Will your bill increase? How taxes across the Charlotte area could change July 1
Local governments across the Charlotte region are unveiling proposed budgets for the 2026 fiscal year and one question looms largest for many homeowners: Are property taxes about to rise?
Counties, cities and towns must adopt their final budgets by June 30 under state law, and the decisions made over the next few weeks could shape residents’ tax bills and county services for the year ahead. Officials will face questions about whether tax increases are a good decision as populations grow and property values rise.
New fiscal years for local governments in North Carolina typically start July 1.
The Charlotte Observer looked at the proposed budgets in several counties near Charlotte to give residents a clearer picture of what to expect when it comes to property taxes.
Property owners could face other local government taxes depending on where they live. People who live in a city or town’s limits, for example, will pay city property taxes.
Mecklenburg County
Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio presented her budget proposal to commissioners on May 14 – and it comes with a suggested tax hike.
Diorio proposed a property tax increase of 0.96 cents per $100 of a property’s assessed value, which could cost the median Mecklenburg County homeowner about $36 a year, the Observer previously reported. With an increase, the rate would be set at 49.27 per $100 of assessed value.
Diorio said the increase was necessary to balance the budget amid federal cuts and economic uncertainty.
“This was not the budget I hoped for in my last year with the county,” Diorio said at the time of her presentation.
In Charlotte, City Manager Marcus Jones proposed the tax rate remain the same when he presented his budget earlier this month. The current rate is 27.41 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Last year, Charlotte approved a tax hike of 1.37 cents per $100 in value.
Other towns in Mecklenburg County that have proposed keeping tax rates the same next year include Huntersville, Cornelius and Mint Hill. Both Matthews and Pineville have proposed increases.
Cabarrus County
Cabarrus County Manager Sean Newton unveiled his first budget for the county on Monday night, proposing to keep the tax rate the same as fiscal year 2025.
The current and proposed property tax rate is 57.6 cents per $100 of assessed value, Newton said.
“This rate allows the county to sustain and invest in existing services with a priority emphasis on public safety and education,” he said.
Newton said inflation and recession, along with the increased cost of living and population growth could make education spending a challenge in the future and called for “forward thinking.”
Commissioner Larry Pittman, who ran a campaign on promises to lower taxes, said he would do his best to reduce the rate below what Newton proposed. He called the 2024 property reevaluation “ridiculous” and said people are struggling because of it.
“I’m not ready to accept continuing 57.6 cents, and I want your property taxes cut, just like I want mine cut. It’s ridiculous,” Pittman said Monday.’
The town of Harrisburg adopted its budget for next year on May 12, maintaining the current tax rate of 41 cents per $100 of valuation. Midland also voted to maintain its current tax rate. Mount Pleasant’s proposal also keeps the rate the same. Kannapolis, which straddles Cabarrus and Rowan Counties, has also proposed to maintain its current rate.
Gaston County
In Gaston County, the budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 suggests maintaining the current tax rate of 59.9 cents per $100 of assessed value. The rate is the lowest in the county since 1970, according to the Gaston County website
“This budget emphasizes the critical importance of our most stable revenue source – property tax,” County Manager Matthew Rhoten wrote in the budget. “In doing so, it prioritizes sustainability while limiting dependence on onetime funding solutions.”
The City of Gastonia has proposed no tax hike, suggesting it maintains a rate of 47 cents per $100 in valuation. The City of Belmont also proposed the same rate as this year.
Lincoln County
Lincoln County Manager David Madden proposed no tax increase for the county, maintaining the current rate of 49 cents per $100 of assessed value.
“Historically, Lincoln County remains in the better half of counties with lower tax rates and this trend will likely remain,” he wrote in his budget message.
Lincolntown City Manager Ritchie Haynes has proposed no increase on the cities taxes, keeping the rate at 50 cents per $100 of assessed value. The town has not raised it’s rate since the 1970s, he said.
Iredell County
Iredell County Manager Beth Milton proposed maintaining the county’s current tax rate of 50 cents per $100 of assessed value.
The county budgets on a four-year cycle and aims to set a tax rate that remains unchanged for the cycle, the budget message states. This is the third year of the cycle and it has become difficult to maintain the rate given the county’s population growth and increased expenses, Milton wrote.
“We are often criticized by our citizens for not having a lower tax rate, yet we are an extremely efficient organization and pride ourselves on being fiscally conservative,” she wrote. “It is increasingly more difficult to provide the services that are expected of a large county yet retain one of the lowest tax rates.”
City of Statesville Manager Ron Smith proposed maintaining the current rate of 51.7 cents per $100 of value. The town of Mooresville is also expected to maintain its current rate.
Union County
The Union County manager has yet to reveal the budget proposal for next year, but a recent reevaluation has left some homeowners concerned about a rise in property taxes.
The reevaluation increased property values by about 60% among four types of property including a 58% increase for single-family homes. For many, even maintaining the current tax rate could mean significantly higher bills.
The proposed budget will be presented on June 2.
After the county’s last reevaluation in 2021, commissioners voted to reduce the rate by 15 cents per $100 in assessed value, Tax Administrator Vann Harrell told the Observer in March
“If there’s a grain of shall I say, hope, to give taxpayers it’s that the county tends to adjust the rate down,” Harrell said. “I think that the general consensus that I’ve heard in the meetings I’ve done with some town officials is a lot of them will be dropping their rates. It’s just a matter of how much.”
The town of Indian Trail voted to decrease its tax rate slightly from 18.5 cents to 17 cents per $100 in assessed value on May 13.
