The Revaluation Process

NC General Statute 105-286 requires all counties to conduct a revaluation at least once every eight years. Johnston County's last revaluation was performed in 2019. The goal of the revaluation is to distribute the overall tax burden throughout the county in a way that is fair and equitable, and based on current property values.

The effective date for the revaluation is January 1, 2025, at which point we will update all real property values to the newly appraised values. The new 2025 values will be used to calculate tax bills beginning in the summer of 2025 and will remain in place until the next revaluation, with a few important exceptions, such as new construction.

Property tax equity is based on property values. Without periodic revaluations, some property owners would pay more than their share of property tax while others would pay less. Revaluation sets property tax values to their current market value so that the propety tax burden is spread fairly among all taxpayers.

Appraisals during the General Revaluation year are completed by Pearson Appraisal Service and reviewed by the Johnston County Tax Administration's Real Property Appraisal Staff who are certified with the NC Department of Revenue.

North Carolina Law requires all real property to be appraised at 100% of its Market Value as of the effective date of the County's most recent General Revaluation. Johnston County's General Revaluation will be effective January 1, 2025. Appraisers will use a variety of tools to review all parcels within Johnston County. These tools will include orthophotography (aerial) images, street-level images, sales data sources, and the tax database (recent sales in the property's area). Appraisers also conducted field visits on over 115,000 properties.

"Appraised value" is the actual market value of a property and "assessed value" refers to the value on which property is taxed. Under North Carolina law, they are the same as of the effective revaluation date.

One reason that automated valuation models, or "AVMs," might have a different value is that AVMs do not ensure sales meet statutory requirements for qualification. The tax office spends a subtsantial amount of time to qualify all sales used to develop property values. Sometimes that means a field visit to the property or a phone call to a closing attorney or real estate agent is necessary.

We consider every real estate transaction that is filed in Johnston County. However, some transactions do not accurately represent the overall market. Unusual transactions such as foreclosures must be carefully analyzed to determine whether they can be considered market transactions.

Your purchase price may not be equal to the market value. A single sale, even under normal market conditions, will not necessarily occur exactly at the expected market rate. The market rate is determined by considering many sales, under normal market conditions, and then determining what the overall market picture looks like.

You should always report changes you make to your property. North Carolina Law requires property owners to notify the tax office of physical changes to their property; such as, addition or removal of building structures, fire or flood damage. Reporting changes also helps to ensure that appraised values are accurate, fair and uniform. To report changes, email us at taxoffice@johnstonnc.gov or call (919) 989-5130. The listing form that is sent to taxpayers in January of each year is provided for you to report change.

An improvement is any change to a property that enhances its usefulness. Buildings are the most common example, but the term could also include items such as paving, outbuildings, etc.

Some property owners may qualify for programs that can reduce the taxable value of their property. For information on these programs, including Exemptions, Exclusions and the Deferments review the Property Tax Relief Programs by clicking this link: https://www.johnstonnc.gov/tax2/tcontent.cfm?pid=exempt, or you may call our office at (919) 989-5130.