Greensboro FY 2027 Budget Explained: What the 79.85 Cent Tax Rate Means for Your Property Tax Bill
Updated June 2026 | Joy Watson, Realtor® | joywatsonrealestate.com
On June 16, 2026, Greensboro City Council held a work session to finalize the fiscal year 2027 budget for adoption. The headline number is a total city property tax rate of 79.85 cents per $100 of assessed value, up from the current rate of 67.25 cents. That is a 12.6 cent increase, and it is the direct result of a consequential decision: Council chose to build the FY 2027 budget around current, pre-revaluation property values rather than the new 2026 Guilford County revaluation values.
If you have been following my earlier posts on the 2026 Guilford County revaluation and the broader property tax picture for Greensboro homeowners, this is the news you have been waiting for. Here is exactly what it means, in plain language, for a typical Greensboro homeowner.
Two Paths, Same Bill to Pay
When Guilford County completed its 2026 revaluation, assessed property values across Greensboro increased significantly, with many homes in historic intown neighborhoods seeing values climb 40 to 65 percent. That created a fork in the road for city budget planners.
The City Manager's original recommended budget had assumed revaluation would go into effect, meaning the city could maintain services at a lower rate of 58.30 cents per $100 because it would be applied to a much larger, inflation-adjusted tax base. The total assessed value of all taxable property in that scenario would have been roughly $56.1 billion.
Council instead chose the no-revaluation path. That means the rate applies to the older, lower assessed values, and the tax base drops to roughly $40.1 billion. To generate the same revenue needed to fund city services, the rate must be set higher.
on a $56.1B tax base
on a $40.1B tax base
what you are paying right now
Both paths raise about the same total city revenue. The difference is entirely in who pays more and who pays less, which comes down to where your home's assessed value lands relative to the revaluation.
Why the City Budget Went Up at All
It is worth being clear: the rate increase is not primarily about adding new programs. According to the June 16 work session document, more than $20 million of the FY 2027 General Fund increase goes to public safety, covering police, fire, emergency communications, behavioral health response teams, radios, technology, and equipment replacement. The budget also restores lake and recreation center hours, solid waste and recycling services, and library and parks operations that had been cut or reduced.
New program additions total about $3.4 million citywide and include 15 additional COPS-supported police officer positions (on top of 15 added the prior year), startup funding for a new community center, expanded behavioral health response, and commercial code compliance improvements.
The increase in spending covers workforce costs, vehicle and equipment replacement, technology systems, facilities, fuel, utilities, and debt-supported capital items. These are largely fixed obligations, not discretionary additions.
Bottom line from the budget document: "The no-revaluation proposal uses current values, so the rate must increase to support the same service level. Most of the General Fund increase supports existing services, workforce costs, obligations, and deferred corrections."
What This Means for a Median Greensboro Homeowner
Multiple sources place the current median sale price for a Greensboro home between roughly $270,000 and $285,000 depending on the month and data source. The city's own work session document uses a $250,000 illustrative example, which is a reasonable anchor for this analysis. I will show all three scenarios the City presented plus a median-range example.
| Home Assessed Value | Annual Bill Today (67.25¢) | Annual Bill with Reval (58.30¢) | Annual Bill No Reval (79.85¢) | Monthly Change vs. Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $128,700 (lower value home, 82% reval increase assumed) | $866 | $1,368 | $1,028 | +$13.50/mo |
| $250,000 (city illustrative example, 40% reval assumed) | $1,681 | $2,041 | $1,996 | +$26/mo |
| $270,000 (near current median sale price) | $1,816 | est. $2,200+ | $2,156 | +$28/mo |
| $307,300 (higher value home, 22% reval increase assumed) | $2,067 | $2,182 | $2,454 | +$32/mo |
Source: City of Greensboro City Council Work Session, June 16, 2026. The $270,000 row is calculated by the author at 79.85 cents per $100. All figures reflect city property tax only and do not include the Guilford County tax rate, which is set separately by the county commissioners and not addressed in this city budget document.
The Median Home Scenario in Plain Math
For a Greensboro home currently assessed at approximately $270,000 (close to the recent median sale price), the math at the new 79.85 cent city rate looks like this:
- Current annual city tax: $270,000 ÷ 100 × $0.6725 = $1,815.75
- New annual city tax at 79.85 cents: $270,000 ÷ 100 × $0.7985 = $2,155.95
- Annual increase: approximately $340
- Monthly increase: approximately $28
That is a real increase. For a homeowner with an escrow account, expect your mortgage servicer to adjust your monthly escrow payment when your next annual escrow analysis runs.
Who Benefits from the No-Reval Approach
The city's presentation makes clear that the no-revaluation approach is most protective for lower-valued homes whose assessed values would have jumped sharply under revaluation. The document notes that lower-valued homes in Guilford County saw much larger percentage increases in the revaluation than higher-valued homes. An 82 percent revaluation increase on a $128,700 home would have pushed the tax bill to roughly $1,368 per year under even a revenue-neutral reval rate. Under the no-reval 79.85 cent rate applied to the current assessed value, that same homeowner pays $1,028, which is actually less than the reval scenario by about $341 per year.
For higher-valued homes that saw more modest percentage increases in revaluation (the $307,300 example saw only about 22 percent), the no-reval approach means paying more. That homeowner would pay approximately $2,454 per year under the no-reval rate versus $2,182 under the reval rate, a difference of roughly $272 more per year.
The no-revaluation approach shifts some tax burden from lower-valued homes to higher-valued homes compared to what a revenue-neutral post-reval rate would have produced. Whether that is the right policy is a civic and political question. What matters for your household budget is knowing which side of that shift your property lands on.
