New Hanover County tax records are available to the public through the county’s online portal at etax.nhcgov.com, where you can pull up assessed property values, current and past tax bills, payment history, and any exemptions attached to a parcel. The county’s property tax rate for fiscal year 2025–2026 is 30.6 cents per $100 of assessed value, and the most recent countywide revaluation took effect January 1, 2025.1New Hanover County, NC. Fiscal Year 2025-2026
How to Search the Online Portal
The county’s property assessment site at etax.nhcgov.com lets you search by owner name, street address, parcel ID, or an advanced search that combines filters.2New Hanover County. Property Assessment Website Parcel ID is the fastest route because it points to one specific property. If you don’t have it, check a prior tax bill, a recorded deed, or the closing disclosure from when the property last changed hands.
Address searches tend to return cleaner results when you enter just the street number and street name without abbreviations. Type “Market” rather than “Market St.” For owner searches, put the last name first. If several results come back, check the address column before clicking through.
Once you open a parcel, the detail page separates land value from improvement value and shows the tax rate, billing history, and payment status. You can toggle between tax years to compare values or bills across cycles. For a lender, an attorney, or your own file, look for the option to generate a tax statement as a PDF.
What the Record Shows
Each record splits the assessed value into two components: the land and any improvements such as a house, garage, or commercial building. North Carolina law requires counties to appraise property at its true value, which functions as fair market value.3North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 105 – Article 14 The record then applies the tax rate, which may include the base county rate plus additional levies for a municipality or fire district depending on where the parcel sits.
Records also distinguish real property from personal property. Real property covers land and permanent structures. Personal property covers movable assets like boats, business equipment, or unregistered vehicles, which the county taxes separately.
Every record carries a payment status: paid, unpaid, or delinquent. Delinquent accounts reflect the accrued interest. That status matters if you’re buying, since unpaid taxes can become liens that transfer with the sale.
Current Tax Rate and the 2025 Revaluation
The fiscal year 2025–2026 rate is 30.6 cents per $100 of assessed value.1New Hanover County, NC. Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Properties inside Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, or Kure Beach are also subject to a municipal rate that stacks on top of the county rate. Your record shows the combined rate that applies to the parcel.
The county revalues all property every four years, more often than the state’s eight-year minimum. The most recent revaluation took effect January 1, 2025. Residential values climbed an average of 67% compared with the 2021 values. Wrightsville Beach saw the steepest jump at roughly 77%, and Wilmington averaged around 63%.4New Hanover County, NC. Real Property / Revaluation The next revaluation is scheduled for 2029.
A sharp jump in assessed value doesn’t automatically translate into the same percentage jump in your bill. Counties often adjust the rate downward after a revaluation to keep overall revenue roughly stable, though the adjustment rarely offsets the full increase for parcels that appreciated faster than average. If your value jumped more than your neighbors’, you’re paying a bigger share of the total burden even when the rate drops.
Reading the Payment Status and Interest
Property taxes are due on September 1 of each fiscal year, and you can pay the full amount without interest through January 5 of the following year.5New Hanover County, NC. New Hanover County Tax Department Starting January 6, interest applies at 2%. After February 1, an additional 0.75% per month accrues on the unpaid balance until the bill and all interest are satisfied.6North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 105-360 – Due Date; Interest for Nonpayment of Taxes
Those charges compound faster than most people expect. A $3,000 bill left unpaid past January 5 owes $60 in interest immediately. By June, the monthly charges have added another $90 or so on top. Chronic delinquency can eventually trigger tax foreclosure, a lien-enforcement process that can end in loss of the property.
If your mortgage company pays taxes through escrow, checking the record online a few days after January 5 is the fastest way to confirm the payment landed. The record shows the county received the money regardless of who sent it.
Fixing Errors and Appealing the Assessed Value
If the record shows the wrong owner, wrong address, or details that don’t match the property, the tax office can correct the file. If the assessed value itself looks wrong, you have the right to challenge it. An appeal can only address the assessed value, not the tax rate or the total bill.7New Hanover County, NC. Appealing Property Values
Start with an informal review by the New Hanover County Tax Office. Most disputes end there. Bring recent comparable sales, an independent appraisal, or documentation of conditions the county may not have accounted for, such as structural damage or environmental issues. If informal review doesn’t resolve it, you can file a formal appeal with the county’s Board of Equalization and Review. For tax year 2026, the formal appeal deadline is May 14, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.7New Hanover County, NC. Appealing Property Values
Exemptions Shown on the Record
If a parcel has an exemption applied, the record will reflect it. The county administers several state-authorized property tax relief programs, including an elderly or disabled homestead exclusion, a disabled veteran exclusion, and a circuit breaker deferment for qualifying older homeowners. Applications for these programs are due June 1 of the tax year in which the benefit is claimed.8New Hanover County, NC. Tax Relief and Deferment If you believe an exemption should be applied to your record and isn’t, that’s a separate application process rather than an appeal.
Vehicle Taxes Aren’t in the Portal
Motor vehicle property taxes aren’t in the county’s online records system. North Carolina’s Tag & Tax Together program moved motor vehicle tax collection to the Division of Motor Vehicles, so your vehicle property tax is combined with your annual registration renewal into a single bill. A notice arrives about 60 days before your registration expires, and you pay the combined amount through the NCDMV, by mail, or at a license plate agency.9North Carolina Department of Revenue. Tag and Tax Together Project The county still sets the rate applied to your vehicle’s value, but billing and collection run through the state.
When the Online Record Isn’t Enough
For anything the portal doesn’t resolve, the New Hanover County Tax Department is at the Government Center, 230 Government Center Drive in Wilmington.10New Hanover County, NC. Government Center Redevelopment Staff can interpret entries in a record, correct ownership or address errors, and process applications for relief programs. Written record requests can be mailed to the Tax Collector at the same address. If the record on the screen disagrees with what you actually owe or paid, an in-person visit usually gets it fixed faster than phone or email.