Do you have unsold homes and need some tax relief? 

In the most recent legislative session, NCHBA worked closely with the N.C. General Assembly to enact SL 2009-308 Defer Tax of Builder Inventory.  The legislation allows a builder to defer the portion of taxes levied on residences owned and constructed by builders that are unsold as of January 1 of each year. The deferment may be granted based on taxes levied on improvements only; the land is fully taxable. This legislation is effective for 2010 and will sunset in 2013.

You must act soon to take advantage of this legislation in 2010. 

On page 1 of H. 852 under (e) it states that:
 
An application for property tax relief provided by this section should be filed during the regular listing period but may be filed after the regular listing period upon a showing of good cause by the applicant for failure to make a timely application, as determined and approved by the board of equalization and review or, if that board is not in session, by the board of county commissioners…
 
The regular listing period is January 1 - January 31  each year.  Exceptions may be made in the following circumstances 1) the county commissioners extends the deadline for all builders by their own motion; or 2) the assessor may extend the deadline on a case by case basis if the builder can prove that there was some reason he could not file during the listing period (i.e. like the sale fell through, the home wasn’t finished, accounting information was not in order, etc.). 

The general Property Tax or Exemption Form (AV-10) has been updated to contain the inventory deferral. The deferred amount becomes due and payable when the builder transfers the residence or the residence is occupied or upon the passage of certain time limits.

The N.C. Department of Revenue sent a letter to counties on October 15, 2009 that answers many of the questions that you may have.  However, the tax deferral program will be admistered by the county in which the property is located.  Forms and questions about the builder inventory tax deferral should be directed to the county tax department where the property is located.