Overview
Cary property owners are receiving notices of assessment in the mail reflecting new property values. This is as a result of the Wake County Revenue Department’s 2008 property revaluation.
These notices are not tax bills. The new property values assigned in these assessments represent the estimated fair market value of real property as of January 1, 2008. The new values will be used to calculate fiscal year 2008-2009 tax bills, which will be mailed to homeowners in July 2008.
Details
Revaluation is the process that attempts to match your property’s tax value with what it is worth today. It helps ensure that all properties in Wake County are valued equitably based on current market conditions. State law requires counties to complete revaluation at least every eight years. Wake County’s last revaluation was in 2000.
All residential and commercial land and the structures on land (such as houses, condos, garages and offices) are included during revaluation. Property such as cars, planes and boats are not included because their value is reassessed or revalued every year.
Revenue Neutral
Revenue neutral is a budget term that generally means total property tax revenues collected during a revaluation year will be at about the same level as they would have been without revaluation. According to state law, each jurisdiction is required to publish what its revenue neutral tax rate is.
A revenue neutral tax rate is typically lower, but it does not mean that all tax bills will be the same as the prior year. This depends on the increase or decrease in value of each individual property.
Wake County revaluations in 2008 reflected an average increase in property value of 43 percent for the eight-year period. In Cary, the average residential property value increase was 38 percent. Property owners with above average increases in value may receive a larger tax bill, even if the tax rate is lowered.
Citizens should not try to figure out the amount of tax they will have to pay in January 2009 based on their new property value. Wake County and the Town of Cary will determine their respective new property tax rates as part of the annual budget process. The FY 2009 budget will be presented in May with adoption in June. The tax rate adopted by each governing board can then be applied to the new assessed value of your property to determine your tax amount that will be due in January 2009.
Appeals
Wake County began the reassessment process in late 2005, using data from recent sales and construction costs to determine the new value. The statistical analysis is checked and reviewed thoroughly to ensure that values are accurate and fair, but property owners have the right to appeal their new assessment if they feel it is not correct. To appeal, submit the form included with your notice of assessment along with supporting documentation by Jan. 1, 2008.
Read Wake County’s information on the appeals process: To Appeal or Not to Appeal?
More information
For more information about Revaluation, visit Wake County’s Web site at www.wakegov.com/tax.
If you have questions about the annual budget process, please contact Budget Director Scott Fogleman via email at scott.fogleman@townofcary.org or by phone at (919) 462-3911.