Buncombe County property owners are reminded that the deadline to pay 2025 property tax bills without incurring penalties is January 5, 2026. Bills were mailed in August and were due on September 1, but residents have until early January to avoid interest charges.
Payments can be made online, by mail, over the phone, at a drop-off box, or in person at the Tax Department’s new location at 182 College St. in downtown Asheville. Those parking in the County’s deck at 164 College St. can receive parking validation when visiting the Property Tax Department.
The County notes that if you choose to mail your payment, it is considered received based on the USPS postmark date. If there is no USPS postmark, then the payment is marked as received on its arrival date at the office. Mail metered by third parties does not count as postmarked by USPS. To ensure a valid postmark date, residents are encouraged to visit a post office directly.
“Don’t let inclement weather or holiday closures catch you off guard in January,” Buncombe County staff stated.
Interest will begin accruing on unpaid bills starting January 6, 2026. The Tax Collections office will be closed for winter holidays from December 24-26 and on January 1.
Processing fees apply to credit and debit payments: credit card transactions incur an additional fee of 2.35% of the total amount and debit card transactions carry a $3.95 fee. These fees are charged by the payment processor and are not retained by Buncombe County.
A General Reappraisal process is underway with new assessed values reflecting current market conditions taking effect in January 2026. For questions about reappraisal or other concerns, residents may visit buncombenc.gov/myvalueBC or contact the Property Assessment team at (828) 250-4920.
Property owners can access their bill information using Buncombe County’s property tax lookup tool at tax.buncombenc.gov where they can also review home data, file appeals, check comparable home sales in their neighborhood, learn about tax relief programs for veterans and seniors, use GIS mapping tools, and more.
For additional assistance, Tax Collection specialists are available via email or phone at (828) 250-4910.
Recent education data shows that college readiness among Buncombe County students varies by subject area: For example, during the 2022-23 school year,
28.5% of senior students were deemed ready for college-level science according to ACT results (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/), while juniors had a slightly higher rate of readiness at 30.1% (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/). In reading,
41.1% of seniors were considered college-ready (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/) compared to
43.2% of juniors (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/). Math scores showed
25.6% readiness among seniors (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/) and
32.7% among juniors (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/).
