Unhappy with your property value estimate? How to appeal that assessment in Mecklenburg

Revaluation notices are being sent to Mecklenburg County homeowners, with potential implications for property tax bills that will be distributed in the summer.

If you’re unhappy with what the county says your property is worth as of 2023, you do have options for trying to resolve the issue.

There’s an informal review process in addition to a formal appeals process, but you’ll need to act relatively quickly in order to have a chance at getting your assessment changed.

Here’s how to appeal your 2023 property revaluation in Mecklenburg County:

How to request an ‘informal review’ in Mecklenburg County

If you have concerns about your property valuation but are unsure about filing a formal appeal, you have the option to request an “informal review” of your revaluation within 30 days of “the date listed on your 2023 Real Estate Assessed Value Notification.”

To do so, you need to fill out the informal review form. Property owners can click the “informal review” button on their property record where the new value is displayed. The property record card can be found on the county website.

During the informal review process, you’ll have the opportunity to meet with the assessor and “review the notification together and correct any errors,” per the county.

“If deemed appropriate, the County Assessor will adjust the assessment value at this step,” the county assessor’s office says.

How to appeal your Mecklenburg County revaluation

Mecklenburg County property owners can also file a formal appeal of their revaluation that will be reviewed “by the Board of Equalization and Review (BER), a board of citizen volunteers that hears appeals on assessed values.”

You must download the formal appeal form at cao.mecknc.gov/services/appeals and then file it by emailing it to Appeals@MeckNC.gov. You can also mail it to the Mecklenburg County BER Real Property Appeals at P.O. Box 31127 Charlotte, NC 2823. It can be delivered in person to the Valerie C. Woodard Center at 3205 Freedom Dr., Suite 3500.

If you want to be represented in the process by an attorney, you need to also fill out a power of attorney form.

“When the notice of appeal is filed, the Notice of Appeal form supplied by the board must be completed and all supporting documents must be submitted at the time of filing but no later than 45 days from the date of submitting the appeal form,” the County Assessor’s Office explains.

You’ll be notified of your hearing date with the board about 30 days before it.

At your hearing, you or your legal representative “must prove that the assessed value substantially exceeds the true market value of the property.”

“The taxpayer has the burden of proving that the valuation of the property as determined by the County Assessor’s Office was incorrect, or that the property was taxed in error,” the County Assessor’s Office says.

You’ll receive the board’s decision in the mail following your hearing.

What if your appeal doesn’t work?

If you disagree with the board’s decision on your appeal, you can file another appeal with the state Property Tax Commission. You have 30 days to do so after getting the local board’s decision.

The state commission is a trial court that meets monthly in Raleigh.

“When the taxpayer appeals, the taxpayer has the burden of proof,” the North Carolina Department of Revenue says. “Individual taxpayers may present their own cases, but are encouraged to hire an attorney.”

Evidence such as “sworn testimony and/or documents” can be presented, and your county has “the opportunity to cross-examine any witnesses.”

If you disagree with the commission’s decision, you can appeal your case again “to the state Court of Appeals and state Supreme Court, but those bodies may choose to not hear the case as the grounds for appeal are more limited.”

Mecklenburg County revaluation appeal deadline

You have “30 days from the date listed on your 2023 Real Estate Assessed Value Notification” to request an informal review of your property valuation, per the County Assessor’s Office.

If you’re requesting a formal appeal of your revaluation, the deadline to do so is June 9.

This story was originally published March 17, 2023 at 6:30 AM.

Mary Ramsey

The Charlotte Observer

Mary Ramsey is the local government accountability reporter for The Charlotte Observer. A native of the Carolinas, she studied journalism at the University of South Carolina and has also worked in Phoenix, Arizona and Louisville, Kentucky. Support my work with a digital subscription