HOW TO REDUCE YOUR PROPERTY TAXES ON NORTH CAROLINA LAND

YES, you can lower your property taxes on North Carolina land!

In North Carolina there is a law ( NC DEPT OF REVENUE) that basically allows you to apply for a property tax deferral with the county if you meet the following criteria:

1. You own at least 20 acres of timberland or
2. You own at least 10 acres of income producing agriculture land.
3. You have owned the property at least four years OR you already have other land in the county enrolled in the program. ( There are a few other situations that may allow for immediate qualification.)
4. You are buying a tract that is already enrolled and you are going to continue in the program.

This law pertains to every county in the state. Here are a few more requirements and particulars:

1. If you are applying for the agriculture land exemption, you must have $1000 in gross annual agriculture sales for the previous three years. This can include crops or livestock/livestock products.
2. If your farm contains both timberland and agriculture land, you can apply for both based on the relative acreage in each.
3. For the timberland portion, there is no income requirement but a Forestry Management Plan is required to be filed and maintained with the application. 
4. If you ever decide to cancel your enrollment or the use changes, or you sell the land and the new owners do not want to continue, three years of deferred taxes will be due and payable to the county. It is imperative to know about this recapture of the deferred amount whether you are a buyer or seller and to have your real estate attorney discuss this with you and to advise you. 

This program is extremely popular in North Carolina, particularly in counties that have higher property values. This program can save you anywhere from 30-70% on your annual property tax bill. There are no real negatives to this program but as always, get legal/CPA advise prior to enrolling, which by the way, can only be done during the month of January each year unless you are buying a tract that is already enrolled).