The Jamestowner

PUBLIC NOTICE: Guilford County’s new 2026 PROPERTY TAX SCHEDULE just posted

Written by

Susan Dickenson

·

Guilford County’s new 2026 PROPERTY TAX VALUES manual was posted today, and you have THIRTY DAYS to “examine” it, provide input and/or submit a formal appeal:

“A property owner who asserts that the schedules, standards, and rules are invalid may take exception to the order adopting the Schedule of Values and the Present Use Schedule of Values by appealing to the North Carolina Property Tax Commission at P.O. Box 871, Raleigh, NC 27602, within thirty (30) days of the date when the notice of the order adopting the schedules standards, and rules was first published. The final date that these schedules may be appealed is NOVEMBER 16, 2025.”

This is the first opportunity you have to provide input on the PROPERTY VALUE portion of your tax bill and how it is determined. A second opportunity follows the February 2026 Revaluation Notice mailing when you’ll have 30 days to submit an appeal. The TAX RATE portion of your annual bill won’t be decided (or increased) by county and municipal officials until June 2026.

Let’s recap: As pointed out in this September post, there are inconsistencies and inequities in the property tax valuations of Jamestown’s residential VS industrial and large-parcel “agricultural” properties.

Our September survey of Jamestown property tax values revealed that from 2006 to 2025, (1) RESIDENTIAL property valuations INCREASED by 29.5% in Yorkshire, by 39.5% in Forestdale East, by 47% in Forestdale North, and by 41.3% in Cedarwood; BUT (2) INDUSTRIAL (and large-parcel residential) properties DECREASED by -12%.

As explained in that September post, land values in Jamestown’s “named” neighborhoods are valued at a flat per-unit rate ($35K or $50K, for example, regardless of whether your Forestdale or Yorkshire lot is .28 acre or 1.28 acre). Larger parcels, however, enjoy a modest fixed per-acre rate of between $6k-$9K per acre.

Industrial properties – especially those along Jamestown’s Main Street and Oakdale/Dillon roads – have enjoyed stalled or decreased valuations over the past 20 years, even though Guilford County’s 2022 Property Tax Manual stated that “Industrial land” has “a higher value than all other types of properties.”[Unfortunately, the 2022 Property Tax Manual has now been removed from the Guilford County website.]

This is the worst possible property tax valuation system for a small town like Jamestown, where the financial burden of industrial contamination cleanup is being put on the residents, while the polluting facilities enjoy with lax permitting, decreased taxes, and no water/air pollution monitoring or oversight.

It also means the burden of keeping our Pinecroft-Sedgefield fire department well funded falls disproportionately to residents and small business owners instead of the larger industrial facilities and property owners.

Think about it this way: Remember that smelly fire that happened at Hood Container in July? With multiple fire and EMS trucks responding from Pinecroft-Sedgefield AND High Point? Hood Container has enjoyed ZERO property valuation increases from 2006 to 2022. Their contribution to the Pinecroft-Sedgefield fire department is based on their property tax assessment, which means they got away with underpaying their share of salaries and upkeep for the Pinecroft-Sedgefield fire department for at least 15 years:

Dive in: The 347-page 2026 SCHEDULE OF VALUES manual is on the county website, or you can read the PDF here:

2026 Schedule of Values_1Download

The “MARKET AREA” tables for Jamestown and the surrounding 27282 communities begin on page 174.

THE 2026 APPEAL PERIOD

In addition to this Public Comments phase, taxpayers will have a chance to appeal their new reappraised values after they receive notification of the new values in February 2026.

After receiving the Reappraisal Notice, taxpayers will have 30 days to submit an appeal if they feel that (1) the reappraised value substantially exceeds the actual market value of the property, or (2) the reappraised value is inconsistent with the value of similar nearby properties.

The second component of your tax assessment, the TAX RATE, will not be reset until June of 2026 after Guilford County and town/city officials decide how much revenue is needed for the July 1, 2026-June 30 2027 fiscal year.

Here are a few things that popped out in our first read-through of the Jamestown Market Area tables (in the 2026 Schedule of Values):

  1. The old Market Area ID number (7821I01) for the industrial properties along Main Street (Hood Container, Teknor Apex, Univar, Staples LLC) is gone.
  2. The old Market Area ID number (7821C04) for Oakdale Cotton Mill and Village is gone.
  3. The large-parcel fixed-acre sites that take up both sides of Main Street between Jamestown United Methodist Church and GTCC are grouped in their own Market Area ID number (7821A02).
  4. D.R. Horton’s 467-acre parcel is currently being taxed based on a PER ACRE valuation of $50K, but Windsor Homes’ Harvey Road community is still listed in the County Property Tax system as “AGRICULTURAL” and there are no property tax records in the County system for this development.
  5. The Panda Express and Whataburger being built on GTCC property across from Publix haven’t been billed.
  6. Furnitureland South’s 109.72 acres at Harvey Road and I-85 (addressed in Jamestown) are grouped in Market Area ID number 7820A05. They only pay Guilford County property taxes. Nothing to High Point or Jamestown.

LOOK UP YOUR PROPERTY

If you want to look up your property or any of the parcels in Jamestown and Guilford County, go to the GIS website HERE (this works best on a laptop). Start typing your address in the SEARCH box at the upper left of the screen until you see your address appear and select it. Click on “Tax Appraisal Information” at the top of the sidebar (there’s also a “Tax Bill” option here if you want to look at your tax bill history). Click on the “LAND” tab and you’ll be able to see how your land is valued for property tax purposes.

Guilford County residents have until November 16th to submit PUBLIC COMMENTS re the county’s new Schedule of Property Tax Values Manual. Check out your property valuation and tax history on the GIS website, give the Manual a look over, and express your concerns to the Guilford County Commissioners by November 16th.