Revaluation FAQ

Cumberland County completed the 2025 General Revaluation of all property. The notice is to inform you of the value at which your property will be assessed for the 2025 tax year.

All property in Cumberland County was reappraised for the 2025 Revaluation to update the tax values to reflect the current market as of January 1, 2025. The last county wide revaluation was completed January 1, 2017, and state laws mandate that counties perform a revaluation at least once every eight years.

Revaluation is the process of reappraisal that updates the assessed value of each property to be consistent with the current market.

The primary goal of a general reappraisal is to be equitable. This means to fairly, equally and uniformly appraise property at its true value in money (market value). It is not the purpose of a reappraisal to increase revenues or to provide tax breaks. Since ad valorem taxes (property taxes) are based on value, it is important that all property be valued periodically on a uniform basis. Since market value appraisals are the foundation for assessments, equalized values create equalized and uniform taxes.

North Carolina law requires a County-wide Revaluation to be conducted by each county at least once every eight years.

Any county may conduct a reappraisal of real property earlier than the required octennial (8-year) plan if the board of county commissioners adopts a resolution stating the new reappraisal year and then forwards a copy of the resolution to the Department of Revenue.

NC State law mandates that a revaluation be conducted at least once every eight years, so this revaluation was completed to adhere to North Carolina State law. The last County-wide Revaluation in Cumberland County was conducted January 1, 2017. 

Any county may conduct a reappraisal of real property earlier than the required octennial (8-year) plan if the board of county commissioners adopts a resolution stating the new reappraisal year and then forwards a copy of the resolution to the Department of Revenue.

During the reappraisal process, the staff will review property through the means of reviewing property listings, mapping programs, site reviews of market areas and individual property as needed. A review of market conditions and recent sales of similar properties is conducted to attain a current market value. Additionally, staff appraisers have conducted numerous site visits due to permits taken out for new construction and other improvements since the last revaluation.

North Carolina General Statute 105-283 dictates to our staff how to conduct a revaluation of property. Qualified employees of the Cumberland County Tax Department conducted research and analysis in accordance with the statutes and established standards of Mass Appraisal to reappraise of all property. These employees are certified as Real Property Appraisers with the Department of Revenue.

Data analysis is completed that considers the type, use, age, size, quality, style, condition and location of property. An analysis is done of recent market sales, trends, replacement costs and other factors to assist in the valuation of all property at its fair market value as of the date of the revaluation, January 1, 2025. Individual property is valued in a uniform and equitable manner as similar property and by the same or similar procedures as those used by others in the appraisal profession. For example, residential houses are valued using the comparable sales method to attain a reasonable and credible estimate of what the home’s market value is based on qualified sales of similar properties.  The difference is our office uses mass appraisal techniques to apply sales comparison models or other valuation models to attain property values.  This ensures fair and equitable valuations across similar properties.  

All real property or “real estate” must, by state law, be reappraised at least once every eight years. This would include all land, and any structures permanently attached to the land that would be considered real property. This includes residential houses, commercial buildings and structures such as garages, decks, storage buildings, patios, paving, porches, etc. NOTE: Personal property is revalued each year.

Tax rates and tax bills are not a consideration and play no part in the revaluation/appraisal process. All real property is reappraised or revalued to bring its tax value to a current market level as of the revaluation date of January 1, 2025.

Whether or not the tax base is increased due to the revaluation process is not a consideration in establishing current market values by our appraisal staff. The purpose of the revaluation is to bring all real property assessments to a current market level, all are revalued as of January 1, 2025. This is a way to equalize tax values because historically tax values are “frozen” as of the date of the last revaluation, but the real estate market continues to change, which may cause groups of properties to be under or overvalued, thus creating a condition of inequity. The goal and intent of the revaluation process is to appraise all property at its current market value thus creating more equity and ensuring each property pays only its “fair share” of the tax burden.

All property is reappraised for the 2025 revaluation to determine a current market value. All property owners will receive a notice of value with the new assessed value for 2025. Even though a property may receive a 100% exemption or a partial exemption, the assessed value of the property will still be updated to reflect a current market value.  Properties that have a partial exemption could see change in the amount they are billed based on the new reappraisal and if a property loses exemption for any reason, the market value determined at the revaluation will be the basis for the tax bill.

The revaluation will update all real property tax values to reflect a current market value as of January 1, 2025. If a property qualifies for the elderly/disability or disabled veteran exemption, the approval for the exemption will not be removed, but the amount that is actually billed will likely change depending on the new reappraisal.

For example, if you are receiving the disabled veteran's exemption of $45,000 and your property’s market value changed from $150,000 to $218,000, the taxable amount will change from $105,000 to $173,000.

The revaluation will update all real property tax values to reflect a current market value as of January 1, 2025. All land use rates are also updated. The land use rates used by Cumberland County are set by the state, not completed by the county tax office. Your qualification for the program will not change unless there is a disqualifying event, but the use value and the market value of your property will most likely change.

Present Use Value is the value of the land in its current use (agricultural, horticultural or forestland). The land use rates are based on the different soils and what these soils can produce as determined and recommended to the North Carolina Department of Revenue and the Use-Value Advisory Board.

The rates that determine the present use value are recommended to the NC Dept. of Revenue by the Use-Value Advisory Board. This Board is made up of many qualified representatives and is under the Supervision of the Agricultural Extension Service of North Carolina State University. The NC Dept. of Revenue will adopt a use-value manual based on these recommendations. Cumberland County will adopt these rates to determine present use values at each revaluation.

G.S. 105-283 states that all real and personal property shall as far as practicable be appraised or valued at its true value in money. True value is interpreted as market value. Market value is defined as "the price estimated in terms of money at which the property would change hands between a willing and financially able buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or to sell and both having reasonable knowledge of all the uses to which the property is adapted and for which it is capable of being used. Market value is not necessarily the price for which a realtor may list the property, nor is it the price for which a father may sell his son a piece of land. Market value is generally determined from sales between unrelated and unbiased parties. This is known as an "arms- length" transaction.

North Carolina statutes require that the proposed schedules, standards and rules that will be used in appraising real property be submitted to the Board of County Commissioners and made available for public inspection. The full process for the review, adoption, and finalizing of the Cumberland County 2025 Schedule of Values has been completed.