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Georgia property tax
Georgia assesses most property at 40% of fair market value. A standard state homestead exemption subtracts $2,000 from that assessed value. Many counties grant larger local exemptions or freeze values, so the state figures are only the floor.
Homestead, senior and veteran exemptions
To claim a homestead you generally must have owned and occupied the home as your legal residence on January 1 (O.C.G.A. s. 48-5-40). Applications are filed with the county tax commissioner or, in some counties, the tax assessor. You may apply through April 1, or through the end of your 45-day window to appeal the assessment notice.
State-level exemptions described by the Georgia Department of Revenue include:
- Standard homestead: $2,000 off assessed value for county and school taxes, except municipal school taxes and taxes to pay interest on and retire bonded indebtedness (O.C.G.A. s. 48-5-44).
- Age 65 or older: a $4,000 county exemption if household income does not exceed $10,000, after excluding retirement, pension and disability income up to the maximum Social Security benefit ($96,432 for 2025, as stated on the DOR page).
- Age 62 or older: an additional exemption from educational taxes of up to $10,000 of assessed value, with the same income test (O.C.G.A. s. 48-5-52).
- Disabled veteran or unremarried surviving spouse: the greater of $32,500 or the maximum amount allowed a disabled veteran under federal law. For tax year 2026 that amount is $126,526, per the Georgia DOR memo of Dec. 31, 2025. The same 2026 amount applies to the surviving spouse of a service member killed in war or armed conflict, plus an indexed additional sum under s. 48-5-52.1.
- Unremarried surviving spouse of a peace officer or firefighter killed in the line of duty: a full homestead exemption while the home remains the homestead.
DOR notes that local legislation often increases these amounts and that several counties and the City of Atlanta have valuation-freeze exemptions. Check your county's local exemption list.
Assessment rules
Unless another statute applies, property is assessed at 40% of fair market value (O.C.G.A. s. 48-5-7). Preferential programs exist for agricultural, conservation-use, forest-land and certain historic or environmentally sensitive property. Standing timber is generally taxed when sold or harvested.
Payment calendar
Property tax returns are generally filed between January 1 and April 1. DOR says that for most counties, taxes are due by December 20, but the date varies. If taxes are not paid, the property can be levied even after it changes hands. Confirm the due date on your county tax commissioner's site.
Appeals
If you disagree with the proposed assessment, you may appeal to the county board of equalization, a hearing officer, or arbitration (O.C.G.A. s. 48-5-311). The usual window is 45 days from the assessment notice, and that same window now also lets you file a late homestead application.
Effective rates by county
ACS 2024 5-year median taxes paid divided by median home value, compiled by Tax Foundation in March 2026. Quitman County's median tax was not published; its row uses Tax Foundation's published effective rate.
| County | Median home value | Median taxes paid | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appling | $76,700 | $721 | 0.94% |
| Atkinson | $79,000 | $625 | 0.79% |
| Bacon | $101,400 | $1,144 | 1.13% |
