Property tax in Catawba County, North Carolina
In Catawba County, the property tax bill comes from the Catawba County Tax Office. 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 Catawba County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Catawba County, North Carolina is $1,407 a year, which is about 0.58% of the county's median home value of $241,600. 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 Catawba County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Catawba County Tax Office. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Catawba County Tax Office, 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 bills and collects taxes for every city and town in the county, so one bill carries the county rate plus either a city rate or a fire district rate. It also collects the Hickory and Long View city taxes on the parts of those cities that lie in Burke County. The county does not split a bill between buyer and seller after a sale; check your closing papers to see who paid. The last countywide revaluation took effect January 1, 2023, and the next takes effect January 1, 2027. A convenience fee applies to online payments.
When are property taxes due in Catawba County?
For the 2026 bill, Catawba County has one due date: January 5, 2027. Under state law, taxes are due September 1, 2026, and can be paid without interest through January 5, 2027, which is a Tuesday. A mailed payment counts as received on the date of the U.S. Postal Service postmark. The county has not posted its 2026 billing calendar. Under state law, interest starts on January 6: 2% for January, plus 3/4% for each month after that until the taxes are paid. Each year the county advertises the names of owners with unpaid taxes in local newspapers.
From Catawba County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. The county had not posted a calendar labeled for this cycle when we checked, so these dates come from state law and the county's standing schedule; the date on your bill is the one that binds you.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Catawba County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Catawba County's average effective rate of 0.58% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $1,401 / year
Property tax in Catawba County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $1,407 |
| Median home value | $241,600 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.58% |
| 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 Catawba County compare in North Carolina?
Among North Carolina's 100 counties, Catawba County has the 70th highest effective property-tax rate: 69 rank higher and 30 rank lower. That is on the lower side for North Carolina. Nationally, it ranks 2336th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every North Carolina county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Catawba County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Catawba County's 47,794 owner-occupied homes, 15.1% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 30.8% pay at least $2,000, and 17.3% pay under $800. Another 3% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 8,265 | 17.3% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 17,111 | 35.8% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 6,247 | 13.1% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 7,501 | 15.7% |
| $3,000 or more | 7,239 | 15.1% |
| No property tax paid | 1,431 | 3% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,469 and owners without one pay $1,287. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.
How does the Catawba County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $1,407 is about 1.8% of the median income of Catawba County homeowner households, $79,076 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 72.2% of Catawba 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 Catawba County?
Yes. The median bill went from $1,051 in 2015-2019 to $1,407 in 2020-2024, a 33.9% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 68.2%, from $143,600 to $241,600. 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 Catawba County
Catawba County borders 5 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burke County, NC | 0.68% | $1,253 | $185,400 |
| Iredell County, NC | 0.61% | $1,952 | $321,400 |
| Alexander County, NC | 0.6% | $1,269 | $211,800 |
| Caldwell County, NC | 0.6% | $1,150 | $192,200 |
| Lincoln County, NC | 0.58% | $1,856 | $321,000 |
| Catawba County, NC (this county) | 0.58% | $1,407 | $241,600 |
How is a home assessed in Catawba County?
North Carolina assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Catawba County included. How North Carolina assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Catawba 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 Catawba County. North Carolina's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Catawba County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the North Carolina ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Catawba County property assessment
In Catawba County you appeal to the Catawba County Board of Equalization and Review. The deadline: For tax year 2026 the deadline to file an informal appeal was 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 27, 2026, and the Board of Equalization and Review has since adjourned for new appeals. The county says the next chance to appeal opens in January 2027. Appeals can be filed online, by mail or by email on the county's appeal form, with evidence such as photos, sales or appraisals. The board's decision can be appealed to the North Carolina Property Tax Commission within 30 days after the board mails its decision. 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 Catawba 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 Catawba County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Catawba 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.