Guilford County is actively monitoring North Carolina Senate Bill 889 (SB 889), which would impose a moratorium on the 2026 property tax reappraisal. The bill was approved by the North Carolina General Assembly on Wednesday, June 10, and is currently pending the Governor's review.
If finalized, the moratorium will affect the assessed property values used during the Fiscal Year 2026-27 (FY2027) budget process. County staff are reviewing the potential impacts and preparing revisions to the recommended budget as needed.
As a result, the planned budget adoption scheduled for Thursday, June 18, will be paused while SB 889 is finalized. A special meeting will be scheduled by Tuesday, June 30, to adopt a budget ordinance in accordance with North Carolina General Statutes.
What residents need to know about the property tax moratorium:
- 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 web page.
- The moratorium will pause the use of the updated assessed values included in recent notices of value until Friday, January 1, 2027. Those values are expected to be used for the Fiscal Year 2028 (FY2028) budget, which begins Thursday, July 1, 2027.
- Property owners will have until Friday, December 31, 2027, to appeal their property value.
- If you have applied for one of the state-approved property tax relief programs, your application remains valid. You do not need to reapply.
- Property tax bills are now projected to be mailed by Saturday, August 15, rather than the previously planned date of Friday, July 10. Residents who pay their bill by Monday, August 31, will still receive a 1% discount. Under the current North Carolina General Statutes, the Board of Commissioners cannot adjust the dates of the early payment discount period at this time.
- Residents may hear references to a $4.3 million revenue impact associated with the property tax moratorium under public service equalization. Rural fire districts may also experience an estimated $0.3 million impact. Guilford County is monitoring the progress of Senate Bill 474, which includes provisions that could address these impacts.
- County staff continues to review the implementation details of SB 889, and additional information may become available as the process moves forward.
- Additional information on other income assistance programs is available at the Guilford County Resident Housing Programs web page.
The moratorium will also affect cities and towns in Guilford County. Each local government will evaluate the potential impacts and adopt a budget by June 30. To date, Guilford County has not adopted a budget for FY2027.
Guilford County remains committed to transparency and will continue to share updates with residents as more information becomes available.