Property tax in Brunswick County, North Carolina
In Brunswick County, the property tax bill comes from the Brunswick County Tax Office, Collections Division. The 2026 bill is due January 5, 2027. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Brunswick County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Brunswick County, North Carolina is $1,890 a year, which is about 0.54% of the county's median home value of $349,800. That effective rate is lower than the typical North Carolina county (0.65%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in Brunswick County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Brunswick County Tax Office, Collections Division. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Brunswick County Tax Office (Tax Assessor, real property appraisal), which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
The county bill also carries town tax for Bald Head Island, Belville, Boiling Spring Lakes, Bolivia, Calabash, Carolina Shores, Caswell Beach, Leland, Navassa, Northwest, Oak Island (new for 2026), Sandy Creek, Shallotte, Southport, St. James, Sunset Beach and Varnamtown. Holden Beach and Ocean Isle Beach send their own separate town bills. The bill can also include a fire fee for the fire department that serves the property; it is based on a building's heated square footage, or on acreage for vacant land, not on the property's value. The county revalues property every four years; the next revaluation takes effect January 1, 2027. Online and phone card payments carry a 2.65% fee (at least $2.00); e-check payments are free.
When are property taxes due in Brunswick County?
For the 2026 bill, Brunswick County has one due date: January 5, 2027. 2026 property taxes are legally due September 1, 2026 but can be paid without interest through January 5, 2027, which is a Tuesday. If January 5 falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the county moves the deadline to the next business day. Mailed payments must carry a U.S. Postal Service postmark dated by January 5, 2027; the county does not accept other postmarks. Interest starts January 6, 2027, not September 1: 2% is added to any unpaid balance on January 6, then 3/4% more on February 1, 2027 and on the first of each month after that until the bill is paid.
From Brunswick County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Brunswick County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Brunswick County's average effective rate of 0.54% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $1,889 / year
Property tax in Brunswick County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $1,890 |
| Median home value | $349,800 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.54% |
| Typical North Carolina county rate | 0.65% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does Brunswick County compare in North Carolina?
Among North Carolina's 100 counties, Brunswick County has the 80th highest effective property-tax rate: 79 rank higher and 20 rank lower. That is on the lower side for North Carolina. Nationally, it ranks 2500th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every North Carolina county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Brunswick County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Brunswick County's 58,472 owner-occupied homes, 21.5% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 45.6% pay at least $2,000, and 13.9% pay under $800. Another 2.3% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 8,139 | 13.9% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 13,808 | 23.6% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 8,483 | 14.5% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 14,106 | 24.1% |
| $3,000 or more | 12,584 | 21.5% |
| No property tax paid | 1,352 | 2.3% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,955 and owners without one pay $1,776. That is within 10% either way, so in Brunswick County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the Brunswick County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $1,890 is about 2.3% of the median income of Brunswick County homeowner households, $82,429 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 84.6% of Brunswick County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in Brunswick County?
Yes. The median bill went from $1,327 in 2015-2019 to $1,890 in 2020-2024, a 42.4% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 64.8%, from $212,200 to $349,800. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to Brunswick County
Brunswick County borders 4 counties, 1 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus County, NC | 0.77% | $1,120 | $146,000 |
| Pender County, NC | 0.63% | $1,883 | $299,000 |
| New Hanover County, NC | 0.54% | $2,105 | $387,800 |
| Brunswick County, NC (this county) | 0.54% | $1,890 | $349,800 |
| Horry County, SC | 0.33% | $944 | $287,700 |
How is a home assessed in Brunswick County?
North Carolina assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Brunswick County included. How North Carolina assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Brunswick County?
No. North Carolina has no general homestead exemption; relief is targeted to older and disabled owners and to disabled veterans. That is the North Carolina rule, and it applies in Brunswick County. North Carolina's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Brunswick County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the North Carolina ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Brunswick County property assessment
In Brunswick County you appeal to the Brunswick County Board of Equalization and Review. The deadline: Start with an informal review by the Tax Assessor's appraisers; once the Board of Equalization and Review convenes, only the board can change a value. An appeal must be filed before the board adjourns, and appeals received after that are generally not heard until the following year. For 2026 values the deadline was 5:00 PM on April 20, 2026 (online, or mailed with a U.S. Postal Service postmark of that date). New values from the 2027 revaluation are to be mailed by the end of March 2027. The board's decision can be appealed to the North Carolina Property Tax Commission within 30 days after the board mails its decision. Filing an appeal does not delay the due date of the tax bill. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How North Carolina's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
North Carolina rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the North Carolina page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Brunswick County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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North Carolina income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what North Carolina actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Brunswick County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Brunswick County, North Carolina: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.