Homestead Exemption in North Carolina
March 21st, 2008 Categories: Buying a Home
I just got another unique question from a past client. This person, to whom I sold a home over in North Durham, wanted to know how to apply for a Homestead Exemption in North Carolina. I’m glad she asked in an email because my first thought was what the heck is a Homestead Exemption?
Okay, I understand that I’m supposed to know all about home buying and selling issues, especially as related to the local Raleigh market area. But in all my years of experience I’ve never had anyone ask about this. So, I got busy calling and searching on the web, and here is what I found.
This is a blurb from the NC Department of Health and Human Services website.
North Carolina Homestead Exemption
North Carolina G. S. 105-277.1 provides financial assistance to low-income elderly and disabled homeowners by exempting part of the value of their home from the property tax levied by North Carolina counties and municipalities. This assistance is called the Homestead Property Tax Exemption. Under current law, an elderly or disabled homeowner is eligible for the exemption ($20,000 or 50% of the appraised value of property, which ever is greater, used as his or her permanent residence) if he or she is a North Carolina resident and his or her income from the preceding calendar year was $19,700 or less. Effective July 1, 2003, the income eligibility limit will be adjusted annually to the nearest $100 based on the cost-of-living adjustment used in calculating Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits. To apply for this exemption, contact your county tax office.
Source: http://www.ncdhhs.gov/aging
So now we know all about how Homestead Exemptions work in NC. When I emailed the info to my client and called her to follow up, she told me that this was very different from how it worked in Georgia. If you are using Homestead Exemption in your state, and planning on moving to North Carolina, be aware that there may be significant differences in its application here.
