When buying or selling a home, it is very important to have a basic knowledge of how the Gaston County and the City of Belmont value your property. People ask me all the time when will be the next property assessment for Belmont real estate. They also want to know if they can get their property values lowered since they have bought their new house for so much less than the current property value. Gaston County is resisting decreasing property values right now and it will probably only happen after the next assessment. Below is a section taken from the Gaston County Website which will answer some of these questions. I have highlighted a couple of the important points in bold and red. The current tax rate for Gaston County is $0.835 and for Belmont is $0.475. That’s a total of $1.31 for every $100 of assessed value. So, if your home is valued at $100,000, divide it by 100 which equals 1,000 and then multiply by $1.31. Your tax value is $1,310. Irl Dixon
Tax Office
Assessment Duties
In North Carolina, the County Assessor is the official charged with the responsibility of listing, appraising and assessing all real and personal property for tax purposes.
The Valuation Standard:
“Market Value” is the appraisal standard for all property in North Carolina. Since market value is a concept in economic theory and cannot be directly observed, it is best represented by “arms-length” sales. Thus, sales data becomes an integral part of the information used to create the County’s Schedule of Values, Standards and Rules. The Schedule must be adopted by the County Commissioners prior to the effective date of the general county-wide reappraisal program. The Schedule becomes the basis for all tax appraisals in the year of the reappraisal and in subsequent non-reappraisal years. If properly applied, the Schedule of Values, Standards and Rules will result in tax values that reflect the market value standard.
Real Property:
Typically, real property (land and improvements to land) is the largest component of the tax base. The ownership and taxable status of real property is determined annually as of January 1. Under the permanent listing system (which Gaston County adopted in 1984), the owner of real property is not required to “list”. Instead, the tax office records changes to ownership based upon the title documents recorded in the Register of Deeds Office and the Office of the Clerk of Court. Physical changes to properties, such as new construction, etc., are identified from building permits and/or by observation. The property owner also has a legal responsibility to report changes made to a property.
The value of all real estate is determined as of January 1 of the year of the Countywide General Reappraisal. (The County’s last Reappraisal was effective January 1, 2007). The ownership and taxable status of property is determined annually as of January 1. Real property taxes are due each September 1. Taxes are payable through January 5 of the following year. Interest accrues a 2% during January and ¾ of 1 % interest each month thereafter until paid in full.
By State law, each county must reappraise all real property at least once every eight years. The Board of County Commissioners may, with approval of the Department of Revenue, advance the reappraisal cycle. Gaston County, like many other counties, has determined that a four or six year reappraisal cycle is more equitable than an eight year cycle. The county completed its last reappraisal in 2007 and the next county-wide reappraisal will be effective as of January 1, 2013.
Avg. Sales Price: 379,000
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