Georgia Property Tax Appeals and Homestead Exemptions Explained

Georgia homeowners deal with two county offices. The board of tax assessors sets the value. The tax commissioner sends the bill and, in most counties, takes homestead exemption applications. The appeal deadline and the exemption deadline now overlap, so it makes sense to handle both when the annual assessment notice arrives. This guide covers the notice, the 45-day appeal window, the three appeal routes on Form PT-311A, and the state and local homestead exemptions, including the floating homestead exemption created by House Bill 581 and made mandatory by the 2026 HOME Act.

The short answer

• You have 45 days to appeal. The clock starts on the date the annual notice of assessment was mailed. Filing with the county assessors is free, on Form PT-311A or the county’s online portal.
• Most homeowners choose the Board of Equalization or arbitration. The hearing officer route is only for non-homestead property worth more than $500,000.
• You can still apply for homestead after April 1. Since House Bill 92 (2025), you can apply until your 45-day appeal window closes.
• The floating homestead exemption covers everyone from 2027. Senate Bill 33, the HOME Act, removes the local opt-out starting January 1, 2027, with 2026 values as the baseline.
• Check your 2026 bill for the $18,000 grant credit. The Department of Revenue says it reduces a homestead’s assessed value by $18,000 for most millage rates.
• Tell the county if you stop qualifying. Under Senate Bill 566, the department says unreported ineligibility can leave the unpaid tax plus a 50% penalty on the property.

How Georgia values a home

Property is valued as of January 1. According to the Georgia Department of Revenue’s valuation page (opens in a new tab), property is assessed at 40% of fair market value unless a law says otherwise. Fair market value means what a knowledgeable buyer and a willing seller would agree to in an arm’s-length sale. Homestead exemptions come off the 40% assessed value, not off market value, and the local millage rates are then applied to what remains. If you need a refresher on how these values relate, see our explainer on assessed, market, and taxable value.

Read the annual notice of assessment closely

The county assessors mail an annual notice of assessment. It is not a tax bill. It shows the value the county set, your appeal rights, and exemption information. The format has changed. Gwinnett County’s assessor FAQ (opens in a new tab) says that for 2026, state legislation (Senate Bill 566) took estimated taxes, assessed values, and estimated rollback rates off the notice and added an estimate of tax savings from exemptions. If you are comparing this year’s notice with an older one, expect fewer figures.

The Department of Revenue’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights page (opens in a new tab) lists protections that matter at this stage:

• If the assessment rises by more than 15%, the notice must include a plain-language explanation of why.
• If the board of assessors changes a value and you appeal, the board must prove the change is valid by a preponderance of the evidence.
• You can ask once to reschedule a hearing, and hearing times can run from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Before deciding whether to appeal, check the county’s record of your home: square footage, bedroom and bathroom counts, lot size, and condition. A wrong fact is often easier to fix than a disputed opinion of value.

The 45-day appeal window

Appeals are governed by O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311. The department’s real and personal property FAQ (opens in a new tab) says you have 45 days from the date the notice was mailed. Gwinnett counts the 45 days from the date printed in the upper right corner of the notice. In Gwinnett, online appeals must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on the deadline, mailed appeals must be postmarked by that date, and email and fax are not accepted. Filing with the county assessors costs nothing.

The statewide appeal form is PT-311A, Appeal of Assessment. Some counties also take appeals through an online portal. On the form you check the grounds for appeal (value, uniformity, taxability, exemption denied, or breach or denial of a covenant) and enter the value you believe is correct, which is required. You must also choose one of these routes:

The form also lets you go directly to superior court, but only with the board of assessors’ consent. A typical homeowner will choose between the BOE and arbitration. Most homesteads are not eligible for a hearing officer.

What happens after you file

Gwinnett’s property appeals page (opens in a new tab) shows the usual sequence. First, appraisal staff review the appeal. If they change the value, you receive an amended notice of assessment and have 30 days to accept or reject it. If the matter is not settled, it goes to the Board of Equalization. After a BOE decision, Gwinnett allows 30 days to file its continuance form and request a settlement conference. If that fails, the appeal is certified to the superior court.

