Georgia Homestead Exemption: Rules & Savings

Georgia’s standard statewide homestead exemption is $2,000 of assessed value for qualifying county and school taxes, subject to statutory exceptions. Georgia property is generally assessed at 40% of fair market value. Counties and cities can provide larger local exemptions, so the actual exemption on your property may be substantially more than $2,000.

April 1 remains the normal current-year filing deadline. Current Georgia law also allows a homeowner whose property is subject to reassessment to apply in conjunction with or instead of an assessment appeal through the final day of the applicable appeal period. Assessment notices generally provide a 45-day appeal window.

Apply through the local tax office responsible for homestead in the county where the property is located. In some counties that is the Tax Commissioner; in others, the Board of Tax Assessors or assessor office receives applications. Use Georgia DOR’s County Property Tax Facts directory to identify the correct office and official website.

County requirements vary. Georgia’s state application asks for applicant and spouse information, property address, parcel number, purchase date, seller, purchase price, deed book/page, title information, lot or acreage, voter-registration county, vehicle-registration county, military home of record where applicable, and information about rental or business use. Local offices can request Georgia identification and additional proof.

The dollar savings depend on the millage rate. Because the $2,000 is deducted from assessed value, an applicable 20-mill levy would produce approximately $40 of savings from that $2,000 exemption, while a 25-mill levy would produce approximately $50. Local exemptions can be significantly larger and produce much greater savings.

Georgia Department of Revenue Policy Bulletin 2026-01 establishes a 2.7% Annual Inflationary Index Rate for the 2026 digest year for purposes of the HB 581 floating homestead framework. The rate affects the adjusted base-year assessed-value calculation; it does not mean market value can increase by only 2.7%.

Georgia’s 2026 Homeownership Opportunity and Market Equalization Act removes the earlier HB 581 opt-out framework. Georgia DOR’s 2026 legislative update states that the statewide FLOAT will apply beginning January 1, 2027, using 2026 values as the baseline. Homeowners should review their 2026 assessment because it can become important to the future base-year calculation.

Georgia DOR’s 2026 legislative update states that $850 million was appropriated for Homeowner Tax Relief Grants and that the program continues an $18,000 assessed-value reduction per eligible homestead. It is separate from the normal homestead exemption and is not an $18,000 cash payment to the homeowner. Local county and municipal governments participate through the tax-relief administration process.

Generally no. Once properly approved, the exemption is normally renewed while the same owner continuously occupies the residence as a qualifying homestead. The owner must notify the responsible local tax official when eligibility ends. Current 2026 law strengthens the reporting rules for an exemption that continues to appear after the taxpayer becomes ineligible.

Read the denial or annual assessment notice, contact the county office to identify the reason, gather documentation addressing the issue and use the Georgia assessment appeal process when necessary. Form PT-311A is the statewide Appeal of Assessment form, and appeals are filed with the County Board of Tax Assessors within the deadline stated on the annual notice.