Article 14.

Time for Listing and Appraising Property for Taxation.

§ 105-285.  Date as of which property is to be listed and appraised.

(a) Annual Listing Required. - All property subject to ad valorem taxation shall be listed annually.

(b) Personal Property; General Rule. - Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, the value, ownership, and place of taxation of personal property, both tangible and intangible, shall be determined annually as of January 1.

(c) Repealed by Session Laws 1987, c. 813, s. 12.

(d) Real Property. - The value of real property shall be determined as of January 1 of the years prescribed by G.S. 105-286 and G.S. 105-287.  The ownership of real property shall be determined annually as of January 1, except in the following situation: When any real property is acquired after January 1, but prior to July 1, and the property was not subject to taxation on January 1 on account of its exempt status, it shall be listed for taxation by the transferee as of the date of acquisition and shall be appraised in accordance with its true value as of January 1 preceding the date of acquisition; and the property shall be taxed for the fiscal year of the taxing unit beginning on July 1 of the year in which it is acquired.  The person in whose name such property is listed shall have the right to appeal the listing, appraisal, and assessment of the property in the same manner as that provided for listings made as of January 1.

In the event real property exempt as of January 1 is, prior to July 1, acquired from a governmental unit that by contract is making payments in lieu of taxes to the taxing unit for the fiscal period beginning July 1 of the year in which the property is acquired, the tax on such property for the fiscal period beginning on July 1 immediately following acquisition shall be one half of the amount of the tax that would have been imposed if the property had been listed for taxation as of January 1. (1939, c. 310, s. 302; 1945, c. 973; 1971, c. 806, s. 1; 1973, c. 735; 1985, c. 656, s. 21; 1987, c. 813, s. 12; 1993, c. 485, s. 17.)

 

§ 105-286.  Time for general reappraisal of real property.

(a) Octennial Cycle. - Each county must reappraise all real property in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 105-283 and G.S. 105-317 as of January 1 of the year set out in the following schedule and every eighth year thereafter, unless the county is required to advance the date under subdivision (2) of this section or chooses to advance the date under subdivision (3) of this section.

(1) Schedule of Initial Reappraisals.

Division One - 1972: Avery, Camden, Cherokee, Cleveland, Cumberland, Guilford, Harnett, Haywood, Lee, Montgomery, Northampton, and Robeson.

Division Two - 1973: Caldwell, Carteret, Columbus, Currituck, Davidson, Gaston, Greene, Hyde, Lenoir, Madison, Orange, Pamlico, Pitt, Richmond, Swain, Transylvania, and Washington.

Division Three - 1974: Ashe, Buncombe, Chowan, Franklin, Henderson, Hoke, Jones, Pasquotank, Rowan, and Stokes.

Division Four - 1975: Alleghany, Bladen, Brunswick, Cabarrus, Catawba, Dare, Halifax, Macon, New Hanover, Surry, Tyrrell, and Yadkin.

Division Five - 1976: Bertie, Caswell, Forsyth, Iredell, Jackson, Lincoln, Onslow, Person, Perquimans, Rutherford, Union, Vance, Wake, Wilson, and Yancey.

Division Six - 1977: Alamance, Durham, Edgecombe, Gates, Martin, Mitchell, Nash, Polk, Randolph, Stanly, Warren, and Wilkes.

Division Seven - 1978: Alexander, Anson, Beaufort, Clay, Craven, Davie, Duplin, and Granville.

Division Eight - 1979: Burke, Chatham, Graham, Hertford, Johnston, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Moore, Pender, Rockingham, Sampson, Scotland, Watauga, and Wayne.

(2) Mandatory Advancement. - A county whose population is 75,000 or greater according to the most recent annual population estimates certified to the Secretary by the State Budget Officer must conduct a reappraisal of real property when the county's sales assessment ratio determined under G.S. 105-289(h) is less than .85 or greater than 1.15, as indicated on the notice the county receives under G.S. 105-284. A reappraisal required under this subdivision must become effective no later than January 1 of the earlier of the following years:

a. The third year following the year the county received the notice.

b. The eighth year following the year of the county's last reappraisal.

