After revaluation, will my tax bill stay the same?

After revaluation, will my tax bill stay the same?

The tax rate is set by elected officials in the annual budget. The Wake County budget process, like that of many municipalities, begins in May. Public input is encouraged before the budget is adopted, typically in June. Wake County and its municipalities operate on a July 1 - June 30 fiscal year.

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.