What evidence wins Georgia property tax appeals? Comparable sales are essential, but Georgia's 40% assessment ratio and two-way review risk require specific strategy. TaxAppeal: $89 ready-to-sign kit.
Georgia law requires that assessed value be set at 40% of fair market value (O.C.G.A. §48-5-2). This means if your home's fair market value is $400,000, your assessed value should be $160,000. Your tax bill is calculated on the $160,000 assessed value at the applicable millage rate. When you appeal in Georgia, you are arguing about the fair market value — not the assessed value or the millage rate. A $50,000 reduction in fair market value reduces your assessed value by $20,000 (40% of $50,000).
Comparable sales are the foundation of every successful Georgia property tax appeal. You need recent sales of similar properties — same county, similar size and age, similar condition and location — that sold for less than the assessor's fair market value estimate for your property. Georgia assessors use a January 1 valuation date, so sales within the prior 12 months carry the most weight.
Georgia has some unique evidence considerations compared to Texas and Florida. First, Georgia assessors are familiar with the argument that assessment ratios should be uniform — if your comparable properties are assessed at lower percentages of their sale prices than your property is, this supports an equalization argument. Second, condition evidence is particularly important in Georgia because many assessment models use older condition ratings that do not reflect current property status.
TaxAppeal USA's Georgia appeal includes comparable sales analysis specific to your county and neighborhood, a narrative explaining why the evidence supports a lower fair market value, and the appeal form your county accepts, filled in. All assembled and mailed to you ready to sign, with a return envelope addressed to your county Board of Assessors. You sign it and mail it before your 45-day deadline. Flat $89.
We check first. If an appeal will lower your bill, we mail you a ready-to-sign kit for $89 flat. You sign it and mail it, and you keep 100% of your savings.
TaxAppeal USA is a self-service document-preparation service. We prepare a ready-to-sign appeal kit and mail it to you; you sign it and mail it to the county yourself. 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 file appeals or represent customers before any appraisal district, board of assessors, board of equalization, value adjustment board, or review board. Every appeal, protest and petition is prepared for the property owner, signed by the owner, and mailed by the owner in the owner’s name. In Florida your petition is signed by you as the property owner under section 194.011(3), Florida Statutes, and the county’s Value Adjustment Board filing fee is paid by you directly to the county. TaxAppeal USA does not sign as your representative, does not appear before the Board, and does not present evidence or argument at a hearing.