Early Tax Relief in sight for Beaufort County Homeowners | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Early Tax Relief in sight for Beaufort County Homeowners

    In addition to the adoption of the fiscal year budget, early Tax Revaluation was on the Beaufort County Commissioner's agenda for discussion at their June monthly meeting.

    Commissioner Stan Deatherage explained the need to set aside additional funds to accomplish an earlier than anticipated tax revaluation. The next revaluation is currently scheduled for 2018 but with our new tax software currently being installed, there is a possibility Beaufort County taxpayers could be looking at new tax bills as soon as 2016.

    The results of Beaufort County's last revaluation (2010) left many taxpayers in a state of shock when they received the first tax bill reflecting the unanticipated increase.

    For instance, homeowners found that although their home was on the tax rolls as being worth $300,000 the market value was as little as $225,000.

    Unable to pay their increased taxes, homeowners faced the possibility of losing their homes through foreclosure.

    Many homeowners struggling to hold onto their homes were tempted to consider selling, only to discover the housing market was flooded with a glut of underpriced homes.

    Since the 2010 revaluation there has been a public outcry for some kind of relief. In 2013 over 150 taxpayers appeared before the Board of Equalization with complaints of their property being overvalued and hence overtaxed.

    One of the reason for this widespread problem was Beaufort County's last property tax assessment was conducted during the 2008-2010 economic decline.

    During this economic collapse twenty-seven North Carolina counties were scheduled for 2009 revaluations. As the Tax Revaluation deadline drew closer, public anger and outrage increased. In response to taxpayer pressure, 6 N.C. County Boards (Caldwell, Person, Mecklenburg, Stanly, Swain and Rockingham) made bold but risky decisions by voting to either cancel or postpone their 2009 revaluations, knowing full well they could be found in violation of State Tax Law.

    The group of 6 counties decisions attracted the attention of the Department of Revenue, Attorney General and the General Assembly. Success was in the form of a Bill (HB 1530) that approved every one of the Group of 6's repeals, but the decision was restricted to the 2009 Revaluations. (The Revaluation Revolt of 2009 http://sogpubs.unc.edu/electronicversions/pdfs/lglb121.pdf )

    Under NC General Statutes real property must be revalued every 8 years but the Statute allows counties to conduct revaluations sooner.

    In 2008 North Carolina Department of Revenue issued a 2008-2009 Property Tax Rates and Revaluation Schedules for North Carolina Counties report that stated "According to this report, fifty-seven counties had elected to adopt a revaluation cycle of less than eight years, forty-four of which had adopted four-year revaluation cycles."

    Even if the BC Board of Commissioners votes for an earlier revaluation, the earliest Beaufort County taxpayers could expect any relief would be 2016. Installation and implementation of new software in the Tax Department is underway and expected to be up and running in 2014. In light of the magnitude of the problem even a two year decrease in the revaluation cycle would be a welcome relief to most Beaufort County homeowners.