Real Estate

Real estate property includes land, buildings, structures, improvements and permanent fixtures. Double-wide mobile homes that are placed upon a permanent enclosed foundation on land owned by the owner of the double-wide mobile home are considered real property.
Real Estate Listing 

Sampson County has a permanent real estate listing system which automatically lists property; therefore property does not have to be relisted annually. A tax lien is attached to real estate on January 1 and remains in place until all taxes on the property are paid in full.  Property owners as of January 1 are required to report any new property such as buildings, additions, improvements and/or deletions that occurred during the preceding calendar year where a building permit was not issued. Please use a Personal Property Listing form to report the changes. These changes must be reported whether made by you or someone else. Maintenance such as painting, replacement of existing structures, landscaping, etc., is not considered an improvement and does not require listing.


Annual Tax Bills
Annual tax bills are normally mailed to property owners in July or August of each year. If you do not receive your tax statement by September 1, please contact our office to request a duplicate. Tax bills are not mailed to mortgage companies. The majority of lenders electronically access and retrieve tax data directly from an Auto Agent, eliminating the need for a paper copy of the bill.

Real estate accounts that were paid through an escrow account in the prior year do not receive a bill in July. Statements for real estate, business and personal property can be printed using our Online Tax Bill Search.

Annual tax bills are calculated for the fiscal taxing period of July 1 through June 30. They are not based on a calendar year. (Example: A bill issued in July 2011 would cover the period of July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012.)  Property taxes not paid in full by January 5 following billing are assessed an interest charge of 2% for the month of January and an additional 3/4 of 1% each month thereafter.


Real Estate Sold During the Year
If you own real estate on January 1st you are considered the listing owner for that year and will receive the tax bill when it is mailed in July or August, regardless of when or if the property is sold. If the purchaser has assumed responsibility of the tax bill in closing please forward the bill to the new owner.