Person County Property Tax: Bills, Due Dates, and Relief Programs

Person County property tax is levied at $0.63 per $100 of assessed value, with bills mailed in July and payment due by January 5 before interest starts to accrue.¹ A home appraised at $200,000 owes $1,260 in county tax before any municipal tax or exemptions. If the property sits inside a town like Roxboro, a separate town tax applies on top at the town’s own rate.

How Your Bill Is Calculated

Your tax is the county’s assessed value of your property multiplied by the rate. The Real Property Division appraises land and buildings at fair market value as of the most recent revaluation.² North Carolina counties revalue on a cycle of no more than eight years. Between revaluations your value generally holds steady unless you make major improvements, subdivide, or the county corrects an error. When a new value lands, read it carefully, because it can shift significantly in either direction.

North Carolina law requires all real and personal property to be taxed unless a statute excludes it.³ For most households that means the house and land, plus any boat, aircraft, or unregistered vehicle. Businesses are taxed on machinery, equipment, furniture, and other tangible operating assets.

Registered motor vehicles are handled separately through the state’s Tag & Tax Together program, which collects vehicle property tax with your registration renewal at the DMV.⁴ Those vehicles will not appear on the annual bill from the county.

When Taxes Are Due and What Late Payment Costs

Bills are mailed in July. The legal due date is September 1, but you have through January 5 to pay without penalty.⁵ Taxes become delinquent on January 6, and interest starts the same day:⁶

January 6: a 2% charge on the unpaid balance.
First of every month after: an additional 0.75% until the balance is paid in full.

On a $1,500 bill carried into March, that works out to roughly $1,552.50 owed. Whoever owns the property on January 6 is responsible for the full amount, even if ownership changed during the year.¹

If you cannot pay the full amount at once, Person County accepts partial payments from the time your bill arrives through January 5 with no prior approval needed.⁵ The account still must be fully paid by the deadline to avoid interest.

If your mortgage servicer maintains an escrow account, your lender usually pays the tax directly. The county still mails the bill to you, not the lender, so confirm with your servicer that they are handling it.⁵ If they are not, the responsibility is yours.

How to Pay

You will need your bill number or parcel ID, both of which appear on the mailed notice. If you have misplaced it, the county’s online tax search lets you look up your account by name or address.¹

By mail: Person County Tax Collector, P.O. Box 1701, Roxboro, NC 27573. The postmark counts.⁷
Drop box: an overnight box sits between the Tax Office and Register of Deeds at 13 Abbitt Street.⁷
In person: 13 Abbitt Street, Roxboro, NC 27573, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.²
Online: the county’s payment portal takes Visa, Mastercard, and Discover with a 2.50% service charge (minimum $2); business cards, purchasing cards, and American Express run 3.25% (minimum $2).⁷
By phone: 1-877-369-0027, same card fees.

Relief Programs That Can Reduce Your Bill

Four North Carolina programs can lower what you owe in Person County. None are automatic. All applications go to the Person County Tax Office and must be filed before June 1 of the year you first qualify.

Elderly or Disabled Homestead Exclusion

If you are at least 65 or totally and permanently disabled, and your prior-year income was no more than $38,800, your primary residence qualifies.⁸ The program excludes the greater of $25,000 or 50% of appraised value from taxation.⁹ On a $150,000 home that removes $75,000 from the taxable value, cutting the county bill roughly in half. The income cap adjusts each year with Social Security cost-of-living increases, so verify the current figure before applying.

Income is defined broadly and includes money from almost every source other than gifts or inheritances from a spouse or direct ancestor or descendant. For married applicants living together, both spouses’ income counts regardless of whose name is on the deed.⁸ A temporary absence for medical care or a move to a nursing facility does not disqualify you, as long as the home stays unoccupied or is occupied by your spouse or dependent.

Disabled Veteran Exclusion

Honorably discharged veterans with a permanent and total service-connected disability, and their unremarried surviving spouses, can exclude the first $45,000 of appraised value.¹⁰ No income limit applies. You will need the VA disability certification or proof of benefits under the federal adapted housing grant program.

