Revaluation is the process that makes sure each property’s assessed value reflects its fair market value, or the most probable price a property would bring at sale in a competitive and open market. 

Revaluations are required by law in North Carolina, and they set the tax value of all residential and commercial land and structures. Property values don’t all go up or down at the same rate, so revaluations help make sure each property’s assessed value reflects its fair market value, or the most probable price a property would bring at sale in a competitive and open market. Because property taxes are partially based on a property's market value, if counties didn’t conduct periodic revaluations, some property owners would pay more than their share of property tax while others would pay less than their share. 

In North Carolina, counties must conduct a revaluation at least once every eight years.  In 2016, recognizing our County’s rapid growth, the Wake County Board of Commissioners voted to shorten the revaluation cycle to four years, and the County’s first revaluation on a four-year cycle was effective January 1, 2020.  The current revaluation has an effective date of January 1, 2024.

There are four main steps in a revaluation: neighborhooding, land and building pricing based on sales data, field and office reviews and notice of assessment and appeal review.

Neighborhooding is where the county’s approximately 425,000 parcels are divided into about 5,100 neighborhoods based on similar market, economic and geographic conditions, such as a subdivision where homes are all about the same age, style and quality of construction. In the land and building pricing phase, property sales of both homes and land are analyzed to establish appropriate land values, building grades, and the influence of various property characteristics.

In the Field and Office Review phase, appraisers review the proposed rates by visiting neighborhoods and properties around the county. The rates and value ranges established by these analyses are compiled into the Schedule of Values (SOV). The Wake County Board of Commissioners must approve the SOV created by the Department of Tax Administration before it becomes effective.

The results of the revaluation are presented to the Board of Commissioners, and value notices are mailed to property owners. Taxpayers can request an informal review by Tax Administration or file a formal appeal to the Wake County Board of Equalization and Review. Once appeals are heard, the County prepares lessons learned from the most recent revaluation process and begins the next revaluation cycle. 

The Schedule of Values or SOV is a manual providing rates, value ranges and guidelines for appraising property at fair market value in Wake County. It includes adjustments that may be used for various types of construction, adjustments for market conditions, and valuation schedules for land.  By law, the SOV must be approved by the Board of Commissioners.  

The SOV provides summaries and broad ranges of the parameters in the County’s Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal System (CAMA). The rates and ranges in the Schedule of Values are effective January 1, 2024, and will stay in effect until the next revaluation. Any changes or improvements made to properties during this time frame will be appraised in accordance with the standards found in this document.

A copy of the SOV, in PDF format, is available at wake.gov/sov.
 

You can use the real estate search page to view your current assessed value and other information about your real property at wake.gov/realestate.

On January 16, 2024, the Wake County Board of Commissioners was presented with the 2024 revaluation results. Notices of assessed value, effective January 1, 2024, were mailed to all property owners that same week. 

For the 2024 Revaluation, Wake County Tax Administration has introduced a new online tool to help taxpayers research sales of residential property.  The 2024 Revaluation Residential Comparable Sales Search allows users to search for sales of similar property in their neighborhood, display the results on a map, and generate reports of comparable sales that can be submitted as part of a value appeal.

For additional details, and a link to the Comparable Sales tool, please visit: wake.gov/comparablesales.

If you agree with your new value, no action is needed. However, all property owners have the right to appeal the appraised value of their property. Taxpayers can request an informal review of their value from the Tax Administration Office or appeal formally to the Wake County Board of Equalization and Review.  Taxpayers are encouraged to submit documentation as to why the assessed value does not reflect fair market value or provide additional information about property characteristics that may influence their assessed value.

The window for submitting a request for informal review to Wake County Tax Administration opens January 16, 2024, the day the Revaluation results are presented to the Board of Commissioners.  Requests for an informal review by the Tax Office may be filed online through March 1, 2024, 11:59 PM local time. Formal appeals to the Board of Equalization and Review may be submitted online beginning March 2 and ending May 15, 2024, 11:59 PM local time.  Both requests for informal review and formal appeals may also be submitted by mail or in person beginning January 16, 2024.  An Informal Review and Formal BOER appeal form is included with the notice of value.

Please visit our Appeals page at wake.gov/revaluation/appeals for more information.
 

Your property tax bill is made up of two parts - the assessed value and the tax rate set each year by elected county and municipal officials. They are multiplied to get the dollar amount owed. For example, if a house has an assessed value of $300,000 and the county tax rate is 65.70 cents per $100 of value, the County tax amount would be $1,971.00 ($300,000 x .00657). 

Taxes due September 1, 2023 and delinquent after January 5, 2024 are based on assessed values as of January 1, 2020 and the tax rates approved by elected officials in June 2023.

Taxes due September 1, 2024 and delinquent after January 5, 2025 are based on assessed values as of January 1, 2024 and the tax rates approved by elected officials in June 2024.
 

Until the tax rate is set, the effect that revaluation will have on specific tax bills cannot be determined. State law requires local government officials to publish a revenue-neutral tax rate as part of the budget process. Revenue neutral is a budget term that means the revenue brought in by property taxes in a revaluation year would be approximately the same as if the revaluation had not taken place. Local officials are not required to adopt the revenue neutral tax rate when they adopt the property tax rate, but they must publish it as part of their budget for comparison purposes. 

To see an estimate of how revaluation could affect property tax bills, based on revenue neutral tax rates, visit wake.gov/revaluation and select Revenue Neutral Tax Calculator.

Estimates of Wake County taxes, along with fire district taxes where applicable, are provided for all parcels.  Revenue neutral rates for municipalities and special tax districts are provided at the discretion of their respective officials. If no estimate is provided, property owners should monitor their jurisdiction’s annual budget process to learn the published revenue neutral rate and determine the potential effect on their tax liability. 
 

Yes! Please visit wake.gov/taxrelief for information on tax relief programs.

You are welcome to call, email, visit our office or set up an appointment if you would like to speak to an appraiser. Please call 919-857-3800 or email  revaluation@wake.gov. You can also visit the Department located in Suite 3800 of the Wake County Justice Center.

The Board of Equalization and Review (BOER) is a special board appointed by the Wake County Commissioners as authorized by state law.  It consists of Wake County residents with knowledge of the local commercial and residential real estate market, including professionals from real estate brokerage, appraisal, construction, and legal fields. Among the BOER duties is the duty to hear taxpayer appeals with respect to the listing or appraisal of property. Not all BOER members will appear at each hearing; the BOER is divided into smaller panels based on their areas of expertise and scheduling of appeals. More information about the BOER may be found at wake.gov/boer.

Please call 919-857-3800 or email  revaluation@wake.gov. You can also visit the Department located in Suite 3800 of the Wake County Justice Center.