Orange County, North Carolina
Orange County property tax: revaluation, rate and appeals
We appeal commercial assessments in Orange County on contingency. If we do not lower your assessed value, you owe us nothing. Here is everything worth knowing first.
Orange County at a glance
Next revaluation
January 1, 2029
Scheduled. Last revalued 2025.
Appeal deadline
Board adjournment
The county publishes the date each year and prints it on value notices.
County tax rate
$0.6805
Per $100 of assessed value, 2026-27. 26th highest of 100.
Rate and schedule: North Carolina Department of Revenue, as reported July 2026. Counties can move a scheduled revaluation, so confirm with Orange County before relying on it.
Six years of rates
What happened to the rate last time
When Orange County last revalued, in 2025, its rate fell from $0.8629 to $0.6383, a 26% cut.
That is not the county cutting taxes. In a revaluation year a North Carolina county has to publish a revenue-neutral rate, the rate that would bring in roughly the same money on the new, higher values (G.S. 159-11(e)). The rate goes down because values went up. If your property’s value rose faster than the county as a whole, your bill went up even as the rate fell.
| Fiscal year | Rate per $100 |
|---|---|
| 2021-22 | |
| 2022-23 | |
| 2023-24 | |
| 2024-25 | |
| 2025-26 | |
| 2026-27 |
Across all six years the rate has fallen 16.9%, from $0.8187 in 2021-22 to $0.6805 in 2026-27.
An appeal does not touch the rate. It lowers the value the rate is applied to.
The arithmetic
What a reduction is worth in Orange County
$13,610
County tax a year on a $2,000,000 assessment at $0.6805
$1,361
Saved every year by a 10% lower assessed value
$5,444
Saved over 4 years, if the county keeps its current cycle
The third number is the one most owners miss. Between revaluations, North Carolina lists property at the value it was given when last appraised (G.S. 105-287). Win a reduction in the revaluation year and the lower value becomes the value of record, year after year, until the county revalues again or the property itself changes.
The figures are an illustration at the county rate alone. City and district rates are charged on the same assessed value, so the real saving inside a town is larger.
The calendar
How the 2029 revaluation will run
Before January 1, 2029
The county adopts its schedule of values
The rules the county uses to value every property. Owners who think the schedule itself is wrong have 30 days from the first published notice of its adoption to appeal to the Property Tax Commission (G.S. 105-317). That window usually closes before anyone sees a new value.
January 1, 2029
New values take effect
Every property is valued as of this date, and that is the value an appeal argues about for the whole cycle.
Early in the year
Notices of value mail
No statute fixes the mailing date; the county chooses it. The notice is the starting gun, because the windows that follow are short.
Days after the notice
Informal review
Most counties let owners ask the assessor to take a second look before a formal appeal. It is county practice, not a statutory right, and the window is set by the county.
April to adjournment
Board of Equalization and Review
The formal appeal. The Board first meets between the first Monday in April and the first Monday in May. A hearing must be requested before it adjourns (G.S. 105-322). The county publishes that date. It is the deadline that matters.
30 days after the decision is mailed
Property Tax Commission
If the Board does not move, the next step is the state Property Tax Commission in Raleigh. The 30 days run from the date the Board mailed its decision, not the date it arrived (G.S. 105-290).
September 1
The bill is due anyway
Tax is due September 1 and interest starts if it is unpaid on January 6 (G.S. 105-360), appeal or not. A successful appeal brings the overpayment back with interest.
Worth knowing
Four things owners in Orange County get wrong
HeardThe rate went down, so my taxes went down.
ActuallyOnly if your value rose less than the county average. A falling rate after a revaluation is usually the county raising the same money from higher values.
HeardI have until July to appeal.
ActuallyJuly 1 and December 1 are the latest the Board may sit, not your deadline. Your deadline is the adjournment date Orange County publishes, often in the spring.
HeardI can hold the payment until the appeal is decided.
ActuallyThe tax is due September 1 regardless. Pay it, and a win comes back as a refund with interest.
HeardIf the market drops next year, I will appeal then.
ActuallyBetween revaluations a general market change is not a ground for appeal. The value is fixed as of January 1 of the revaluation year, which makes that year the one to get right.
Questions about Orange County
When does Orange County revalue property?
Orange County is scheduled to revalue all real property effective January 1, 2029, according to the schedule it reported to the North Carolina Department of Revenue as of July 2026. Its last revaluation was 2025. Counties can move their schedule, so confirm the date with Orange County.
What is the property tax rate in Orange County, NC?
Orange County's 2026-27 rate is $0.6805 per $100 of assessed value, the 26th highest of North Carolina's 100 counties and 17% above the 100-county average. Cities and special districts can add their own rates on top. Source: North Carolina Department of Revenue.
What happened to Orange County's tax rate after its last revaluation?
When Orange County last revalued, in 2025, its rate fell from $0.8629 to $0.6383, a 26% cut. North Carolina requires a local government to publish a revenue-neutral rate in a revaluation year, the rate that would raise about the same money on the new values. A lower rate does not mean a lower bill for a property whose value rose faster than the county average.
What is the deadline to appeal a property tax assessment in Orange County?
The deadline to request a hearing before the Orange County Board of Equalization and Review is the date the Board adjourns, which the county sets and publishes each year. It is often only weeks after notices mail. The Board must hold its first meeting between the first Monday in April and the first Monday in May (G.S. 105-322). Many counties also offer an informal review first, with its own shorter window.
Can I appeal in a year Orange County is not revaluing?
Yes, the Board of Equalization and Review meets every year, but the grounds are narrower. Between revaluations the value can change only for reasons such as a clerical error, a misapplied schedule of values, a physical change to the property or a change in its permitted use (G.S. 105-287). A general rise or fall in the market is not a ground. The value being tested is still the market value as of January 1, 2025.
Do I still have to pay my property tax while the appeal is pending?
Yes. North Carolina property tax is due September 1 and interest starts if it is unpaid on January 6 (G.S. 105-360). An appeal does not pause that. If the appeal succeeds, the overpayment is refunded with interest.
Also scheduled for 2029
- Carteret
- Chatham
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Currituck
- Davie
- Durham
- Forsyth
- Greene
- Jackson
- Johnston
- Jones
- Lenoir
- New Hanover
- Person
- Richmond
- Stanly
- Stokes
- Surry
- Transylvania
- Union
- Wilkes
- Wilson
All 24 counties revaluing in 2029
Counties with a similar rate
Read the guides for how an appeal works, step by step.
Appealing in Orange County
Send us the parcel and we will compare its assessed value against recent sales and income data. If we see no case, we tell you. If we do, you pay only from the savings.