What does nobody tell you about new construction in Union County NC? That your first tax bill is often figured on little more than the lot, so an Indian Trail home assessed at $100,000 on January 1 and $500,000 a year later goes from $604.20 to $3,021.00 in property tax, and that a new lawn goes in under Stage 2 rules allowing spray irrigation two days a week, according to Steve Jarrell, Team Lead of The Longleaf Group at eXp Realty, from Union County’s 2026-2027 tax rate sheet and Union County Water’s restrictions page, read October 20, 2026.
If you’re comparing a builder’s base price against a resale house, there’s a good chance the number on the sign already feels like the whole story. It’s true that a new home skips the roof, the water heater and the dated kitchen you’d budget for on a resale. But Union County has its own rules on taxes, water and trash, and they decide what that house costs you in year one and year two. Here’s each one with the county’s current figures, so you can budget the house you’re buying.
14 min read | By Steve Jarrell, The Longleaf Group at eXp Realty | Updated October 2026
Free · 26-Page Insider Guide
Compare Union County towns before you pick a lot
Towns compared, NC vs SC taxes and schools side by side, and the 5 mistakes out-of-state buyers make.
What This Guide Covers
- What does the base price leave out in Union County?
- Why your first tax bill is so small
- The town line sets the rest of the tax bill
- Your new lawn arrives under watering rules
- Trash pickup and the water account
- Frequently asked questions
What does the base price leave out in Union County?
The base price on a new Union County home covers the house and the cost of connecting it, and it leaves out the bills that start after closing. Union County Water’s FY 2027 Rate and Fee Schedule, adopted with the county budget on June 16, 2026, charges $4,669 for water and $10,800 for sewer as one-time system development fees on each new 3/4-inch connection. That’s $15,469 per house, charged to new development, which is part of why a new home costs what it does. It’s built into the builder’s cost, so you won’t usually see it as its own line at closing.
The Short Answer
On a new home in Union County, plan for a small first tax bill and a much larger second one, a town or fire district rate stacked on the county’s 43.42 cents, a new lawn under Union County Water’s Stage 2 limits, and, in some towns, your own trash service. Figures are from Union County, Union County Water and North Carolina law, read October 20, 2026.
Key numbers, Union County NC, FY 2026-2027 (sources: Union County Tax Administration, Union County Water, U.S. Census Bureau):
- County property tax rate: 43.42 cents per $100 of assessed value
- Town rates on top of it: 0 cents (Hemby Bridge) to 53 cents (Marshville)
- Fire district rates, where a district applies: 2.57 to 10.00 cents
- Spray irrigation under Stage 2, in effect since May 15, 2026: two days a week
- Water and sewer system development fees per new 3/4-inch connection: $15,469
- Building permits for new single-family homes, countywide, 2025: 2,387
Plenty of new homes are going up. The U.S. Census Bureau’s Building Permits Survey counted 2,387 new single-family homes permitted in Union County in 2025, up from 2,166 in 2024, about 10.2 percent more in one year. You can learn the items below before you sign rather than one bill at a time.
When a buyer tells me the new house and the resale house down the road cost about the same, I ask them to compare the monthly payment in year two, not year one. The resale comes with a full tax bill and a lawn that’s already rooted. The new one often comes with a first tax bill figured on the lot, a second one figured on the whole house, and sod you’re allowed to spray twice a week right now. None of that is a reason to skip new construction. It’s a reason to budget the second year before you fall for the model home.
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Why your first tax bill is so small
Your first tax bill on a new Union County home is often small because North Carolina values real estate as of January 1. Under G.S. 105-285, the value of real property “shall be determined as of January 1” of the years state law sets. Under the companion statute, G.S. 105-287, a change in value from new construction counts from January 1 of the year the county makes it, and it isn’t retroactive. So if your house was a graded lot or a frame on January 1, that’s what the bill for that year is figured on.
Here’s what that does to a real budget. Say you close in May on a new home in Indian Trail (a Union County town on Charlotte’s southeast side) and the parcel was assessed at $100,000 on January 1, mostly land. At the 2026-2027 combined rate of 60.42 cents per $100 (43.42 county plus 17 town), that year’s bill is $604.20. The next January the finished house gets listed. If it comes in at $500,000, the bill becomes $3,021.00, plus the town’s stormwater fee. That’s $2,416.80 more a year, or about $201.40 a month.
The month is where it bites. Many lenders collect property tax through an escrow account, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s explainer on escrow says it directly: when your property taxes change, your escrow payment and your total monthly payment change with them. A payment quoted off the small first bill is a payment that goes up. Ask your lender which tax figure they used before you lock.
There’s a second wrinkle. Union County’s last countywide reappraisal took effect January 1, 2025, and the county’s appraisal page says buildings added to a parcel after January 1, 2025 are valued the same as similar buildings that existed at that time. In plain terms, your new house is valued on the 2025 schedule, not on your contract price. The assessed value can land above or below what you paid. Union County property taxes are due September 1 and can be paid through January 5 without interest.
