UPDATE: As of March 17, 2023, Mecklenburg County has released all updated commercial property values online. Your newly assessed values can be found via the link below:
Mecklenburg County ~ Property Record Card Property Search
Because we are seeing massive value increases accross all asset classes this reassessment cycle, it is imperative that commercial real estate owners and investors of all property types contact our Mecklenburg County property tax experts today to assist in the preparation of their appeal strategies. Not only are value increases nearing 40% in some cases, but we are also seeing large increases still falling below purchase prices for properties acquired since the last reassessment cycle. In these cases, we highly recommend partnership with our tax experts, as navigating the complexities of this cycle are increasingly cumbersome.
Why Mecklenburg is Unique
Mecklenburg has upwards of 400,000 parcels. Reappraising all commercial real estate parcels is a mass undertaking for the assessor’s office, property owners, and investors. To begin, the county updates all their cost data and market data as of January 1 of their reappraisal year. Because costs, market information, as well as sales, have increased significantly within the last four years, we anticipate significant value increases, marking this cycle’s reassessment as more significant than those in the past. The county assessor has predicted that the overall increase in commercial real estate values is approximately 39% in Mecklenburg, with some asset classes increasing higher than the average, particularly multifamily and industrial.
With these projected value increases, we are anticipating unprecedented property tax increases to follow, making it imperative that owners of Mecklenburg commercial real estate partner with an experienced property tax consulting firm during this reassessment cycle. In addition to the astronomical increases property owners will be seeing when values are released in March 2023, we are also anticipating fluctuations in tax rates, making partnership with local property tax expertise paramount to your bottom line.
In accordance with North Carolina law, counties are not allowed to make windfall profits in their reappraisal years. Therefore, counties reduce their tax rates by a percentage of the overall increase in values. While we anticipate values increasing substantially, we do anticipate the current tax rates to decrease, which should help to contain the expected tax increases. Navigating this properly could not only mean a reduction in the tax rate for your Mecklenburg County parcels, but also a reduction in newly assessed values to accompany this reduced tax rate.
The Mecklenburg County Reassessment Schedule
While initially expected in January, Mecklenburg County’s new assessment notices were released online on March 17, 2023. Once a notice of the new assessment has been received and reviewed, commercial real estate owners may file an appeal and request an informal review of their value. The appeal may be filed either online, in person, or by phone. A county appraiser will review the information provided and issue a Decision Notice. If the taxpayer is not satisfied with the decision, they may file a formal appeal to the County Board of Equalization and Review once the BER convenes in April 2023. The last day to file a formal appeal to the BER is the Board’s adjournment date in June 2023. We anticipate that Board Hearings begin in July/August. The State of North Carolina’s fiscal year-end closing is June 30, 2023, and the Commissioners will have established all the 2023 tax rates by that time. The 2023 tax bills will be issued in July 2023 and are due in October, however, the taxpayer has until January 5, 2024 to pay without incurring interest or penalty.
The Invoke Advantage
Invoke Tax Partners has over three decades of veteran experience navigating reassessment cycles in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Led by Betty Sellers, our Mecklenburg Reassessment tax practice has a proprietary system designed specific to each parcel and asset class that works to maximize value and resulting property tax reductions for commercial real estate owners. Our hands-on approach has been refined by the industry’s most talented tax consultants and is backed by our strategically placed national network, giving our clients access to not only superior client service and optimal results in Mecklenburg County, but throughout the nation.
If you have parcels in Mecklenburg County that are going to be receiving reassessed values in March 2023, contact our team today. It is not too soon to being preparation of your portfolio’s unqiue appeal strategy.
