Your tax bill, explained

A home in the Town of Cary, Wake County. Enter your own assessed value to see where every dollar of your property tax goes — and how it compares with each government’s “no-raise” rate. Updated 2026-10-06.

$3,618 a year — about $302 a month

On an assessed value of $400,000. An estimate from published rates — your own tax notice is the final word.

Of every $100 you pay

Wake County$59.37 · $2,148 a year

Town of Cary$40.63 · $1,470 a year

Where it ends up — every government’s share, by what it pays for

County services$59.37 · $2,148

City services$40.63 · $1,470

Each government’s share is one slice unless it publishes a debt split.

The “no-raise” rate — how this state handles it

North Carolina publishes a “revenue-neutral” rate only in a revaluation year. Wake County’s next revaluation takes effect January 1, 2027, so none applies to FY2027.

Wake County and Cary adopt their rates with the budget each June. Meetings are on the calendar.

Each government, line by line

Wake County — $2,148 a year

$0.5371 per $100 on $400,000 of taxable value · adopted June 1, 2026 (FY2027) · Wake County — FY2027 budget adopted

County services (including school operations funding)$2,148

Town of Cary — $1,470 a year

$0.3675 per $100 on $400,000 of taxable value · adopted June 25, 2026 (FY2027) · Town of Cary — FY2027 budget adopted

Town services$1,470

What this doesn’t show — the honest limits

Fees and assessments on the same bill — stormwater, trash, street lights and others — aren’t property taxes and aren’t included.
Senior, veteran, widow and disability exemptions aren’t modeled.
North Carolina’s elderly, disabled and veteran relief programs aren’t modeled.
Spreading a government’s tax across its whole budget is a fair picture, not a receipt: most budgets also run on other money (sales tax, state aid, fees).

Related: Tax lab — change the rates · The money trail · What if we saved?. This page computes and cites; it doesn’t say what any rate should be. Spot an error? Report it.