If you’re coming from Florida or Texas, you may expect a homestead break to soften this. North Carolina’s homestead exclusion, G.S. 105-277.1, applies to an owner who is at least 65 or totally and permanently disabled and who falls under a yearly income limit. If that isn’t you, budget the full bill.
The town line sets the rest of the tax bill
Wherever you buy in Union County, the county rate is the same and the town rate is what moves your bill. Union County’s 2026-2027 tax rate sheet lists the county at 43.42 cents per $100 and stacks each town’s rate on top. A builder’s community can carry a Waxhaw or Monroe mailing address and still sit outside the town, so the parcel’s tax record matters more than the sign at the entrance.
| Location | Town rate (cents per $100) | Combined with county 43.42 | Yearly tax on $500,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Monroe | 44.00 | 87.42 | $4,371.00 |
| Town of Waxhaw | 29.00 | 72.42 | $3,621.00 |
| Town of Stallings | 20.90 | 64.32 | $3,216.00 plus a stormwater fee |
| Town of Indian Trail | 17.00 | 60.42 | $3,021.00 plus a stormwater fee |
| Village of Marvin | 5.63 | 49.05 | $2,452.50 plus a $250 solid waste fee |
| Town of Weddington | 3.50 | 46.92 | $2,346.00 |
| Village of Wesley Chapel | 2.25 | 45.67 | $2,283.50 |
| Town of Mineral Springs | 1.75 | 45.17 | $2,258.50 |
| Unincorporated Union County | none | 43.42 | $2,171.00 plus any fire district rate |
The spread is wide. On the same $500,000 assessment, a Monroe home pays $2,200 a year more than one in unincorporated Union County, before any fire district. Marshville, not in the table, sits higher still at 53 cents. What you get for it differs too, which is the part a rate sheet can’t show: Monroe runs its own water system, and Wesley Chapel and Mineral Springs, two low-rate towns, leave trash pickup to you.
A fire district line can be added too. Union County’s 2026-2027 fire tax rate sheet lists 17 fire protection districts, from 2.57 cents (Sandy Ridge) to 10.00 cents (Wingate). On a $500,000 home that’s $128.50 to $500.00 a year. Which district, if any, applies is set parcel by parcel, so look up the address before you assume. Union County’s tax rate sheet also lists a stormwater fee for Indian Trail, Stallings and Lake Park, and the $250 solid waste fee for Marvin.
If the town decision is still open, two pages on this site go deeper. The Mint Hill vs Indian Trail cost comparison runs the tax and water math side by side, and the Indian Trail community guide covers what the town looks like day to day.
The video below walks one Indian Trail new construction community: its advertised starting price, its HOA dues and the schools it’s assigned to.
Your new lawn arrives under watering rules
A new lawn in Union County goes in under Union County Water’s year-round irrigation limits, and right now those limits are tighter than usual. The county’s current restrictions page lists Stage 2 as the current stage, effective May 15, 2026. Spray irrigation is limited to two days a week, between midnight and 8 a.m. or 8 p.m. and midnight. Even-numbered addresses water Tuesdays and Saturdays; odd-numbered addresses water Wednesdays and Sundays.
Even in a normal year the rule is three days a week. Stage 0, the county’s year-round baseline, allows spray irrigation Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for even addresses and Wednesday, Friday and Sunday for odd ones, with no spraying on Mondays. If you’re putting down new sod and need more than that, the county’s answer is a temporary variance: the irrigation variance application says a variance “cannot exceed 45 days,” the fee is $50 from July 1, 2026, and it’s accepted only in Stages 0, 1 and 2.
Two details on the county’s conservation FAQ are worth knowing before you close. Spray irrigation is what’s regulated; watering cans, drip lines and soaker hoses have no restriction until Stage 4. And if your HOA writes you up for a brown lawn, the county says HOAs fall under the same rules and are “encouraged to be lenient,” but “Union County is not party to covenants between homeowner associations and their members.” Get the builder’s sod date and the HOA’s lawn standard in writing.
The meter decides what the watering costs. Union County Water’s FY 2027 Rate and Fee Schedule bills residential sewer at $10.36 per 1,000 gallons of water used, up to 12,000 gallons a month, so lawn water through the house meter is billed as sewer too.
Take a home using 4,000 gallons indoors that adds 6,000 gallons for the lawn. Through the house meter, those 6,000 gallons add $43.89 in water and $62.16 in sewer, $106.05 for the month, because those gallons fall in the $6.03 and $8.60 tiers above the first 3,000. Through a separate irrigation meter they’d cost $63.00 at the irrigation rate of $10.50 per 1,000 gallons, before that meter’s own monthly base charge, or $43.05 less.
Union County Water’s installation fee for a 3/4-inch meter is $600, and the schedule charges no system development fees on a residential irrigation meter added beside the house meter.
One exception changes all of this. The restrictions apply only to Union County Water customers. The county’s FAQ notes that Monroe, Marshville and Wingate run their own water service, and a home on a private well isn’t covered by county restrictions at all. Ask the builder who supplies the water.