Circuit Breaker Deferment

Homeowners 65 or older, or totally and permanently disabled, who have owned and occupied the home for at least five consecutive years and whose income falls below the state threshold can cap their tax at a percentage of income. The difference is deferred, not forgiven. Deferred amounts stay a lien on the property, and the three most recent years of deferred tax come due with interest when you sell, move, or stop qualifying.

Present-Use Value for Farm and Forest Land

Agricultural, horticultural, and forestry land can be assessed at present-use value instead of market value, often producing a much lower bill. Agricultural land must be at least 10 acres in commercial production generating at least $1,000 in average annual gross income. Horticultural land requires 5 acres. Forestry land requires 20 acres under a written forestry plan. The land must have been owned at least four years by the applicant or a relative when it is not the owner’s residence. Pulling land out of the program triggers a rollback: three years of deferred tax plus interest.

Listing Personal and Business Property

If you own property that must be listed, such as unregistered vehicles, boats, aircraft, or business assets, you file with the Person County Tax Office by January 31 each year, reporting what you owned on January 1. Businesses can request a written extension before January 31 that may push the deadline to April 15.

Missing the deadline costs 10% of the tax owed per year the property went unlisted, and the penalty stacks: another 10% for each additional year of nonlisting, going back up to five years.¹¹ File on time even when the underlying tax looks small.

Appealing Your Assessed Value

If you think the county’s value is too high, you can appeal. The strongest appeals rest on recent sales of comparable properties, factual errors on the county’s property record card (wrong square footage, phantom bedrooms, a pool you don’t have), or documented condition problems like foundation damage or a failing roof.

Start informally by calling or visiting the Tax Office with your evidence. A staff appraiser can resolve many disputes at that stage. If that does not work, you can appeal to the local Board of Equalization and Review, which typically begins meeting in the first week of April. You present your case, the county presents its side, and the board issues a written decision.¹² From there, further appeal runs to the North Carolina Property Tax Commission in Raleigh, and ultimately the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Filing an appeal does not pause your obligation to pay. Pay the tax on time. If the value is later reduced, the county refunds the overpayment.

What Happens If You Do Not Pay

Interest is just the start. Once taxes are delinquent, the collector can levy and sell personal property, attach bank accounts, or garnish wages and other compensation without a court order.¹³

For real estate, the county can pursue in rem foreclosure by filing a certificate of unpaid taxes with the clerk of superior court, which creates a judgment lien on the property.¹⁴ You get at least 30 days’ certified-mail notice before the judgment is docketed. The judgment accrues interest at 8% a year. Between three months and two years after it is filed, the county can request execution, and the sheriff can sell the property at public auction. Homestead exemptions do not apply to a tax foreclosure sale.

You can stop the process any time before execution by paying the full balance plus interest, penalties, and administrative costs (which include a $250 charge for the county’s expenses). Once a sale occurs, getting the property back is much harder. If you are falling behind, call the tax office before the account reaches foreclosure.

Contacting the Tax Office

The Person County Tax Office is at 13 Abbitt Street, Roxboro, NC 27573, open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The phone number is 336-597-1721.² Staff handle payment questions, listings, exemption applications, and address changes. The online tax search portal shows balances, parcel data, and payment history.⁷

1
Person County, NC Website. Tax Bills
2
Person County, NC Website. Tax Office
3
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statute 105-274 – Property Subject to Taxation
4
NCDOR. Tag and Tax Together Project
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Person County, NC Website. Frequently Asked Questions
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North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statute 105-360 – Due Date; Interest for Nonpayment of Taxes
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Person County, NC Website. Search/Pay Taxes
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North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 105-277.1 – Elderly or Disabled Property Tax Homestead Exclusion
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NCDOR. Form AV-9 2026 Application for Property Tax Relief
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North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statute 105-277.1C
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North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statute 105-312
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NCDOR. Property Tax Appeal Process
13
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 105 – Article 26
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North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statute 105-375