Maybe your reaction was the same as our granddaughter’s when she saw her new Alamance County tax valuation for her house. Who are they kidding? With inflation rising, now my taxes are going to be almost double!! I can’t afford that!!! If my house was really worth that much, I would sell today! Clearly the County is just thinking about themselves and getting their money and does not care about the regular person.
I have heard many comments like this in recent days (mostly on social media) and there is a lot of misunderstanding about this topic. Hopefully I can help.
Did the County just basically double my taxes?
No, they did not. Your taxes are not going to increase at the same rate that the values increased. Why is that? Because taxes have two components: it is the tax value times the tax rate. Yes, the tax value went way up, but the tax rate is going to go way down.
The current tax rate in Alamance County is 65 cents per $100 of value. Early estimates are that the new tax rate will be around 43 cents per $100 of value.
The following table may help:
| Value | Tax Rate | Tax Bill | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Value | $200,000 | 0.65 | $1,300 |
| New Value #1 | $275,000 | 0.43 | $1,183 |
| New Value #2 | $300,000 | 0.43 | $1,290 |
| New Value #3 | $350,000 | 0.43 | $1,505 |
You see, depending on how much your new valuation increased, it is possible your new tax bill could go down.
You can do this math yourself. Take the new value, divide by 100, and multiply by 0.43. That will be an estimate of your new taxes. And you can compare it to the old. Find your old tax value, divide by 100, and multiply by 0.65. See what the difference is. Then decide how to respond!
How do you know the new tax rate will be 43 cents?
I don’t. But the county tax assessor is required to calculate the “revenue neutral” tax rate for the new assessment. That is the rate that would cause the money the county brings in to stay the same as last year. He has said that is likely to be at 43 cents. Then when the County Commissioners meet to set the tax rate, they will start with that number. If they go higher, then they are raising taxes; if they set it lower, they are reducing taxes. If they stay at that number, then they are leaving tax unchanged – for the county as a whole.
Is my house really worth the new value?
It may be!! And that should be encouraging. Your house has greatly increased in value. Maybe your house is worth far more than you realize. Maybe you could sell it today for that value. Of course, if you are going to stay in Alamance County, you may be surprised to find how much it costs to find a new house to live in, so don’t put that For Sale sign out just yet.
Alamance County (and North Carolina as a whole) is a very desirable place to live. People are moving here from lots of places (mostly the North) and that makes values go way up. It’s a good thing – you live in a place where lots of people would love to live!
I have talked to several realtors to get their opinion on the valuation. The feedback I have gotten from them is that some valuations are too high, a few are too low, and most are very reasonable.
This is still crazy. How do I protest?
You can appeal the valuation, and the county will take a second look at your valuation. You have to justify why you think it is wrong, so do your homework. If you very recently refinanced and have a full appraisal, that is ideal. Or reach out to a realtor friend and see if they will help you do a careful analysis that you can submit with your appeal. Zillow may give you a rough number, but I doubt the tax office will put much stock in that as proof for your appeal.
Here is the link to the Alamance County Tax Office for appeals.
What about city taxes?
The city tax rate is set by the City Council and the tax value is the one set by the county. The process is pretty similar. I won’t take space here to map it all out, but please ask if you are confused.
I still have questions. Who do I ask?
Ask me! Email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you. That is why I am here.
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