Before you sign on a new home in Union County, I’d ask the builder three questions in writing: when the sod goes down, whether an irrigation meter is part of the price, and which water provider serves the lot. Then I’d pull the parcel’s tax record and run the second-year bill at the town’s rate. If the sod is going down during a drought stage, I’d apply for the 45-day variance as soon as the water account is in your name.
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Book a 15-minute call →Trash pickup and the water account
Trash pickup at a new Union County home depends on which side of a town line the house sits. Union County’s curbside page says it plainly: “Union County does not provide curbside garbage or recycling collection services.” Indian Trail, Lake Park, Marshville, Marvin, Monroe, Stallings, Waxhaw, Weddington and Wingate provide it through a town contract. Fairview, Hemby Bridge, Mineral Springs, Unionville and Wesley Chapel don’t, and the county points those residents to private haulers.
Outside the towns, the same holds. A house in unincorporated Union County has no public curbside service, so you hire a private hauler or take it to a county site yourself. The county runs five residential convenience centers, open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and its Trash Pass program takes up to 10 standard 13-gallon bags a day for free with proof of county residency. Recycling is free at every county site.
The water account is the other first-week item. Union County Water charges a $25 account setup fee and a refundable deposit of $0, $75 or $150 based on a credit check, or $150 if you skip the check. Before you run a tap, a 3/4-inch residential meter carries a monthly base charge of $18.33 for water and $21.69 for sewer, $40.02 together, from July 1, 2026. Water then starts at $4.39 per 1,000 gallons for the first 3,000.
Most of these are small on their own. Together they’re the difference between the price you were quoted and the cost of living in the house, and they’re the same whichever production builder you choose. For community-level detail, the Indian Trail new construction guide and the Monroe new construction guide cover who’s building where, and the South Charlotte communities hub compares the towns.
Frequently Asked Questions About New Construction in Union County NC
What does nobody tell you about new construction in Union County NC?
Your first tax bill is often figured on little more than the lot, so an Indian Trail home assessed at $100,000 on January 1 and $500,000 a year later goes from $604.20 to $3,021.00 in property tax, and a new lawn goes in under Stage 2 rules allowing spray irrigation two days a week, according to Steve Jarrell, Team Lead of The Longleaf Group at eXp Realty, from Union County’s 2026-2027 tax rate sheet and Union County Water’s restrictions page, read October 20, 2026. Trash service and a town or fire district tax rate also depend on the lot.
Why is the first property tax bill on a new home in Union County so low?
North Carolina values real estate as of January 1 under G.S. 105-285, so the bill for the year you close reflects the parcel as it stood that January 1, often a lot or a partly built house. The full house is billed starting the next year. In Indian Trail at the 2026-2027 combined rate of 60.42 cents, a $100,000 assessment bills $604.20 and a $500,000 assessment bills $3,021.00.
What is the property tax rate in Union County NC for 2026-2027?
Union County’s 2026-2027 rate is 43.42 cents per $100 of assessed value. Town rates stack on top, from 0 cents in Hemby Bridge to 53 cents in Marshville, with Monroe at 44 cents, and 17 fire protection districts add 2.57 to 10.00 cents where they apply. On a $500,000 home the county share alone is $2,171.00 a year.
How often can I water a new lawn in Union County NC?
Under Stage 2, in effect since May 15, 2026, Union County Water customers may use spray irrigation two days a week, before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m.: Tuesdays and Saturdays for even addresses, Wednesdays and Sundays for odd ones. In the normal Stage 0 the limit is three days a week. New sod can qualify for a variance of up to 45 days, with a $50 fee.
Is trash pickup included for new homes in Union County NC?
It depends on the town. Union County does not provide curbside collection. Indian Trail, Lake Park, Marshville, Marvin, Monroe, Stallings, Waxhaw, Weddington and Wingate provide it by town contract, while Fairview, Hemby Bridge, Mineral Springs, Unionville, Wesley Chapel and unincorporated areas rely on private haulers or the county’s five convenience centers.
Does Union County NC charge impact fees on new homes?
Union County Water charges one-time system development fees to new development: $4,669 for water and $10,800 for sewer on a 3/4-inch connection, $15,469 together, under the FY 2027 Rate and Fee Schedule. They’re charged to new development, so on a builder’s home they’re part of what the house cost to build rather than a fee you pay at closing.
About the Author
I’m a licensed North Carolina and South Carolina broker and the Team Lead of The Longleaf Group at eXp Realty, which I co-lead with my wife Amanda. Before real estate, I joined VisualTour as President, led its rebrand to Paradym, and led the company to its acquisition by Constellation Software in 2020. I hold an MBA from the University of Tennessee with concentrations in Marketing and Innovation. The Longleaf Group is an eXp ICON Team and a RealTrends Verified Top Team by Volume for 2026, with 170+ five-star reviews.
I sell homes in Union County’s towns every week, new construction and resale, and I live in Weddington. If you’re weighing a new home here, call me at 704-774-7170 and I’ll run the year-two numbers on the lot you’re looking at.