This Is the City Rate Only
This is an important distinction that my earlier revaluation post covers in depth. The 79.85 cent rate is the city of Greensboro rate only. Your actual property tax bill also includes the Guilford County rate, which is set separately by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, not by City Council. The county rate decision for FY 2027 has not yet been addressed in this document.
In recent years the combined Greensboro city plus Guilford County rate has been among the highest combined rates of any major North Carolina city. If you are a buyer evaluating a Greensboro property, that combined rate is the number that matters most for your ongoing ownership cost calculation.
How This Connects to the 2026 Guilford County Revaluation
Here is where these two stories link together. The 2026 Guilford County revaluation was completed and assigned new assessed values effective January 1, 2026. Those new values are on record at the Guilford County Tax Department. The city's decision to budget using the current pre-reval values means that for the FY 2027 fiscal year, the city rate is applied to what you were assessed at before the reval, not to your new 2026 assessed value.
That is genuinely good news for owners who saw large revaluation jumps. Your new assessed value is recorded and will matter for future years, but the city tax bill you receive in the summer of 2026 for FY 2027 will be calculated on your older, lower assessed value at the new 79.85 cent rate, rather than on your much higher new assessed value at the lower reval-scenario rate.
If you have not yet reviewed your 2026 Guilford County assessed value, you can look it up through the Guilford County Real Property Data Search. The informal appeal deadline passed in May 2026, but the formal Board of Equalization and Review process may still have an open window depending on your parcel. Contact the Guilford County Tax Department directly at taxreval@guilfordcountync.gov to confirm your options.
What Buyers Should Know Right Now
If you are under contract or actively shopping for a home in Greensboro, you need to update your carrying cost projections. Lenders calculate debt-to-income ratios using estimated property taxes, and many loan estimates written earlier in 2026 would have modeled the current 67.25 cent rate. The new rate is 79.85 cents, a meaningful difference on homes priced above $250,000.
For a $300,000 home, the difference between the old rate and the new rate is roughly $376 per year in city taxes alone, or about $31 per month in additional escrow. On a tight debt-to-income qualification, that could matter. Talk to your lender now and make sure your pre-approval was built with the right tax assumption.
Three lenders I trust and refer clients to in this market: Ashley McKenzie-Sharpe at Highlands Residential Mortgage is a Senior Loan Officer and 2025 Mortgage Banker of the Year for the Carolinas, known for her consultative approach and deep knowledge of the Triad market. Bret Barrow at JBMG Capital specializes in investment and DSCR loans and can work in 48 states. Julianne Poindexter at Barrett Financial Group also has strong DSCR experience for investor buyers.
What Sellers Should Know
Buyers shopping in Greensboro are increasingly aware of the combined property tax burden here relative to other NC cities. As I outlined in the revaluation post, Greensboro's combined city plus county rate has historically sat well above Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, and even Winston-Salem. A knowledgeable buyer doing their homework will factor this into their offer calculations and their price ceiling.
That does not mean Greensboro homes are unsellable. The market data still shows reasonable days on market and a sale-to-list ratio hovering near 98 percent. But it does mean that pricing conversations with buyers in the $250,000 to $400,000 range will increasingly involve tax carrying cost comparisons. Being prepared to speak to that clearly and accurately is part of what I do as your agent.
What Investors and STR Owners Should Know
For investment property owners, whether you hold a traditional rental, a mid-term rental, or a short-term rental, the 79.85 cent city rate needs to be updated in your expense models for FY 2027. If you are running a DSCR analysis on a property you are considering purchasing, make sure your tax line uses the new combined rate projection, not the old one. I walked through a DSCR loan analysis framework here using a Greensboro investment property as the example.
If you are exploring adding rental income to offset ownership costs, the long-term vs. short-term rental comparison post and the house hacking guide are both worth revisiting with the updated tax picture in mind.
The Budget Also Funds Services That Affect Your Neighborhood
It is worth noting that the FY 2027 budget invests meaningfully in quality-of-life services that matter to homeowners in intown Greensboro neighborhoods. Restored hours at recreation centers and lakes, maintained solid waste and recycling service levels, and library operations are all part of what makes neighborhoods like Fisher Park, Westerwood, College Hill, Idlewood, and Old Irving Park desirable places to own and live. Public safety investment, including expanded police staffing and behavioral health response, directly affects neighborhood perception and long-term property values.
None of that makes the bill any smaller. But it is worth understanding what the money is for when you are deciding how to feel about the increase.
Next Steps for Greensboro Homeowners
- Check your current assessed value at the Guilford County Real Property Data Search
- Update your budget using the 79.85 cent city rate on your current pre-reval assessed value
- Contact your mortgage servicer if you are escrowed, to ask when their next escrow analysis will run and whether an adjustment is coming
- Buyers under contract: confirm your lender has updated tax estimates in your loan disclosures
- Investors: update your proformas and DSCR models for FY 2027
- Watch for Guilford County's rate decision, which will come from the Board of Commissioners separately and affect the other portion of your combined bill
If you have questions about how any of this affects a specific property you own, are buying, or are thinking about selling, I am happy to talk through the numbers with you. Reach out at joywatsonrealestate.com/contact or call me at (928) 699-8883.
Joy Watson, Realtor® | Joy Watson Real Estate
Serving Greensboro, NC & the Piedmont Triad
(928) 699-8883 | joy@joywatsonrealestate.com
License #307423 | Firm License #C37131
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