(3) Optional Advancement. - A county may conduct a reappraisal of real property earlier than required by subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection if the board of county commissioners adopts a resolution providing for advancement of the reappraisal. The resolution must designate the effective date of the advanced reappraisal and may designate a new reappraisal cycle that is more frequent than the octennial cycle set in subdivision (1) of this subsection. The board of county commissioners must promptly forward a copy of the resolution adopted under this subdivision to the Department of Revenue. A more frequent reappraisal cycle designated in a resolution adopted under this subdivision continues in effect after a mandatory reappraisal required under subdivision (2) of this subsection unless the board of county commissioners adopts another resolution that designates a different date for the county's next reappraisal.

(b), (c) Repealed by Session Laws 2008-146, s. 1.1, effective July 1, 2009. (1939, c. 310, s. 300; 1941, c. 282, ss. 1, 11/2; 1943, c. 634, s. 1; 1945, c. 5; 1947, c. 50; 1949, c. 109; 1951, c. 847; 1953, c. 395; 1955, c. 1273; 1957, c. 1453, s. 1; 1959, c. 704, s. 1; 1971, c. 806, s. 1; 1973, c. 476, s. 193; 1987, c. 45, s. 1; 2008-146, s. 1.1.)

 

§ 105-287.  Changing appraised value of real property in years in which general reappraisal is not made.

(a) In a year in which a general reappraisal of real property in the county is not made under G.S. 105-286, the property shall be listed at the value assigned when last appraised unless the value is changed in accordance with this section. The assessor shall increase or decrease the appraised value of real property, as determined under G.S. 105-286, to recognize a change in the property's value resulting from one or more of the following reasons:

(1) Correct a clerical or mathematical error.

(2) Correct an appraisal error resulting from a misapplication of the schedules, standards, and rules used in the county's most recent general reappraisal.

(2a) Recognize an increase or decrease in the value of the property resulting from a conservation or preservation agreement subject to Article 4 of Chapter 121 of the General Statutes, the Conservation and Historic Preservation Agreements Act.

(2b) Recognize an increase or decrease in the value of the property resulting from a physical change to the land or to the improvements on the land, other than a change listed in subsection (b) of this section.

(2c) Recognize an increase or decrease in the value of the property resulting from a change in the legally permitted use of the property.

(3) Recognize an increase or decrease in the value of the property resulting from a factor other than one listed in subsection (b).

(b) In a year in which a general reappraisal of real property in the county is not made, the assessor may not increase or decrease the appraised value of real property, as determined under G.S. 105-286, to recognize a change in value caused by:

(1) Normal, physical depreciation of improvements;

(2) Inflation, deflation, or other economic changes affecting the county in general; or

(3) Betterments to the property made by:

a. Repainting buildings or other structures;

b. Terracing or other methods of soil conservation;

c. Landscape gardening;

d. Protecting forests against fire; or

e. Impounding water on marshland for non-commercial purposes to preserve or enhance the natural habitat of wildlife.

(c) An increase or decrease in the appraised value of real property authorized by this section shall be made in accordance with the schedules, standards, and rules used in the county's most recent general reappraisal. An increase or decrease in appraised value made under this section is effective as of January 1 of the year in which it is made and is not retroactive. The reason for an increase or decrease in appraised value made under this section need not be under the control of or at the request of the owner of the affected property. This section does not modify or restrict the provisions of G.S. 105-312 concerning the appraisal of discovered property.

(d) Notwithstanding subsection (a), if a tract of land has been subdivided into lots and more than five acres of the tract remain unsold by the owner of the tract, the assessor may appraise the unsold portion as land acreage rather than as lots. A tract is considered subdivided into lots when the lots are located on streets laid out and open for travel and the lots have been sold or offered for sale as lots since the last appraisal of the property. (1939, c. 310, ss. 301, 500; 1953, c. 970, s. 5; 1955, c. 901; c. 1100, s. 2; 1959, c. 682; c. 704, s. 2; 1963, c. 414; 1967, c. 892, s. 7; 1969, c. 945, s. 1; 1971, c. 806, s. 1; 1973, c. 695, s. 10; c. 790, s. 2; 1987, c. 655; 1997-226, s. 4; 2001-139, s. 2; 2008-146, s. 1.2.)