Property taxes are as diverse as the culture and local customs of any area they can be found in. From extremely high tax rates in northern states to extremely low taxes in southern states, property taxes are varied and unpredictable. So, if you are planning on moving to Charlotte, NC, what does the Charlotte property tax look like?
What Factors Are Used in Determining Property Taxes?
It can be extremely difficult to figure out the rate that property taxes will grow or be set at for any length of time. The assessed value the of the house, used to help determine property tax, is not based on the home’s market value, making it impossible to definitively determine from year to year how high the tax will rise, or if it will raise from one year to the next at all.
Another factor in determining the tax rate is the area’s target revenue, set to meet area budgets and expenditures. The rate for property tax is adjusted according to the annual expenditures and budgets, in line with the local tax base, making the whole process confusing and stressful for homeowners everywhere. This is especially true for those areas that have extremely high property taxes already.
While the property taxes can range from very low to extremely high, the uses for them remain uniform across the nation. These taxes will go into the local school system, other educational resources, and public services. They also serve to help in the annual area budgets where there may be a lack or deficit for the absence of an income tax.
What Does Charlotte’s Property Tax Look Like?
As of 2015, the average property tax rate for the Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, North Carolina area is $1,983 per year. For the year of 2014, the average property tax in Charlotte came to $1,631. The rate for Mecklenburg County in 2015 was lower than that of surrounding areas in North Carolina, with Wake County charging $2,432 per year and Orange County charging $5,888 per year. Wake County covers the Raleigh area and Orange County covers the Durham-Chapel Hill area.
The lowest property tax rates for North Carolina could be found in Johnston County at the rate of $1,603 per year and Forsyth county at the rate of $1,752 per year. While it may seem that the state varies greatly in property tax rates, the average yearly rate depends on rising or falling home values, proximity to larger cities and any improvements made to the neighborhood and area the homes are found in.
These rates may seem high to local residents, but North Carolina actually ranks very low on property tax rates when being compared to other states. This state comes in at number 15 on the list of for having the most expensive property taxes in the nation.
How Does Charlotte Compare to Other Cities?
Between the years of 2007 and 2011, 60% of counties in the United States had property tax rates that ranged between $500 to $1,500 per year.
Currently, property rates in Manhattan, New York are high and New York is known to charge some very high property tax rates. This includes Westchester County charging as much as $9,647 a year and Nassau County charging as much as $9,080 annually. Although the property rate for Westchester County (Yonkers, Mount Vernon, and New Rochelle areas) may seem high, there was a time that it ranked as the highest in the country at $56,124, annually.
New Jersey is also known for its high rates with Bergen County charging as much as $8,893 per year. Other areas of New Jersey charge as much as $8,000 per year, a high amount but nothing in comparison to Nebraska, Michigan, North Dakota, and Ohio, which can charge as much as over 1% of the home’s price. The rate of 1% or over 1% of the home’s price is a rarity that contradicts with the rest of the nation’s practice of charging far below the 1% mark.
Other states also have their high and low averages across their major cities. Texas is known to have one of the highest property rates in the country with a tax rate of 1.94% but the median property tax rate for Houston is only $849 with a property tax rate of 1.14%.
Illinois is another state that is known for its high property tax rates, averaging $3,939 per year. However, it’s reputation as an expensive state to own property in just got worse with the $588 million property tax increase that was just voted on and passed in Chicago, Illinois.
California is a state that is known for placing exorbitant fees on professional licenses but the property taxes in San Francisco, California just dropped to around 1.14% due to the rising cost of property values across the San Francisco area. The property tax has dropped from 1.1718% in the last two years. In dollar amounts, this translates to a little over $4,900 per year.
Denver, Colorado is another area known for its high tax rate. While the rate for 2014 was calculated at 7.96%, it rose to 8.24% in 2015, remaining there currently for 2016. This averages out to about $1,456 per year.
In stark contrast, the property tax rates drop significantly in some southern states. Louisiana and Alabama have up to 24 counties that charge some of the lowest property rates in the United States. Â Marengo County in Alabama only charges $278 in annual property tax while St. Landry Parish, Louisiana only charges $219 per year, currently.
Of course, the rate for Louisiana does increase when considering the larger city of New Orleans, which averaged $644 per year in 2015, providing the state with the third lowest property tax rate in the United States. Montgomery, Alabama has property tax rates that range between $528 and $928 per year but this is still well below the national average of around $2,100 per year across the nation. This trend of low property rates is more common in the southern part of the United States than in any other area.
2 Point Highlight
As of 2015, the average property tax rate for the Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, North Carolina area is $1,983 per year.
The rate for Mecklenburg County in 2015 was lower than that of surrounding areas in North Carolina, with Wake County charging $2,432 per year and Orange County charging $5,888 per year.
