Property Taxes in Winston-Salem
Property taxes are a genuine, disclosed cost disadvantage in Winston-Salem relative to the national median: the city carries the highest median effective property tax rate within Forsyth County at a cited 1.34%, above the roughly 1.02% U.S. national median, following a 2025 countywide reappraisal that pushed most assessed values up sharply. North Carolina's homestead exclusion programs offer real, if narrowly targeted, relief for qualifying homeowners.
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Learn moreThe Rate, and the 2025 Reappraisal That Preceded It
Winston-Salem's median effective property tax rate is cited at 1.34%, the highest within Forsyth County, above both the Forsyth County overall median (also cited around 1.34%) and the roughly 1.02% U.S. national median -- as detailed in the base Winston-Salem record. Forsyth County commissioners approved a 2025-26 budget raising the rate more than 4 cents above the revenue-neutral rate following a 2025 reappraisal that saw property values rise a cited 51% on average -- meaning most homeowners saw higher bills even where the nominal rate itself declined relative to pre-reappraisal levels. Rates vary by school district and special-assessment area within the city, so treat 1.34% as directionally representative rather than a rate that applies uniformly to every parcel.
What Sets the Rate: County, City, and School-District Layers
As in the rest of North Carolina, a Winston-Salem property owner's total bill combines a Forsyth County rate with a City of Winston-Salem rate (for in-city parcels) and, in some cases, additional special-district or fire-district levies -- a simpler stack than Houston's seven-or-more overlapping taxing entities, but still worth confirming precisely for a specific parcel via the Forsyth County Tax Administration rather than assuming the citywide 1.34% figure applies exactly.
North Carolina's Elderly/Disabled Homestead Exclusion
North Carolina offers a statewide property tax relief program -- the Elderly or Disabled Property Tax Homestead Exclusion -- for permanent residents 65 or older, or totally and permanently disabled, whose prior-year household income does not exceed a state-set threshold ($38,800 based on 2025 income, for 2026 qualification, adjusted annually with Social Security cost-of-living changes, per NC General Statute 105-277.1). Qualifying homeowners can exclude the greater of $25,000 or 50% of their home's appraised value from property taxation -- a real, meaningful reduction for eligible seniors and disabled homeowners, though narrowly targeted by the income limit rather than universally available. See the retiring topic page for how this factors into a retirement relocation decision.
No Texas-Style Assessment Cap
Unlike Texas's 10% annual appraisal cap or Florida's Save Our Homes limit (both covered in this dataset's Houston and Tampa records), North Carolina does not cap how much a home's assessed value can rise between countywide reappraisals -- the 2025 Forsyth County reappraisal's cited 51% average value increase illustrates the exposure this creates: without an interim cap, a full multi-year run-up in market value can land on a homeowner's tax bill all at once at the next reappraisal, rather than phasing in gradually.
Key takeaways
- Winston-Salem's median effective property tax rate (1.34%) is the highest within Forsyth County and above the roughly 1.02% national median, following a 2025 reappraisal that raised most assessed values sharply.
- A property owner's total bill layers Forsyth County, City of Winston-Salem (for in-city parcels), and sometimes special-district rates -- simpler than Houston's seven-plus overlapping entities, but confirm the specific parcel's rate with Forsyth County Tax Administration.
- NC's Elderly/Disabled Homestead Exclusion lets qualifying residents 65+ or disabled (2025 household income up to $38,800) exclude the greater of $25,000 or 50% of appraised value from property tax -- real relief, but income-limited.
- North Carolina has no Texas- or Florida-style annual assessment cap -- the 2025 reappraisal's 51% average value jump shows the exposure this creates between reappraisal cycles.
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