carolina General Assembly on Wednesday, June 10 and is now awaiting review by Gov. Josh Stein, but everyone anticipates it will become law.

When finalized, the bill will prevent Guilford County from using its new 2026 property revaluation values for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

Instead, Guilford County, Greensboro, High Point, the county’s towns and rural fire districts have to use the older property values already on the books.

That’s the part of the bill many property owners like.

The part they may like less is that local governments can still raise the tax rate to their heart’s desire on those older values, just as the City of Greensboro did.

In other words, blocking the new values doesn’t block tax increases. It just changes the math.  And it makes the tax increase more transparent and obvious.  In the past, both the city and the county have been able to hide tax increases behind revaluation since they could keep the tax rate the same while bringing in gobs of millions of dollars more in property tax revenue.

Guilford County officials stated Wednesday that county staff members are reviewing the potential impacts of the bill and preparing revisions to the recommended budget as needed.

The Board of Commissioners had planned to adopt a new budget on Thursday, June 18, but that adoption is now on hold while the state action on Senate Bill 889 plays out.  North Carolina law requires the commissioners to adopt a new budget by July 1 each year.

“A special meeting will be scheduled by Tuesday, June 30, to adopt a budget ordinance in accordance with North Carolina General Statutes,” the county stated in the press release.  That’s going right up to the deadline.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners has called a special work session for Thursday, June 18 to figure out what changes need to be made given the new world order.

The county’s June 17 press release also answers one question many property owners have been asking: When will the tax bills arrive?

The answer is later than expected.

According to Guilford County, property tax bills are now projected to be mailed by Saturday, Aug. 15 rather than the previously planned date of Friday, July 10.

Residents who pay their bill by Monday, Aug. 31 will still receive the 1 percent early payment discount.

However, under current state law, the Board of Commissioners can’t adjust the dates of the early payment discount period at this time. That means the bills may go out later, but the early-payment discount deadline is still tight.

The county also stated that property tax bills for the upcoming fiscal year will be based on prior-year assessed values. Residents can look up those values by searching their address or name on the Guilford County Bill Search webpage.

The new values that property owners received earlier this year in their notices of value are being paused until Friday, Jan. 1, 2027. Those values are expected to be used for the county’s 2027-2028 budget year, which will begin on July 1, 2027.

That means Senate Bill 889 is a one-year pause – not a permanent cancellation of the new values.

Property owners will have until Friday, Dec. 31, 2027 to appeal their property value.

The county also stated that anyone who has applied for one of the state-approved property tax relief programs doesn’t need to reapply. Those applications remain valid.

Senate Bill 889 doesn’t just affect ordinary homeowners and businesses. It may also create side effects in the way some utility-type property and rural fire district revenues are calculated. That issue is smaller than the county’s overall budget problem, but it’s one more complication in a budget process that has already been thrown into confusion.

Greensboro has already made its choice on a tax hike: On Tuesday night, June 16, the Greensboro City Council adopted a 2026-2027 budget with a total city property tax rate of 79.85 cents per $100 of assessed value. That’s a whopping 12.6-cent increase over the current city property tax rate.

County budget and finance officials along with the county manager had built their recommended budget around the 2026 revaluation values. Since the county will be forced to use the older values instead, commissioners have two unpleasant choices: cut spending or raise the tax rate greatlty on the older values.

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