Your 2026 Tax Bill Will Not Match Your Value Notice. Here Is Why.

Renee Hackett, REALTOR®

R&B Legacy Group | 632 W 4th Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101

(336) 302-5803 · ReneeHackett@rblegacygroup.com · realtorreneehackett.com

The Short Version

North Carolina Senate Bill 889 requires counties that reappraised property effective January 1, 2026 to use their prior year values for the 2026 tax year. In the Triad, that covers Guilford and Davidson counties. Your 2026 bill is calculated on your 2025 value. The 2026 value moves to your 2027 bill instead.

That is a delay, not a cancellation. And it does not automatically mean your bill went down.

None of this is tax or legal advice. It is a working summary from an agent who reads these things because they change how a deal gets underwritten. For anything specific to your parcel, your county tax office and your closing attorney are the right calls.

What Senate Bill 889 Actually Did

Senate Bill 889, titled the Property Tax Reappraisal Moratorium, passed the General Assembly on June 10, 2026 and was signed by Governor Stein on June 19, 2026. It became Session Law 2026-8.

The law tells counties that completed a reappraisal effective January 1, 2026 to set that reappraisal aside for one year and bill on the values they used the year before. The 2026 values then take effect for the 2027 tax year.

According to the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, after a follow-up law adjusted the roster, the affected counties are Anson, Bladen, Chowan, Davidson, Guilford, Onslow, Pamlico, and Pender, with Buncombe subject to the moratorium if it does not adopt a revenue-neutral rate.

Two of those are in my service area: Guilford, which covers Greensboro, High Point, and Jamestown, and Davidson, which covers Lexington and Thomasville.

Why Your Bill Will Not Match Your Value Notice

If you own property in Guilford County, you received a notice of value in February. If you own in Davidson County, yours arrived in March. Many of those notices showed increases in the 30 to 50 percent range, and some ran higher.

Those numbers are real. They are just not on this year's bill.

The moratorium arrived after both counties had already completed the reappraisal and, in Davidson's case, after the county had built a proposed budget around the new values. So the county tax offices had to go back and rebuild bills on the older figures. That rework is the reason bills are running late.

Here is the piece that gets missed: a property tax bill has two moving parts, the assessed value and the tax rate. Freezing one does not freeze the other.

Guilford County: Frozen Value, Higher Rate

Guilford County adopted its Fiscal Year 2027 budget on June 25, 2026. The adopted budget sets the county property tax rate at 78.95 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, an increase of 5.9 cents over the prior rate.

The county's own figure: that works out to roughly $8.44 more per month at the county median home value of $171,600.

So the value on your bill is your 2025 value, and the county rate applied to it went up. If you live inside a municipality, your city or town rate and any fire district rate stack on top of that.

The dates that matter, per the county's Property Tax Moratorium Information Hub:

• Bills are projected to be mailed by Saturday, August 15, 2026, pushed back from the original July 10 target
• Owners who pay by Monday, August 31, 2026 still receive the 1 percent early payment discount, and the county has said it cannot move that date under current state law
• Any prepaid tax funds are applied to the 2026 bill
• Appeals filed on 2026 values are still being processed, and they will apply to the 2027 bill
• The next appeal deadline is Monday, May 17, 2027
• There is no reappraisal in 2027. The 2026 values simply take effect. The next reappraisal is scheduled for 2032

You can look up the 2025 value your bill is based on through the Guilford County bill search tool.

Davidson County: Bills Delayed, Discount Preserved

Davidson County is in the same position with a different timeline. The county completed its reappraisal, mailed new values in March 2026, and then had to revert to prior year values for every taxing jurisdiction in the county once the law took effect.

The county has said the record reconciliation needed to recalculate bills could take up to two months, so bills are delayed. It has also confirmed that the early payment discount is preserved, and that anyone who wants to pay 2026 taxes before September 1, 2026 can do so by mail or in person even without a bill in hand.

