A new proposal from top North Carolina Senate leaders would require some counties to postpone using newly updated property values, scheduled for 2026, for calculating property taxes. This delay would maintain current tax assessments for at least one year, temporarily preventing higher tax bills for property owners.
“Residents across North Carolina are seeing their property values skyrocket after revaluations, and it’s imperative that the General Assembly take a thoughtful approach to address property tax concerns,” Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Guilford, said in a statement. “This approach gives residents some certainty on their tax bills while allowing policymakers ample time to put forward proposals to rein in property tax increases.”
Primary sponsors of SB 889, titled the “Property Tax Reappraisal Moratorium,” are Berger, as well as Sens. Brent Jackson, R-Sampson; and Sen. Steve Jarvis, R-Davidson. Both Jackson and Jarvis are members of a Senate property tax working group Berger convened earlier this year.
Under the bill, counties that conducted property revaluations this year would be required to ignore their newly updated property values for the 2026-27 fiscal year and instead continue using values from their previous reappraisal. Beginning in the 2027-28 fiscal year, counties would then adopt the 2026 reappraisal values and continue using them until their next scheduled reappraisal cycle.
Jackson, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said too many residents are unprepared for the bills they receive after a revaluation.
“Too many North Carolinians, including my constituents, are seeing sticker shock when they get their revaluations in the mail,” Jackson said in a statement. “The General Assembly has worked tirelessly to spend taxpayer dollars wisely, and we need our counties to follow suit.”
Jarvis, a former county commissioner, said the moratorium is a first step toward addressing the broader issue of skyrocketing property taxes across the state.
“As a former county commissioner, I’ve seen how the revaluation process can take a substantial toll on residents,” Jarvis said in a statement. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in both the House and Senate to ensure our residents can keep more of their paychecks in their wallets.”
While the proposal could offer short-term relief by delaying the use of higher property values, some analysts say it does not address broader concerns about how property taxes are calculated.
“This proposal does not stop property tax increases,” said Joseph Harris, a fiscal policy analyst for the John Locke Foundation. “It temporarily rolls back the use of 2026 reappraisal values for affected counties, but local governments can still adjust tax rates, so taxpayers could still see higher bills. It also applies only to counties that conducted a reappraisal effective Jan. 1, 2026. Ultimately, it changes the timing of when new values are used — not the underlying structure of the property tax system.”
The measure does not directly change property tax rates, which are set by local governments.
North Carolina law generally requires counties to conduct property reappraisals at least once every eight years, though many counties do so more frequently to reflect market changes.
The reappraisal moratorium would take effect immediately if enacted.
It is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday afternoon.