Bills often go out before the appeal is resolved. In that case, Gwinnett sends a partial, temporary bill based on the lesser of 100% of last year’s value or 85% of the value under appeal. Pay it on time to avoid penalties. Once the appeal is final, the bill is adjusted. If an appeal goes to court and the final value is 85% or less of the value set by the BOE, hearing officer, or arbitrator, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights allows the owner to recover litigation costs and attorney fees.

Strong evidence for a homestead includes sales of similar nearby homes close to January 1, a recent appraisal, dated photos of condition problems, and repair estimates. If you choose arbitration, the appraisal must be signed by a licensed appraiser and dated near January 1. Our appeal preparation checklist shows how to organize the evidence.

Filing for the homestead exemption

To get the exemption for a given tax year, you must own and live in the home on January 1. The Department of Revenue’s homestead page (opens in a new tab) says the traditional filing deadline is April 1, the same as the return deadline. Owners can now also apply until the end of their 45-day appeal window. That second chance came from House Bill 92 (2025), as Houston County’s assessment FAQ (opens in a new tab) explains. You file with the county tax commissioner, or with the tax assessors in counties that have delegated the job. Gwinnett’s tax commissioner says approved exemptions renew automatically unless you become ineligible and that processing takes six to eight weeks. Don’t wait until the deadline.

The exemptions the state offers include:

• Standard homestead: $2,000 off the 40% assessed value for county and school taxes. It does not apply to taxes that pay bonded debt.
• Age 65 and older: $4,000 off county taxes if the income of the owner and spouse was $10,000 or less for the prior year. Retirement and pension income is excluded up to the Social Security maximum. The department’s page still lists $96,432 for 2025. Using the department’s formula, DeKalb’s tax commissioner (opens in a new tab) lists $99,648 for joint applicants for 2026 ($49,824 for an individual).
• Age 62 and older, school taxes: up to $10,000 of assessed value, with the same income test.
• Floating inflation-proof exemption (age 62 and older): applies to county taxes when the home’s value has risen by more than $10,000. The household income limit is $30,000.

Many counties have adopted larger local exemptions, and the local exemption is usually worth more. The department lists counties with a valuation freeze, including Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, DeKalb, Chatham, Cherokee, Forsyth, and Henry. Senior benefits also vary a lot by county. Gwinnett’s senior exemption FAQ (opens in a new tab) describes a full exemption from Gwinnett County Board of Education taxes for owners 65 or older, covering the home and up to one acre, with a 2026 combined income limit of $124,648. DeKalb’s tax commissioner (opens in a new tab) explains that its county assessment freeze does not apply to school, city, or state taxes. For more on how seniors compare across states, see our senior relief overview. For how homestead exemptions work in other states, see our homestead exemption guide.

Report it if you no longer qualify

Senate Bill 566 (2026) changed the notice of assessment. The Department of Revenue’s 2026 legislative update for local officials (opens in a new tab) says the notice must now tell owners they can apply for homestead during the 45-day appeal window. It must also tell them to notify local tax officials if they are no longer eligible. The same update says SB 566 creates a statewide “Homestead Registry” of approved and denied applications, starting with the 2026 digest. Owners should report ineligibility by the last day of the appeal period. If they don’t, the department says the unpaid tax and a 50% penalty follow the property, not the taxpayer. If you move out, rent the home, or no longer meet an age or income test, tell the tax commissioner.

HB 581 and the statewide floating homestead exemption

House Bill 581 (2024) created a statewide floating homestead exemption. The department’s Informational Bulletin 2025-01 (opens in a new tab) explains how it works. Unless a county, consolidated government, city, or school district opted out, each homestead is exempt from that government’s taxes on the amount by which this year’s assessed value exceeds the prior adjusted base-year value. For the 2025 digest, the base year is the 2024 assessed value, so the taxable assessment on a qualifying homestead did not rise from 2024 to 2025. Starting with the 2026 digest, the base is adjusted each year by an inflation rate equal to the prior year’s change in the CPI-U.

