General Information

Listing Requirements

The regular listing period in Currituck County is from January 1 to February 15. Extensions for listing personal property may be granted by the Tax Department up to April 15, upon a timely filed request. The request for extension to list must be made in writing and before the end of the regular listing period.

The owner of taxable personal property must list his/her personal with the Tax Department annually during the regular listing period, plus any extensions granted. General listing forms can be obtained by calling the Tax Department. Listing business personal property forms and instructions can be downloaded.

The place for listing real property is the county in which the property is situated. The place for listing personal property (tangible and intangible) is normally the residence of the owner. A few of the exceptions to this rule as they apply to tangible personal property are as follows:

1. Tangible personal property of individuals who are not residents of this state will be taxable at the site at which it is located;
2. Tangible personal property owned by other than an individual taxpayer with no principal office in this state is taxable at the location of the property;
3. Tangible personal property located at a seasonal or temporary dwelling shall be taxable at the location of the seasonal or temporary dwelling; and
4. Tangible personal property used in connection with a business premises occupied or used by the owner of the personal property is taxable at the site of the business premises.

Types of Property To Be Taxed

The three main elements of the property tax system in North Carolina are real property, personal property, and motor vehicles. Real property consists of land and buildings. Personal property consists of, for this guide, tangible personal property or all personal property that is not intangible and is not permanently affixed to real property. Motor vehicles, if registered, are assessed according to their registration renewal date.

Real Property

The Machinery Act (General Statute 105, Subchapter II) provides the framework for the listing, assessing, and appraising of both real and personal property in North Carolina. Under G. S. 105-286, all counties are required to conduct a reappraisal at least every eight (8) years. The majority of the counties, including Currituck County, conduct their reappraisals on this time frame, although a growing segment of counties conducts reappraisals on a shorter cycle. During each year, at least 11 of the 100 counties are conducting a countywide reappraisal. A county may choose to conduct its reappraisal "in-house" utilizing their own appraisal staff, by hiring an outside reappraisal firm, by employing consultants to assist their staff appraisers, or by a combinations of the options above.

During the years that a general reappraisal is not conducted, G. S. 105-286 dictates that the real property shall be assessed at the value assigned during the last reappraisal. The assessor is limited by G. S. 105-287 to certain circumstances in which he may change the value of real property. These include correcting a clerical or mathematical error, or correcting an appraisal which resulted from a misapplication of the schedules used during the county's last general reappraisal. The assessor may increase or decrease the appraised value of real property, to recognize a change in value caused by factors other than the following: normal physical depreciation of the improvements; economic conditions affecting the county as a whole; or minor improvements to the property such as repainting, landscaping, terracing, etc.

The assessor is permitted to increase the assessed value of real estate when a house in built on the property, or to reduce the value if a house burns down. The value can also be revised when property that had been deeded and taxed for many years as being 50 acres more or less and it the actual acreage is determined. However, the county may not change the assessed value to reflect a general increases (or deceases) in property values until the next reassessment.

Personal Property

All taxable personal property in North Carolina is appraised at its true value in money. The two main exceptions are inventories owned by manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, and contractors as well as non-business personal property. These types of personal property have been exempted by statute in North Carolina. There are other exemptions for different types of personal property where the ownership and use determine the exempt status. These would have to be looked at on an individual basis. Personal property in North Carolina is appraised each year as of January 1 at its true value in money. The personal property owner should list his or her personal property with the correct county during the regular listing period. The regular listing period in Currituck County is from January 1 to February 15. Extensions for listing personal property may be granted by the Tax Department up to April 15 upon a timely filed request. The request for extension to list must be made in writing and before the end of the regular listing period.

The counties in North Carolina use a trending method to appraise personal property. Counties request taxpayers to list their property at original cost by year of acquisition. The counties then trend the original cost up to reach current replacement cost new and then apply a straight line depreciation schedule to reach market value. Most of the counties use trending schedules developed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

The appraised value of any personal property may be appealed to the local county board and then to the North Carolina Property Tax Commission.

Motor Vehicles

A change in the law dealing with the taxation of motor vehicles went into effect January 1, 1993. Basically, the new statute changed the way property tax is collected on registered motor vehicles. These vehicles (cars, trucks, trailers, motorcycles, and similar property) will no longer have to be listed in January. Unregistered (untagged) motor vehicles must still be listed annually in January and will be billed with other personal property.

When you receive your vehicle registration renewal card from the Division of Motor Vehicles, please make sure your address and county are correct. If the address and county are not correct, DMV must be notified so you are taxed by the proper county and municipality. About three months after your registration renewal, or a new registration application, you will receive a bill which is payable on the first day of the following month. For example, if you have a March renewal, you will receive a bill in June, it will be due on July 1, and it must be paid by July 31 to avoid the addition of interest. You will receive a separate tax bill on each registered vehicle you own.

If taxes are not paid on time, the county tax collector will issue a block on the registration. If a vehicle receives a block, the registration cannot be renewed again until the taxes plus interest have been paid. Registration can only be renewed on a blocked vehicle after a paid tax receipt has been presented to DMV.

To insure the assessment and registration functions run smoothly, we suggest you follow these instructions:

1. Notify DMV of any address changes
2. Register your vehicle on time
3. Pay your taxes on time