Mecklenburg County residents who own lower-priced homes near uptown are expected to see some of the biggest increases in their property tax bills. That’s because their home values rose the most steeply in the four years since the last revaluation. But there are a few programs aimed at easing some of the burden and helping people stay in their homes.
WFAE’s Lisa Worf joined WFAE's Morning Edition host Marshall Terry to discuss.
Marshall Terry: So who are these programs designed to help?
Lisa Worf: Largely low-income people who are either 65 or older, or have a debilitating or permanent disability. There’s also tax relief for veterans with disabilities. There are three programs the state offers. They all have different eligibility requirements and work differently. So it does get confusing! There’s alsoa Mecklenburg County program that aims to keep people in their homes regardless of age.
Terry: And how much tax relief do they provide?
Worf: It can be substantial. Mecklenburg County’s program called HOMES provides up to $340 annually and, depending on the cost of the house, some of the state programs could provide a couple thousand (dollars). Now, the most widely used one, called the homestead exclusion — took $490 million off the total assessed value on Mecklenburg County homes last year. And that comes out to about $3 million saved by residents in county taxes. There’s the circuit breaker deferment and that doesn’t wipe out the amount of tax you owe. It allows you to defer a portion of it. So if you die or sell your house, you or your heirs will have to pay it and the interest on it, too.
Terry: So let’s go back to the most widely used one.
Worf: Yes, the homestead exclusion.
Terry: Right. How does that one work?
Worf: You have to be 65 or older or have a permanent disability and have an income below $33,800. The only residency requirement is owning and residing in the home on Jan. 1 of the taxable year. If that’s the case, you can get either $25,000 knocked off your home’s value or up to 50% off the value.
Terry: What about if you’re younger and paying your property bills is a struggle?
Worf: That’s where the county’s HOMES program comes in. It’s been around for a few years and it helps people the state programs don’t cover. You have to have lived in your home for at least three years. There’s no age requirement, and the income threshold is about double that of the homestead exclusion— no more than 80% area median income, which is about $75,000 for a family of four. It gives the same type of relief as the homestead exclusion — knocking off 25% of the assessed value, but the amount of taxes you can save is capped at $340.
Terry: Is there any talk of expanding tax relief with the higher assessments coming out this year, especially with those big spikes in neighborhoods around uptown that have been largely affordable until recently?
Worf: Yes, that’s come up at the county level. Here’s Commissioner Mark Jerrell who represents much of the eastern part of Mecklenburg County:
Jerrell: "I suspect on our side we're going to have to raise that grant limit from $340 and move north of that, certainly because of the exorbitant rate of the impact that we're seeing now with respect to the reval(uation)."
Worf: The HOMES program started in 2021, but not many people knew about it, and only about half of the money set aside for it was used. This past year, the whole budget was spent. That’s more than 1,300 people using it. So the word is getting out.
Terry: You mention money set aside for the HOMES program. So this doesn’t work as a tax exclusion?
Worf: Yeah, that’s right. It can’t. The state doesn’t allow local municipalities to do that. It’s a grant program. So what the homeowner doesn’t pay, the county has to pay for them. When you talk about this kind of tax relief, there’s a very clear budgetary expense. That’s what County Manager Dena Diorio reminded commissioners back in January. Right now, the county sets aside $250,000 for the HOMES program. So for example, she said, if you take $1 million to fund it, you have less to spend on services.
Diorio: "You have to be careful that you don't, we don't, have this revenue available to us and then we end up giving it all back, because then it still impacts our ability to deliver services because that's revenue. So we have to figure out what the sweet spot is."
Terry: Is there any movement from state lawmakers to expand the state’s programs?
Worf: There hasn’t been much movement, at least so far. The County Commission has asked state lawmakers to up the income threshold for the homestead exclusion so more people qualify. It’s at $33,800 now, and they point out the cost of living and income is greater in Mecklenburg County than a rural county. Mecklenburg County tax assessor Ken Joyner told commissioners yesterday that tax assessors from some of the most populous counties are pushing for that, too — and trying to tie an increase to area median income, which would mean the income threshold would vary county by county. Now, there are other ways besides tax relief to help keep people in their neighborhoods — for example, rental assistance and down payment assistance programs, which the city helps to provide. The city is working on a larger strategy around that. As far as tax relief, you can find out more on the county’s tax revaluation site, and the county is holding a tax resource fair this Saturday morning at the Valerie C. Woodard Conference Center on Freedom Drive.
Correction: A previous version of this story said there was a residency requirement for the homestead exclusion program. The only requirement is owning and residing in the home on Jan. 1 of the taxable year.
