Durham County Government - Frequently Asked Questions

Tax Administrator's Office
In Durham County, the offices of the Tax Assessor and the Tax Collector are combined into a single office responsible for listing, appraising, assessing all real and personal property, maintenance of all property maps, property ownership changes, the collection of all current and delinquent taxes, collection of fees such as solid waste, sewer and street assessments, for Beer and Wine licenses, gross receipts.

What the Assessor Does
The Assessor evaluates all property subject to taxation. The Assessor is required by North Carolina law to appraise and assess all property within the county. In addition to the over 100,000 parcels of real property (land, homes, commercial buildings), the Assessor must value the personal property of approximately 6,500 businesses ranging from multi-million dollar enterprises to one person operations, over 6890 mobile homes, aircraft and any other personal property which is taxable.

What the Assessor Does Not Do
The Assessor does not make the laws which affect property owners. The tax laws are made by the North Carolina Legislature. The tax rates for assessment are set by the Durham County Commissioners, the City of Raleigh, the Durham City Council and the Town of Chapel Hill Council. The tax dollars on all taxable property are collected by the County Tax Collector. The Assessor does not determine taxes. The Assessor determines the property values based on market value.

What Is Taxable Value?
Taxable value is the value of property as determined by the Assessor using the methods prescribed by North Carolina General Statute.

How Does the Assessor Determine Taxable Value?
Property values change over time and must be adjusted periodically to maintain balance and equity. To ensure that balance and equity are maintained, the State of North Carolina required real property be reappraised at least every eight years. This is referred to as the "Octennial Plan." Durham County’s last general reappraisal (a/k/a revaluation) became effective on January 1, 2008.

Real Estate values should reflect the market value of properties at the time of the last reappraisal. Real property values usually increase over time; however, not all properties increase at the same rate. Some property values may decrease in value. Due to these changes occurring, a revaluation process is necessary to reflect market value and maintain balance and equity.

How Are Taxes Calculated?
In Durham County there are currently 15 tax districts. The tax rates for these districts are based on the amount of monies budgeted to them for the necessary maintenance and improvements of their facilities and services. The tax monies collected for the districts pay for schools, roads, police and fire protection, along with the other services that a taxpayer demands and desires from his local government. These tax rates vary depending on the type of services provided to an area.

To calculate the tax on your home, let's assume you have a house with a taxable value of $100,000 located in the City of Durham. The City/County combined tax rate for 2008-09 in the corporate limits of Durham City is $1.2481 per hundred dollars of assessed value. To calculate the tax, multiply the assessed value by the tax rate $1.2481 per hundred dollars of assessed value): $100,000 (Assessed Value) x .012481 (Tax Rate) = $1248.10 taxes for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

What the Tax Collector Does
The Durham County Tax Collector is solely responsible for the collection of all county taxes. In addition, the Tax Collector is responsible for the collection of Durham City municipal taxes, a portion of the Town of Chapel Hill municipal taxes, a portion of the City of Raleigh municipal taxes, various fire districts, and special service districts as well as other authorized fees.

Tax bills for real estate, business personal property and individually owned personal property are mailed to all Durham County property owners prior to September 1 of each year. If you do not receive your tax statement, please contact the Durham County Tax Administration during regular office hours to request a duplicate.

Taxes on real estate, business personal property and individually owned personal property are due each year on September 1. Payment without interest may be made through January 5,. Should January 5 fall on a Saturday or Sunday, the payment period is extended to the next business day. Mail payments are deemed as received as of the date affixed by the U.S. Postal Service.

Real estate, business personal and individually owned personal property taxes not paid in full by January 5 are subject to an interest charge of 2% for the first month delinquent and 3/4% each month thereafter until paid in full. All unpaid real estate accounts will be advertised in the local newspaper in the name of the property owner as of January 1.

Registered motor vehicle bills are mailed monthly. Registered motor vehicle accounts that are past due are assessed an interest charge of 5% for the first month and 3/4% for each month thereafter. In addition, we block the renewal of the license tag until the taxes are paid in full.

