AssessCheck

North Carolina Property Tax Deadlines

North Carolina’s deadline structure has one genuinely unusual element: the formal appeal window ends when the county board adjourns — a date the board’s own schedule produces, not a statute. Everything else follows the familiar seasonal shape: an informal window in late winter, board hearings in spring, and a 30-day state appeal after each decision.

The revaluation date: the anchor for everything

Real property must be reappraised at least every eight years, and many counties revalue more often — Orange County completed a revaluation effective January 1, 2025, with the next planned January 1, 2029. Between revaluations the value carries over, with changes limited to what the statute allows. Evidence in an appeal must speak to the property's worth on the most recent revaluation date, even if the market has moved since.

Anchor: the county's most recent revaluation date · Basis: rule tied to an event

January – March: the informal review window

The first step is an informal review by the county assessor's staff — a county appraiser, not the board, reviews the evidence and sends a decision. Orange County accepted informal appeals January 1 through March 31, 2026; other counties publish their own windows. If the informal decision is unsatisfying, the formal appeal opens when the board convenes.

Anchor: the county's published informal-review window · Basis: rule tied to an event

The formal window that closes when the board adjourns

A formal appeal is a hearing before the county Board of Equalization and Review, a citizen board appointed by the county commissioners. The board convenes on a published date — the statute expects boards to convene around the first week of April; Orange County's convenes April 30, 2026 — and the filing window closes when the board adjourns. Orange County's formal appeal period runs April 1 through June 30, 2026 ('when the Board adjourns'). The end date is the board's own schedule, so the county's published dates are the operative ones. There is no filing fee and a lawyer is not required.

Anchor: the Board of Equalization and Review's convening and adjournment dates · Basis: rule tied to an event

30 days: the Property Tax Commission

A decision of the county board may be appealed to the state Property Tax Commission in Raleigh within 30 days of the decision letter. Instructions are included with the board's notice. A PTC decision can be appealed further to the NC Court of Appeals on legal or procedural issues.

Anchor: the date of the Board of Equalization and Review's decision letter · Basis: rule tied to an event

January: personal property listing

Personal property is listed (declared) during January of each year with the county assessor. Real property needs no annual listing — it stays on the roll from revaluation to revaluation.

Date: January (annual listing period)

The shape of an appeal year (illustrative)

Illustrative sequence using Orange County’s published 2026 dates as the example — your county’s dates are its own.

  1. January 2026: personal property listed with the county (real property needs no listing); informal appeals open January 1.
  2. By March 31, 2026: informal review filed with evidence tied to the January 1, 2025 revaluation date.
  3. April 1 – June 30, 2026: the formal window — closing when the board adjourns, so early filing is the safe play.
  4. April 30, 2026: the board convenes (Orange County’s date; the statute expects roughly the first week of April).
  5. May – June 2026: board hearings; decision letters mail as each case is decided.
  6. Within 30 days of the decision letter: PTC appeal filed in Raleigh.
  7. September 1, 2026 (illustrative): tax bills — computed on the value the process fixed.

What this tells you: two of these dates are not fixed until your county publishes them: the formal window’s end (adjournment) and the board’s convening date. The informal window and the 30-day PTC count are the constants; the board’s calendar is the variable, and it controls your last chance to be heard at the county level.

What it does not tell you: your county’s actual dates and its adjournment schedule — published by your county tax administration each year.

Where the processes are explained

Sources