Guilford County property appeals surge past 10,000, deadline is May 15

Guilford County property owners have less than two weeks to challenge their new reappraisal values, and the county’s appeal count had already climbed to 10,266 by April 29. Another 1,451 cases had gone out with notices of decision and no response from the owner, a sign that many taxpayers were still letting the deadline race toward May 15 at 5 p.m. EST.

Tax Director Ben Chavis said owners should not wait until the last minute, because the appeal process closes at the deadline and cannot be reopened later just because the tax bill feels too high. The county says the new values took effect Jan. 1, 2026 and will appear on tax bills mailed in July. For homeowners, landlords and commercial property owners in Greensboro, High Point and across Guilford County, doing nothing means accepting the county’s number for another tax cycle.

The 2026 reappraisal covers all residential, commercial and industrial land and structures in the county. Appraisers divided Guilford County into about 2,500 appraisal neighborhoods and used county maps, aerial photography, street-level images, sales analysis and field visits to set values based on market value, not the highest, lowest or average price. County staff appraisers are certified by the North Carolina Department of Revenue or licensed by the North Carolina Appraisal Board.

Chavis has said the county inspects exteriors only for the roughly 220,000 properties in Guilford County, so owners need to bring inside-condition problems to the county’s attention if those issues affect value. The county accepts evidence such as recent comparable sales, a recent appraisal, square-footage errors, mistakes in property records, physical-condition problems and outside factors such as flood zone concerns. The appeal portal lets owners review current data, compare nearby parcels and file an appeal.

The scale of the current wave is already well beyond the last reassessment cycle. In 2022, Guilford County recorded 4,333 appeals that led to nearly $890 million in reductions. FOX8 has reported the tax department has budgeted for around $2.5 billion in anticipated lowered values in this assessment year, underscoring how much pressure the reassessment is putting on household budgets and the county’s revenue outlook. WFMY reported more than 2,600 appeals were filed in the first week after notices went out, showing how quickly the pushback has grown since the county adopted its schedule of values, standards and rules on Oct. 16, 2025.