“If You Revalue, Will My Taxes Go Up?”
A quick review of how your bill becomes your bill.
Your bill is made up of three important parts:
1) The Value
This is what is adjusted by the reappraisal. It should reflect what your property is worth.
For real property, the tax value drifts away from true value because we go years between revaluations but the market changes daily.
The goal of a revaluation is to get your value back in line with what it is really worth.
2) The Tax Rate
This is set by the Board of County Commissioners. They determine how much money will be needed for the coming year (this is the budget). Then they divide the budget by the value of all property in the county to find the tax rate.
If the value of the property goes up, but the budget doesn’t change, then the tax rate will go down.
3) The Bill Amount
This is what you are asked to pay. The value of your property is multiplied by the tax rate to find the bill amount.
- If the value goes up the same as the rate goes down, you will pay the same.
- If the value goes up more than the rate goes down, you may pay a little more.
- If the value goes up less than the rate goes down, you may pay a little less.
“Why would the value go up more or less than the rate?”
Some properties gain value faster than others due to location, type or condition. The tax rate represents the average value gain. The top value gainers will outpace the average and tend to pay more. The least value gainers will fall behind the average and tend to pay less.
For Example:
| BEFORE | AFTER | ||
| Home Value | $150,000 | $217,500 | |
| Tax Rate | $0.65/100 | $0.45/100 | (rate for illustration only – not official) |
| Tax Bill | $975.00 | $978.75 |
Average Increase = Similar Bill
| BEFORE | AFTER | ||
| Home Value | $150,000 | $270,000 | |
| Tax Rate | $0.65/100 | $0.45/100 | (rate for illustration only – not official) |
| Tax Bill | $975.00 | $1,215.00 |
Larger Increase = Larger Bill
| BEFORE | AFTER | ||
| Home Value | $150,000 | $195,000 | |
| Tax Rate | $0.65/100 | $0.45/100 | (rate for illustration only – not official |
| Tax Bill | $975.00 | $877.50 |
Smaller Increase = Smaller Bill
“What if I have questions?”
Give us a call, visit our office, or send us an e-mail. We would be happy to help.
You can contact us at:
336-570-4068
Tax Administration
124 W. Elm St.
Graham, NC 27253
Wait!
Don’t you have some other questions? Check out our Revaluation FAQ.