§ 105-362. Discharge of lien on real property. - North Carolina Statutes

§105‑362.  Discharge of lien on real property.

(a)        General Rule. – Thetax lien on real property shall continue until the principal amount of thetaxes plus penalties, interest, and costs allowed by law have been fully paid.

(b)        Release of SeparateParcels from Tax Lien. –

(1)        When the lien oftaxes of any taxing unit for any year attaches to two or more parcels of realproperty owned by the same taxpayer, the lien may be discharged as to anyparcel at any time prior to advertisement of tax foreclosure sale in accordancewith either subdivision (b)(1)a or subdivision (b)(1)b:

a.         Upon payment, by oron behalf of the listing taxpayer, of the taxes for the year on the parcel orparcels to be released, of the taxes for the year on the parcel or parcels tobe released, plus all personal property taxes owed by the listing taxpayer forthe same year.

b.         Upon payment, by oron behalf of any person (other than the listing taxpayer) who has a legalinterest in the parcel or parcels to be released, of the taxes for the year onthe parcel or parcels to be released, plus a proportionate part of personalproperty taxes owed by the listing taxpayer for the same year. Theproportionate part shall be a percentage of the personal property taxes equalto the percentage of the total assessed valuation of the taxpayer's realproperty in the taxing unit represented by the assessed valuation of the parcelor parcels to be released.

(2)        When real propertylisted as one parcel is divided, a part thereof may be released as provided in subdivision(b)(1), above, after the assessed valuation of the part to be released has beendetermined and certified to the tax collector by the tax supervisor.

(3)        It shall be the dutyof the tax collector accepting a payment made under this subsection (b) for thepurpose of releasing the tax lien from less than all of the taxpayer's realproperty:

a.         To give the personmaking the payment a receipt setting forth a description of the real propertyreleased from the tax lien and bearing a statement that such property is beingreleased from the tax lien.

b.         To indicate on thetax receipts, tax records, and other official records of his office what realproperty has been released from the tax lien.

            If the taxcollector fails to issue the receipt or make the  record entries required bythis subdivision (3), the omission may be supplied at any time.

(4)        When any parcel ofreal property has been released under the provisions of this subsection (b)from the lien of taxes of any taxing unit for any year, the property shall notthereafter be subject to the lien of any other regularly levied taxes of thesame taxing unit for the same year, whether such other taxes be levied againstthe listing owner of the property or against some other person acquiring titlethereto. No tax foreclosure judgment for such other taxes shall become a lienon the released property; and, upon appropriate request and satisfactory proofof the release by any interested person, the clerk of the superior court shallindicate on the judgment docket that the judgment is not a lien on the releasedproperty. However, the failure to make such an entry shall not have the effectof making the judgment a lien on the released property. (1939,c. 310, s. 1704; 1971, c. 806, s. 1.)