North Carolina's "Truth in Taxation" Bill (SB 992): What Property Owners Should Know
June 16, 2026
By Wesley Fricks
There's a bill moving in Raleigh right now called Truth in Taxation, filed as Senate Bill 992. The short version is that it would make a county show its work before raising your property taxes in a year it reappraises.
What it would do
Every few years your county reappraises property, which resets values across the board. After that comes the revenue-neutral rate, the rate that brings in about the same total money as the year before, just spread over the new values. If a county sets its rate higher than that, it's raising taxes, even when the rate number looks lower than last year's.
SB 992 says a county can't do that without telling you first. Before adopting a rate above revenue-neutral in a reappraisal year, it would have to mail every owner a notice showing the revenue-neutral rate, the rate the county wants, and what your own bill would be under each one. It would also have to hold a public hearing on the increase and take a separate vote to approve it before passing the budget. Skip those steps, and the county has to refund the difference.
You can read the full text of the bill here.
When it would start
Not this year. It would apply to county budgets for the year beginning July 1, 2027, and after, so it doesn't touch the rates being set this summer.
Why it matters if you own here
A reappraisal-year increase is easy to miss, because the rate often drops even as the bill goes up. This would put a plain number in the mail in front of every owner, showing what you pay now and what you'd pay under the proposed rate. For income property, where taxes come straight off the bottom line, that kind of heads-up is worth having.
Where it stands
As of June 2026, SB 992 is in the North Carolina Senate, still working through committee. It's early, and bills change as they move, so expect some of the details to shift.
We follow this because it lands on the deals we work across the Carolinas. To see where your county's rate and next reappraisal stand, check our tracker at ncpropertytaxes.com. And if you want to talk through what it means for a specific property, reach out at wfricks@greysteel.com.