One thing worth flagging honestly: Davidson's proposed county rate in May was 36 cents per $100, down from 54 cents, and that proposal was built on the new reappraisal values. The moratorium landed after that. Do not assume the 36 cent figure is what you will see. Confirm the adopted rate on your bill or directly with the Davidson County Tax Department.

Davidson's appeal window for the 2026 tax year closed April 30, 2026. Appeals filed on or before that date are still under review.

If You Own in Kernersville, Winston-Salem, or Asheboro

Good news: this does not apply to you.

Forsyth County, which covers Kernersville, Winston-Salem, Clemmons, Lewisville, and Walkertown, reappraised effective January 1, 2025 on a four-year cycle. It was not a 2026 reappraisal county, so the moratorium does not touch it.

Randolph County, which covers Asheboro and Randleman, last reappraised in 2023 and is scheduled again for 2027.

I am including this because I get the question either way. If your neighbor in Greensboro is talking about a frozen value and you are in Kernersville, you are on a different schedule entirely.

What This Means If You Are Buying, Selling, or Holding a Rental

This is where it stops being a civics lesson and starts affecting real numbers.

If you are buying in Guilford or Davidson County. Your lender is going to estimate escrow off the current tax bill, and that bill reflects a 2025 value. In 2027, the 2026 value takes effect. If the property's reappraisal notice showed a large increase, your escrow is very likely to step up, and your payment with it. Ask for the 2026 assessed value, not just the current bill, and run your budget both ways. That is a five minute conversation that prevents a genuinely unpleasant surprise. My buyer guide walks through how escrow is built, and the first-time buyer page covers the rest of the closing cost picture.

If you are selling. Two things. First, assessed value is not market value and never has been, so please do not price off the February notice in either direction. Second, expect informed buyers to ask what happens to taxes in 2027. Having the 2026 assessed value ready, along with a straight answer, keeps a deal moving. Pricing conversations start with real comparable sales, which is what the market page and a proper analysis are for.

If you own rentals. Model the 2027 number now, not next spring. And remember it is not landing alone. North Carolina's dwelling insurance settlement brings an average 5 percent statewide increase effective October 1, 2026, which I covered in the home insurance post. A value step-up plus a premium increase inside the same twelve months can move a property's cash flow more than either one does on its own. If you are underwriting new investment property in Guilford or Davidson right now, use the 2026 assessed value in your model.

What to Do Before the 2027 Bill

• Pull your 2026 notice of value and confirm the details are right, including square footage, bed and bath count, and condition
• If you already appealed, hold on to the paperwork. Guilford has confirmed those appeals carry to the 2027 bill
• If you did not appeal and you believe the 2026 value is wrong, note the Guilford deadline of May 17, 2027
• Check whether you qualify for any of the county tax relief programs, which have their own application windows
• If your taxes are escrowed, tell your servicer when your assessed value changes so the account can be adjusted

The Bottom Line

The moratorium bought Guilford and Davidson property owners one year before the new values hit. It did not cancel them, and in Guilford it did not stop the tax rate from going up 5.9 cents in the meantime.

For most people reading this, the practical takeaway is simple. Look at your 2026 assessed value now, even though it is not on this year's bill, because it is the number your 2027 payment will be built on. If you are buying this fall, ask for it before you get comfortable with a monthly payment.

Curious how this affects a specific property, or trying to figure out what your home is actually worth as opposed to what the county says it is assessed at? Those are two different questions and I am glad to walk through both. There is never a stupid question.

About the Author

Renee Hackett, REALTOR® | R&B Legacy Group | License #290693

Renee Hackett has been serving buyers, sellers, and investors in Kernersville and the Piedmont Triad since 2016. She consistently ranks in the top 20% of her market, holds a 5.0 rating, and has closed 125+ transactions across investor, first-time buyer, relocation, and seasoned buyer specializations. She is a native of Randolph County, NC, and brings deep local knowledge to every transaction.

Primary service area: Kernersville, Winston-Salem, High Point, Greensboro, Asheboro, Jamestown, Thomasville, Lexington, Randleman, and the broader Piedmont Triad.