Three years after the last property tax reappraisal in 2023, Macon County is preparing for a new valuation which is likely to raise the taxable values of most county properties, county tax administrator Abby Braswell said.
Braswell gave a brief overview of the upcoming reappraisal season at the April 14 commissioners meeting. She said the county is required to conduct these reappraisals periodically to bring appraisal values to 100% of the market value of homes, raising or lowering the taxable value to better reflect market prices.
“Macon County is on a four-year cycle,” Braswell said. “The main reason that Macon County is on a four-year cycle is to equalize assessments and to be fair and equitable to all taxpayers. Properties appreciate or depreciate at different rates, and then reappraisals are designed to set everybody back to 100% market value so everybody pays their share of taxes.”
Braswell said the revaluation is not done to raise taxes. There are approximately 44,580 properties in the county which will need to be revalued in a process which will be completed after Jan. 1, 2027. Braswell said this was to ensure the tax office could use sales up until Dec. 31.
She used examples of a pair of Macon County homes which sold in 2019 for $4.9 million each. Braswell said one house had been previously appraised at $4.1 million and the other at $2.3 million, which will result in both properties seeing significant increase in tax value in 2027. In the other direction, Braswell showed another pair of homes. The first was priced at $497,930 and later dropped to a $366,940 appraisal after a $375,000 sale. The second dropped from $182,000 to $125,880 in value after a $115,000 sale. Braswell said some sales are excluded from consideration as clear outliers for being sold at rates drastically above or below the property’s actual value.
“The Town of Highlands and the Town of Franklin will be affected by the reappraisal and our reassessments will be used by both municipalities to set the tax rate to create the revenues to fund their budgets,” she said. “The Macon County Board of Commissioners will use the new tax base to rate the revenue required to fund the county budget.”
The county will be required to publish a budget with a revenue-neutral tax rate – a rate calculated to produce the same revenue as the previous year. This rate is likely be lower, as most property values are likely to increase as a result of the reappraisal. The county could approve a budget with a higher property tax rate if desired.
In 2023, Macon County’s property tax values increased by an average of 58.58%, with $7.98 billion of previous land value jumping to $12.636 billion. The increases averaged 35.92% in Franklin and 66.39% in Highlands. The increase resulted in the county lowering the property tax rate from 40 cents to 27 cents per $100 valuation.
Braswell said, “If real estate prices are generally rising in a county, then a reappraisal will increase the tax base. However, the county’s revenue neutral tax rate will be less than the existing tax rate.”
In July, Braswell will return to the board to give an update on how the assessment has changed, as well as assessments for each Macon County township. In August, she will present an updated schedule of values and set a public hearing for September, and commissioners should be ready to approve the new schedule in October.
Braswell said taxpayers can get a copy of their property tax card, either online or through the tax office, to ensure their data is accurate. If necessary they can also schedule appointments with the tax office to go over their value assessments. The tax office can be contacted at 828-349-2147 or 828-349-2003 or online at maconnc.org/taxproperty.