Real estate property includes land, buildings, structures, improvements and permanent fixtures. Also considered real property are mobile homes that are placed upon a permanent enclosed foundation on land owned by the owner of the mobile home.
Real estate in Wake County is permanently listed and does not require an annual listing. Property owners as of January 1 are required to report any new buildings, additions, improvements and/or deletions that occurred during the preceding calendar year where a building permit was not issued. Please use a Personal Property Listing form to report the changes. These changes must be reported whether made by you or someone else. Maintenance such as painting, replacement of existing structures, landscaping, etc., is not considered an improvement and does not require listing.
Annual Tax Bills
Tax bills are normally mailed to property owners in July of each year. If you do not receive your tax statement by September 1, please contact our office to request a duplicate. Real estate accounts that were paid through an escrow account in the prior year do not receive a bill in July. Statements for real estate, business and personal property can be printed using our Online Tax Bill Search application.
Annual tax bills are calculated for the fiscal taxing period of July 1 through June 30. They are not based on a calendar year. Example: A bill issued in July 2011 would cover the period of July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012. Property taxes not paid in full by January 5 following billing are assessed an interest charge of 2% for the month of January and an additional 3/4 of 1% each month thereafter. For payment options, please visit our Billing & Payment page.
Property Sold During the Year
If you sold your real estate between January and June and do not have a remaining interest in any portion of the property, you will not receive the annual tax notice mailed in July. This notice will be mailed to the current owners, and they are responsible for ensuring timely payment.
For real estate sold after the annual July billing and before the bill becomes delinquent in January, a statement for the unpaid tax will be mailed to the new owner. If the seller does not have a remaining interest in any portion of the property, they may disregard the original notice as the new owner is responsible for payment.
If a real estate bill becomes delinquent, the owner on the day the bill becomes delinquent is responsible for payment. Should the property be sold with a delinquent bill present, both the owner on the day the bill became delinquent and any subsequent owners are equally responsible for payment regardless of any private agreements made at closing.
Collection action against the owner on the day the bill became delinquent and any subsequent owners may include garnishment of wages; attachment of bank accounts, rental income or income tax refunds; seizure and sale of personal property by the Sheriff's Office; or foreclosure. In addition, the owner as of the day the bill became delinquent will be advertised in the local newspaper as having unpaid taxes.
Tax Liens & Foreclosures
Wake County does not sell tax lien certificates on real estate. Foreclosure proceedings are initiated on real estate parcels only after all other methods of collection have been exhausted. For additional information on the foreclosure process and to view a listing of properties subject to sale, please visit our Foreclosures page.
For additional information regarding real estate, please select from the topics on the left-hand side of your screen.