Enforced collections will begin immediately upon the account reaching delinquent status. These legal actions may include garnishment of wages, attachment of bank accounts, rents, seizure and sale of personal property, blocking of future renewal of the tag, submission of the debt to the North Carolina Department of Revenue to request the debt be paid from any state income tax refund you may be in titled to.

Real estate taxes are the legal obligation of the owner of record as of January 1. Transfer of ownership during the year does not relieve the seller of tax liability. Ordinarily, taxes are prorated at the time of the transfer of ownership. To determine if your taxes are prorated at the time of closing, contact your realtor or closing attorney. If current taxes are not yet due, prepayments based on the previous year's rate will be accepted. Payments may be made in person at 200 East Main Street, First Floor, Durham County Administrative Complex.

**A 10% fee (or a minimum of $25.00) will be added for all returned checks or online Credit Card Payments **

Tax Office Hours are from 8:30am to 5:00pm. Cash, Check, Money Order or Credit Card Payments may be made in person at 200 E. Main Street, 1^st Floor, Durham, NC. 27701 which is located across the street from the Durham County Courthouse. No Counter/Starter Checks Please. IF THERE IS A TAG BLOCK, LEVY, OR BANK ATTACHMENT ON YOUR ACCOUNT WE CAN NOT ACCEPT YOUR BUSINESS OR PERSONAL CHECKS. Limited free parking is available.

Detach the bottom portion of you tax bill and send along with your check or money order payments to our lockbox payment processing system at the following address:

Mail your check or money order payments along with any information that will assist us in processing your payment (i.e. parcel number, tag number or name in which the property is listed) to:

Credit Card Payments (Visa, M/C and Discover) and E-Check payments (no processing fee applies) can be made by clicking HERE. A processing fee will be applied to all credit card transactions according to the following scale:

$ -	and	$ 50.00	$ 3.00
$ 50.01	and	$ 100.00	$ 5.00
$ 100.01	and	$ 200.00	$ 8.00
$ 200.01	and	$ 300.00	$11.00
$ 300.01	and	$ 400.00	$14.00
$ 400.01	and	$ 500.00	$17.00
$ 500.01	and	$ 600.00	$20.00
$ 600.01	and	$ 700.00	$23.00
$ 700.01	and	$ 800.00	$26.00
$ 800.01	and	$ 900.00	$29.00
$ 900.01	and	$1,000.00	$32.00
$1,000.01	and	$1,100.00	$35.00

You may phone in a payment by calling 1-919-277-2231 or toll free 1-866-892-0656. There is a processing fee that will be applied to all phone payments. Have your Tax Year, Receipt Number, and Credit Card information ready when you call.

You may look up your tax bill and make payments at the tax payment kiosk located next to the DMV at Northgate Mall (1058 W. Club Blvd., Durham, NC 27701). The kiosk is a touch screen machine that will accept cash, credit (Visa, MC, and Discover), or debit cards (THE KIOSK DOES NOT ACCEPT CHECKS). The kiosk does not give change; therefore any change due (over $1.00) will be mailed to you by check in 10 – 14 business days. There is also a processing fee that will be applied to all credit and debit card transactions (see the fee schedule above).

For additional information about tax rates, please call the Tax Administrator's Office at (919) 560-0300.

Why Didn't I Get A Real Estate Tax Bill?
There are four reasons for not receiving a tax bill:

Those properties under assessment review will not receive a tax bill until that review is complete.

In the case of a sale after January 1, the previous owner should have received the bill.

Real property (land and buildings) value is determined as of January 1^st and reflects the market value as of the date of the last general reappraisal. Durham County’s years of general reappraisal are 1985, 1993, 2001, and 2008. Vehicle values are based on the average retail value as of January 1st each year.

Property taxes are not based on income or the ability to pay. Property taxes are an "ad valorem" tax, which means "according to value". You should contact the Tax Collector's Office at (919) 560-0300 for further information.