Revaluation
Revaluation 2023
The Tax Office is currently conducting property revaluation, which occurs every four years in Catawba County. Values determined by the current revaluation were effective on January 1, 2023, and were mailed to property owners in early February. To learn more about the current revaluation, click on the information below.
2023 Property Revaluation Update
COMPER Catawba
COMPER Catawba is a new online tool that allows property owners in Catawba County to view valid sales used by the Catawba County Tax Office to help establish the current market value of properties in the 2023 revaluation cycle.
After you click on the COMPER Catawba button below, enter your property address to receive a list and a map indicating all valid property sales between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2022 within a five-mile radius of your property.
From the list, you can select specific valid sales, similar to your home and turn them into a report that can be printed or saved as a PDF. The Google-based map can be used to see the location and a 360-degree street view of each comparable property.
To see a video with instructions on how to use COMPER, click HERE.
Catawba County Revaluation Appointment Line: (828) 465-8436
Catawba County Tax Office staff are available to help answer any questions you may have about your new valuation notice. To make an appointment with someone on our team, call the Catawba County Revaluation Appointment Line at (828) 465-8436 Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Appeals
The appeal process is available to any property owners who disagree with their property valuation. The first step is an office appeal, which can be requested by calling the Catawba County Revaluation Appointment Line at (828) 465-8436, or by filing an appeal online through the Catawba County Appeal Portal HERE. The portal provides a step-by-step explanation of the initial appeal process. Office appeals that are not resolved may be appealed to the Catawba County Board of Equalization and Review, followed by the North Carolina Property Tax Commission and the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
Revaluation 101
What It Is
In every community, property values increase or decrease at different rates over time. Revaluation is a data-driven process that updates the market value of all residential and commercial properties in the county.
What It's Not
Revaluation does not set tax rates. Property tax rates are determined by the Board of Commissioners during the county’s annual budget cycle.
Revaluation does not create property values. Property values are determined by the real estate market through the buying and selling of property from the last revaluation to the current.
Why It Happens
Revaluation resets property values to their current market value so that the property tax burden is spread fairly among all taxpayers. Counties are required by state law to conduct revaluations.
How It Happens
Revaluation is a countywide process. County tax appraisers work to:
- Verify the accuracy of characteristics on record for the property. Some of these characteristics include square footage, bedroom and bathroom count, condition of structure and exterior walls.
- Research and analyze the sale of properties with similar locations, qualities and conditions.
- Evaluate all the data to determine the current market value.
As part of the process, appraisers review current information on record and then visit properties to verify accuracy. The appraiser may or may not actually drive onto a property or come to your door, depending upon whether he or she sees a discrepancy in current listing data. When the entire revaluation process is completed, all property owners receive a notice in the mail informing them of the new tax valuation of their property.
When It Happens
North Carolina law requires revaluations at least once every eight years. Catawba County, like many other counties, conducts a revaluation every four years. A four-year revaluation cycle helps lessen "sticker shock" by balancing fluctuations in market value that tend to accompany longer periods between revaluations. Catawba County moved to a four-year revaluation cycle in 1999, and that move has served the community well.
In a revaluation cycle, the County's revaluation team gathers and reviews data until the end of December. Values are effective on January 1 of the following year. Values determined by the current revaluation will be effective on January 1, 2023, and notices will be mailed to property owners that month. Based on the county’s four-year cycle, the next revaluation is scheduled for January 2027.
Property Tax Relief Programs
North Carolina offers three Property Tax Relief Programs: the Elderly or Disabled Homestead Exclusion, the Disabled Veteran Homestead Exclusion, and the Circuit Breaker Homestead Tax Deferment Program. Learn more about these programs HERE.
Some Common Questions
This is difficult to say for two reasons. It depends upon:
- How much the market value of the property has changed, and
- How much the tax rate changes. The tax rate is set by the Board of Commissioners every June as part of the annual budget process following analysis of the county’s budgetary requirements. Revenues received from all sources, including State and Federal funding, are considered.
The revaluation notice is not a tax bill. Each year, property tax bills are normally mailed in July or early August and are due September 1. Taxpayers have through January 5th of the following year to pay before interest accrues.
After a revaluation is completed, a property’s value can only be increased or decreased before the next countywide revaluation if there are physical/zoning changes to the property or if there is a clerical, mathematical error, or misapplication of values in the listing of the property.
Examples of physical changes could include new building construction, new improvements and remodeling, demolition of structures or features, and subdivision of land. Property values cannot be adjusted for normal physical depreciation or economic changes affecting the county in general.
An independent appraisal performed and dated after the January 1st date of the last county-wide revaluation cannot be considered until the next countywide revaluation because the value was determined using market sales that occurred after the effective January 1st revaluation date.
The Schedule of Values is a set of standards and rules that assure all property will be appraised in a uniform, accurate and consistent manner. Catawba County’s Schedule of Values is specifically formulated by the Catawba County revaluation staff through an extensive study of Catawba County’s current real estate market and costs. It is used to set the new property values in the County.
The Schedule of Values is formally presented to the Board of Commissioners for approval prior to each real property revaluation.
The definition of a revenue-neutral property tax rate in a year of a general reappraisal is defined in N.C. General Statute 159-11 (e).