For 2025 and 2026, each taxing government decided separately whether to opt out. Your county might take part while your school district opted out, or the other way around, so one tax bill can contain both treatments. For 2026, ask your tax commissioner which of your taxing jurisdictions participate. You do not have to give up a local freeze that is more generous.

SB 33, the HOME Act, ends the opt-out in 2027

Governor Kemp signed Senate Bill 33, the Homeownership Opportunity and Market Equalization (HOME) Act of 2026, on May 11, 2026, according to the Georgia Senate Press Office (opens in a new tab). The Department of Revenue’s 2026 legislative update (opens in a new tab) summarizes what it does:

• No more opt-out. The HB 581 opt-out is removed. The statewide floating exemption applies to every county, city, and school district from January 1, 2027.
• New baseline. The statewide exemption uses 2026 values as its base.
• A new local sales tax for homeowners. SB 33 creates a Local Homestead Option Sales Tax (LHOST). A county needs a local act of the General Assembly and a referendum, held only in March or November. The tax can last up to 10 years and can be renewed by referendum. The money goes mainly to reduce taxes on homesteads, and tax bills must show the savings.

If one of your jurisdictions opted out of HB 581, expect the floating exemption to appear for it on your 2027 bill.

Hypothetical worked example

All figures are invented for illustration and are not current rates. Suppose a homestead with a 2025 base-year assessed value of $160,000 is valued at $440,000 for 2026, which is an assessed value of $176,000 (40%). If the inflation index were 3%, the adjusted base would be $164,800 ($160,000 × 1.03). For a participating government, the floating exemption would be $11,200 ($176,000 − $164,800). After the $2,000 standard exemption, $162,800 would be taxable. At a hypothetical 20 mills ($20 per $1,000), that government’s tax would be $3,256. Without the floating exemption it would be $3,480. A taxing jurisdiction that opted out would tax the full $176,000 less its other exemptions. From 2027, SB 33 removes that opt-out.

A 2026 credit to check on your bill

Per the Department of Revenue’s 2026 Property Tax Relief Grant page (opens in a new tab), HB 439, signed May 12, 2026, funds a one-time credit equal to an $18,000 reduction in a homestead’s assessed value. It does not apply to bond millage, certain special service district rates, or tax allocation district rates. It shows up as a reduction on the bill, not as a check, and only homesteads that are on file by the April 1 deadline qualify. If your bill shows no homestead exemption, contact the tax commissioner right away.

Common mistakes

• Treating the notice as a bill and missing the 45-day window.
• Leaving the owner’s value assertion blank on PT-311A.
• Picking arbitration without getting a certified appraisal on time.
• Assuming a homestead exemption carries over after a sale or refinance into a new name. The new owner must apply.
• Not paying the temporary bill while the appeal is pending.

For local contacts and links, start at the Georgia county directory, or go directly to Fulton County or Gwinnett County.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to appeal my property assessment in Georgia?

45 days from the date the county mailed your annual notice of assessment. File Form PT-311A or use your county’s online portal. Filing with the board of assessors is free. Our appeal preparation checklist covers the evidence.

Can I still apply for a homestead exemption in Georgia after April 1?

Yes. Since House Bill 92 (2025), you can apply until your 45-day appeal window closes. You must have owned and lived in the home on January 1.

Did my county opt out of the floating homestead exemption?

Some did for 2025 and 2026. Each county, city, and school district decided separately, so ask your tax commissioner. Starting January 1, 2027, SB 33 removes the opt-out, so every jurisdiction must apply it.

How much is the 2026 Georgia property tax relief grant?

The Department of Revenue says it equals an $18,000 reduction in a homestead’s assessed value. It shows up as a credit on your bill, not a check. It does not cover bond millage, certain special service district rates, or tax allocation district rates.

What happens if I keep a homestead exemption I no longer qualify for?

The Department of Revenue says SB 566 asks owners to report ineligibility by the end of the appeal period. Otherwise, the unpaid tax and a 50% penalty follow the property. Tell the tax commissioner as soon as your situation changes.

Sources reviewed October 26, 2026. Procedures, fees, and local exemptions vary by county, and Gwinnett is used as the example. Confirm details with your own board of assessors and tax commissioner.