Georgia homestead exemption can save homeowners $300-1,500+ per year. Learn what exemptions are available by county, how to apply, and why combining it with a BOE appeal saves even more.
Georgia law (O.C.G.A. §48-5-44) provides a $2,000 exemption from the assessed value of your homestead property for school tax purposes. Since Georgia assessed value is 40% of fair market value, a $2,000 exemption reduces your taxable base by $2,000 for school district taxes. At a typical school millage rate of 20 mills (2%), this saves approximately $40 per year — modest, but it is only the state floor. County and city exemptions on top of this can be dramatically larger.
Georgia counties and cities can offer additional homestead exemptions beyond the state base. These vary dramatically and can save thousands of dollars per year. Here are some of the most significant.
Georgia offers significant additional exemptions for qualifying senior homeowners. Property owners 65 and older who meet income requirements may qualify for exemptions that freeze assessed value or provide additional reductions. Veterans with service-connected disabilities receive exemptions scaling to full tax exemption for total disability.
Homestead exemptions reduce your taxable assessed value by fixed amounts. A property tax appeal reduces your fair market value — from which assessed value is derived. Both work on different parts of the calculation and should both be pursued. A successful appeal that reduces FMV by $50,000 reduces assessed value (40%) by $20,000. With a $30,000 Fulton County homestead exemption on top, you effectively reduce your taxable base by $50,000. Both reductions are additive.
TaxAppeal USA handles the property tax appeal — the BOE petition — for $89 flat. Apply for all homestead exemptions you qualify for separately through your county tax commissioner (free). Using both tools, Georgia homeowners capture the maximum possible property tax reduction.
$89 flat fee. You sign it, we file it. You keep 100% of your savings.
TaxAppeal USA is a self-service document-preparation and mail filing service. In every state we serve, including Florida, we are not property tax consultants, agents, or representatives, we do not provide tax or legal advice, and we do not represent customers before any appraisal district, board of equalization, value adjustment board, or review board. Every protest and petition is prepared for the property owner, signed by the owner, and filed in the owner’s name. In Florida we also pay your county’s Value Adjustment Board filing fee on your behalf and mail your petition to the Clerk of the Value Adjustment Board. Your petition is signed by you as the property owner under section 194.011(3), Florida Statutes. TaxAppeal USA does not sign as your representative, does not appear before the Board, and does not present evidence or argument at a hearing.