Many Guilford County property owners have been wondering what the state’s recently approved property tax reappraisal moratorium means for this year’s tax bills.
In an effort to answer those questions, Guilford County has released additional information explaining how Senate Bill 889 will affect property owners.
The legislation, which was signed into law by NC Gov. Josh Stein on Friday, June 19, delays the use of Guilford County’s 2026 reappraisal values for one year.
For most property owners, the biggest change is that this year’s property tax bill won’t be based on the new property value listed on the reappraisal notice they received earlier this year.
Instead, 2026 tax bills will be based on the same assessed value that appeared on 2025 tax bills.
The county says that the new 2026 reappraisal values will instead be used beginning with next year’s tax bills. Because of the moratorium, there won’t be another countywide reappraisal in 2027.
The next reappraisal in Guilford County is scheduled for 2032.
The change will also delay this year’s tax bills. The county now expects to mail tax bills out by Saturday, Aug. 15 – instead of the previously scheduled mailing date of Friday, July 10. Guilford County Tax Director Ben Chavis told the Rhino Times the department is trying to get the new bills out in early August.
Residents who pay their property taxes by Monday, Aug. 31, will still receive the county’s 1 percent early payment discount. County officials said state law doesn’t allow the Board of Commissioners to extend that deadline even though tax bills will be mailed later than originally planned.
Property owners who appealed their 2026 reappraisal don’t need to file another appeal. The county says those appeals will continue to be processed and any adjustment will apply to the 2027 tax bill when the delayed reappraisal values take effect.
Likewise, property owners who applied for one of the county’s property tax relief programs don’t need to submit another application if they’ve already filed one. Although the regular application period has ended, late applications may still be submitted to the Board of Equalization and Review.
The county also said any tax payments that were made in advance will automatically be applied to this year’s tax bill.
According to county officials, the tax bills issued this summer will use 2025 assessed values along with the tax rates recently adopted by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners. That includes a nearly 6 cent tax hike.
Looking ahead, county officials say the fiscal year 2027-2028 budget will be based on the delayed 2026 assessed values after the moratorium expires. If those values remain unchanged, the county estimates the revenue-neutral tax rate for that year would be 58.54 cents per $100 of assessed value.
The county has also created a Property Tax Moratorium Information Hub on its website that answers frequently asked questions about the law – including how appeals, tax relief applications and prepaid taxes will be handled.
