The top Republican in the North Carolina Senate — who is facing a tough Republican primary challenge in his home district — is proposing a 12-month freeze on property tax revaluation changes by counties, an announcement that comes days before the election.

Senate leader Phil Berger, from Rockingham County, said the break would allow lawmakers to adopt needed property tax reforms, an issue for many homeowners across the state. He plans to propose the legislation in April.

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Berger, who has led the chamber since 2011, faces a stiff primary challenge from Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, a race that has drawn national attention. 

President Donald Trump endorsed Berger, but has also had nice things to say about Page, who helped lead Trump’s reelection campaign in North Carolina in 2020. 

Berger helped the state redraw its congressional districts earlier this year, hoping to add another Republican seat. He has consistently pushed for lower taxes throughout his tenure, which has led, in part, to the current budget standoff with Republicans in the state House.

“North Carolinians are shouldering the burden of massive increases in local budgets,” Berger said in a statement. “It doesn’t matter to our citizens if a tax is paid to the state or local government; it’s their money coming out of their pockets.”

Berger previously created a 10-member committee of Republicans to examine the issue. House Speaker Destin Hall has formed a bipartisan committee to look at property taxes. The House committee met in December, January and again this month. The Senate committee has yet to meet.

Property taxes are collected by cities and states, which are in charge of setting the rates. Even if city and county leaders don’t raise rates, increasing property values can lead to higher bills for homeowners — at a time when affordability is a key issue in federal, state and local elections.

Kevin Leonard, the head of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, told lawmakers in January that home prices have gone up in all 71 counties that have done property revaluations in the last three years. Each of those counties lowered their property tax rates, he said. But not every county went revenue-neutral, meaning that some people still ended up paying more even though the rates went down.

Page told WRAL that he supports proposed legislation from Rep. John Blust, R-Guilford County, that would require counties to keep property taxes revenue neutral after revaluations. The proposal didn’t get a vote in the House or the Senate in 2025. He said Berger could have supported that measure previously.

“If you don’t lower the tax rate to revenue neutral, it’s a tax increase,” Page said. “I don’t want to see our senior citizens who have invested in their home get taxed out of their homes.”

According to the state Department of Revenue, Wake County did its latest revaluation in 2024 and isn’t set for another one until 2027. Durham County conducted its latest revelation in 2025 and its next is set for 2029. Orange County’s next revaluation is set for 2029 and Cumberland County’s is planned for 2033.

At least a dozen counties are set for revaluations in 2026 and a quarter of North Carolina’s 100 counties are planning a revaluation in 2027.

Guilford County, which is part of Berger’s district, is in the process of a revaluation with some homeowners saying their property values have gone up 40% to 60%, according to news reports.