Greensboro homeowners who qualify for a city program that can put some of their property tax money back in their pockets will have a chance next week to get some face-to-face help applying.
The City of Greensboro Housing and Neighborhood Development Department will hold an outreach event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, at the Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch Library at 1420 Price Park Dr.
City employees will be there to help residents apply for Greensboro’s Low-Income Homeowner Assistance program – better known around City Hall as LIHA.
And there’s a potentially important bonus this year: Some Greensboro homeowners can qualify for both the city program and a new Guilford County version of the program.
The city program provides payments to qualifying lower-income homeowners whose City of Greensboro property taxes went up between 2021 and 2025. The maximum payment is essentially the difference between the city portion of the homeowner’s 2021 tax bill and the city portion of the 2025 bill. The minimum payment is $50.
To qualify for the city program, the home must be the applicant’s primary residence and be within Greensboro’s city limits. The applicant must have lived in the home continuously and paid taxes on it since at least 2021.
The home’s total property tax value must be $315,000 or less.
For a one-person household, annual gross household income has to be $51,250 or less; for households with two or more people, the limit is $58,600.
There also can’t be any outstanding city liens, assessments or delinquent taxes on the property.
The city assistance applies only to single-family residential property, including townhouses and condominiums. It doesn’t apply to vehicle taxes or homes held by title rather than deed.
The program is a reimbursement program rather than a tax forgiveness one – so a homeowner can’t simply leave the tax bill unpaid and expect the city to take care of it later.
At the Oct. 12 event, residents who want to complete the application on site should bring a government-issued photo ID or passport; a utility bill or government mail showing their address; income documentation for all adults 18 and older in the household; and the full names and birthdates of everyone living in the household.
Acceptable income documents include recent paystubs, Social Security benefit letters, pension or retirement letters, W-2 forms and a 2025 federal tax return.
Hard-copy applications will also be available for those who would rather take one home and fill it out later.
Applications can also be completed online. People using the city’s application system create an account and select “Low-Income Homeowner Assistance Program” under “Start a New Application.”
The online system can translate the application into a number of languages.
The deadline is Halloween – Saturday, Oct. 31 – and the city says assistance is available on a first-come, first-served basis while the available money lasts.
Qualified households are expected to receive their city payments by April 2027.
For Greensboro residents, however, there may be a second check available.
Guilford County launched its own Low-Income Homeowner Assistance Grant this summer, a program the Rhino Times has reported on several times since the county commissioners approved it earlier this year.
The county program initially gave homeowners 65 and older a 30-day head start beginning July 15. Since Aug. 16, it has been open to qualifying homeowners of any age.
As with Greensboro’s program, the county payment is based on the increase between the homeowner’s 2021 and 2025 property taxes. However, the county program reimburses the increase in the county portion of the tax bill while Greensboro’s program deals with the city portion.
That means that qualifying Greensboro homeowners aren’t required to choose one or the other. The city specifically states that applying for Greensboro LIHA doesn’t prevent a homeowner from applying for Guilford County LIHA.
The requirements aren’t identical: Under the county program, the home must have had a 2025 taxable value of $250,000 or less, compared with Greensboro’s $315,000 cap.
County income limits, on the other hand, are higher for many households. A one-person household can make up to $53,200, two people up to $60,800, three up to $68,400 and four up to $76,000. The limits rise with household size to $100,350 for a household of eight.
County applicants must have owned and occupied the home as their primary residence for at least five consecutive years, be responsible for paying the property taxes and have no outstanding county liens, assessments or delinquent taxes.
They also can’t have received assistance from another Guilford County tax assistance program for the 2025 tax bill.
As the Rhino Times noted when the county program opened up to everyone in August, procrastination probably isn’t your best strategy. County grants are being awarded in the order complete applications are received – and only until the available money is gone.
County applications can be completed online or picked up at the Department of Social Services offices at 1203 Maple St. in Greensboro or 325 E. Russell Ave. in High Point.
Online county applications are due by midnight Oct. 31. Paper applications can be turned in at DSS through 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, or placed in the secure drop boxes outside the offices after that through the Oct. 31 deadline.
For questions about the Greensboro program, you can call the Housing and Neighborhood Development Department at 336-373-2275 and leave a message.
For questions about the county program, residents can call 336-641-6336 or email liha@guilfordcountync.gov.
More information on Greensboro’s program and its online application is available at Greensboro-NC.gov/PropertyTax.
The county program is available at GuilfordCountyNC.gov/HomeownerAssistance.
