Property Taxes in Raleigh
Property taxes in Raleigh combine a City of Raleigh rate and a Wake County rate on top of assessed value, and the current combined nominal rate is $0.9091 per $100 of assessed value for FY2026-27 ($0.5371 Wake County + $0.3720 City of Raleigh), per Wake County government figures -- a genuinely higher combined figure than the 0.68%-0.75% 'effective rate' range third-party aggregators produced for the base Raleigh record, a discrepancy disclosed rather than resolved.
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Learn moreThe Combined Rate: Two Fiscal Years, Two Figures
For FY2025-26, the City of Raleigh's rate was $0.3550 per $100 of assessed value and Wake County's was $0.5171, for a combined general property tax rate of $0.8721 per $100. For the current FY2026-27 tax year, Wake County's rate rose to $0.5371 and Raleigh's to $0.3720, per a Wake County government combined-rate example, bringing the combined nominal rate to $0.9091 per $100 of assessed value -- effectively a 0.9091% rate against the property's assessed value, not necessarily its current market value (see below). Additional special-district taxes may apply depending on the specific address; this pass did not independently confirm whether any Raleigh-area addresses carry a municipal-utility-district-style add-on comparable to what suburban Houston sees.
A Real Discrepancy With the Base Record's Aggregator Figures
The base Raleigh record (north-carolina-tier-a-1.js) cites third-party aggregators -- SmartAsset at 0.75%, propertytaxbystate.com and taxbycounty.com at 0.68%-0.71% -- for Wake County's 'effective' property tax rate, meaningfully lower than the $0.9091-per-$100 (0.9091%) nominal combined rate found from direct Wake County/City of Raleigh government sources this session. This gap is disclosed rather than silently resolved: it most likely reflects aggregator 'effective rate' methodologies dividing tax paid by current estimated market value (which can run higher than a property's assessed value between countywide revaluations), while the government-published rate applies directly to assessed value -- but this pass could not confirm that explanation against a primary methodology statement from either source type.
The Elderly/Disabled Exclusion Is Income-Tested (A Real Difference From a Flat Exemption)
North Carolina excludes a portion of a home's appraised value from property tax for residents 65 or older, or totally and permanently disabled, whose 2025 income did not exceed $38,800 -- the exclusion is the greater of $25,000 or 50% of the home's appraised value. This is a genuinely different mechanism from a flat, income-independent senior homestead exemption: it's means-tested, so a higher-income retiree in a valuable Raleigh home may not qualify even at 65+. Applications (form AV-9) are due June 1 preceding the tax year, and an approved exclusion does not require annual reapplication as long as qualifications continue to be met. A separate Property Tax Homestead Circuit Breaker program caps property tax as a percentage of income for qualifying elderly/disabled homeowners with high tax-to-income burdens -- see the retiring topic page for more.
Reassessment Timing Matters
Wake County periodically conducts countywide property revaluations that reset assessed values to current market value as of the revaluation date; between revaluations, assessed value can lag actual market appreciation, which is part of what can make a nominal millage-rate figure and a market-value-based 'effective rate' diverge over time (see the discrepancy noted above). This pass did not independently confirm the exact year of Wake County's most recent revaluation or its next scheduled cycle -- confirm directly with the Wake County Tax Administration before assuming a specific assessed value will hold.
Key takeaways
- Combined nominal property tax rate for FY2026-27: $0.9091 per $100 of assessed value ($0.5371 Wake County + $0.3720 City of Raleigh), up from $0.8721 in FY2025-26, per Wake County government figures.
- This is meaningfully higher than the 0.68%-0.75% 'effective rate' range third-party aggregators cited in the base Raleigh record -- a genuine, disclosed discrepancy likely tied to assessed-value-vs-market-value methodology differences, not fully resolved this session.
- North Carolina's elderly/disabled property tax exclusion (greater of $25,000 or 50% of appraised value) is income-tested -- 2025 income could not exceed $38,800 -- a real difference from a flat, income-independent senior exemption.
- A separate Circuit Breaker program caps property tax as a percentage of income for qualifying elderly/disabled homeowners with a high tax burden relative to income.
- Confirm a specific parcel's current assessed value and Wake County's revaluation timing directly -- this pass did not independently confirm the county's most recent or next revaluation year.
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