| Baker | $119,500 | $1,023 | 0.86% |
| Baldwin | $181,900 | $1,276 | 0.70% |
| Banks | $278,100 | $1,663 | 0.60% |
| Barrow | $294,700 | $2,307 | 0.78% |
| Bartow | $289,000 | $2,024 | 0.70% |
| Ben Hill | $112,700 | $1,210 | 1.07% |
| Berrien | $131,600 | $1,130 | 0.86% |
| Bibb | $174,500 | $1,801 | 1.03% |
| Bleckley | $149,600 | $1,423 | 0.95% |
| Brantley | $99,600 | $1,185 | 1.19% |
| Brooks | $139,200 | $1,583 | 1.14% |
| Bryan | $343,200 | $2,677 | 0.78% |
| Bulloch | $222,500 | $1,679 | 0.75% |
| Burke | $151,600 | $1,025 | 0.68% |
| Butts | $240,600 | $1,976 | 0.82% |
| Calhoun | $81,000 | $903 | 1.11% |
| Camden | $261,400 | $2,305 | 0.88% |
| Candler | $159,200 | $1,721 | 1.08% |
| Carroll | $255,100 | $1,566 | 0.61% |
| Catoosa | $240,900 | $1,566 | 0.65% |
| Charlton | $142,800 | $1,088 | 0.76% |
| Chatham | $302,700 | $2,541 | 0.84% |
| Chattahoochee | $102,700 | $856 | 0.83% |
| Chattooga | $115,600 | $1,022 | 0.88% |
| Cherokee | $435,100 | $2,985 | 0.69% |
| Clarke | $298,900 | $2,610 | 0.87% |
| Clay | $94,400 | $937 | 0.99% |
| Clayton | $222,300 | $1,933 | 0.87% |
| Clinch | $84,400 | $1,101 | 1.30% |
| Cobb | $407,200 | $2,720 | 0.67% |
| Coffee | $128,900 | $976 | 0.76% |
| Colquitt | $121,400 | $1,014 | 0.84% |
| Columbia | $305,300 | $2,515 | 0.82% |
| Cook | $157,500 | $1,221 | 0.78% |
| Coweta | $357,500 | $2,624 | 0.73% |
| Crawford | $164,100 | $1,421 | 0.87% |
| Crisp | $140,200 | $1,510 | 1.08% |
| Dade | $198,500 | $1,133 | 0.57% |
| Dawson | $406,700 | $2,430 | 0.60% |
| DeKalb | $357,800 | $3,310 | 0.93% |
| Decatur | $158,800 | $1,514 | 0.95% |
| Dodge | $118,100 | $1,030 | 0.87% |
| Dooly | $107,400 | $1,368 | 1.27% |
| Dougherty | $134,400 | $1,781 | 1.33% |
| Douglas | $296,900 | $2,212 | 0.75% |
| Early | $131,300 | $1,081 | 0.82% |
| Echols | $124,100 | $1,127 | 0.91% |
| Effingham | $276,000 | $2,495 | 0.90% |
| Elbert | $142,000 | $1,298 | 0.91% |
| Emanuel | $94,700 | $884 | 0.93% |
| Evans | $138,200 | $1,405 | 1.02% |
| Fannin | $306,600 | $1,021 | 0.33% |
| Fayette | $436,400 | $3,285 | 0.75% |
| Floyd | $217,900 | $1,847 | 0.85% |
| Forsyth | $550,400 | $4,020 | 0.73% |
| Franklin | $179,000 | $1,288 | 0.72% |
| Fulton | $458,800 | $4,033 | 0.88% |
| Gilmer | $314,000 | $1,109 | 0.35% |
| Glascock | $123,800 | $1,273 | 1.03% |
| Glynn | $301,300 | $1,708 | 0.57% |
| Gordon | $222,900 | $1,537 | 0.69% |
| Grady | $152,400 | $1,386 | 0.91% |
| Greene | $394,800 | $2,425 | 0.61% |
| Gwinnett | $380,900 | $3,617 | 0.95% |
| Habersham | $238,300 | $1,403 | 0.59% |
| Hall | $350,400 | $2,571 | 0.73% |
| Hancock | $88,600 | $967 | 1.09% |
| Haralson | $227,500 | $1,823 | 0.80% |
| Harris | $302,800 | $2,578 | 0.85% |
| Hart | $215,100 | $1,209 | 0.56% |
| Heard | $186,800 | $1,049 | 0.56% |
| Henry | $313,900 | $2,741 | 0.87% |
| Houston | $219,800 | $1,835 | 0.83% |
| Irwin | $105,600 | $1,132 | 1.07% |
| Jackson | $345,000 | $3,000 | 0.87% |
| Jasper | $243,400 | $1,959 | 0.80% |
| Jeff Davis | $118,300 | $1,093 | 0.92% |
| Jefferson | $105,400 | $1,009 | 0.96% |
| Jenkins | $92,900 | $797 | 0.86% |
| Johnson | $94,900 | $889 | 0.94% |
| Jones | $194,500 | $1,878 | 0.97% |
| Lamar | $216,500 | $1,864 | 0.86% |
| Lanier | $162,300 | $1,615 | 1.00% |
| Laurens | $154,500 | $1,021 | 0.66% |
| Lee | $231,800 | $2,250 | 0.97% |
| Liberty | $201,500 | $2,087 | 1.04% |
| Lincoln | $165,900 | $1,643 | 0.99% |
| Long | $218,300 | $1,903 | 0.87% |
| Lowndes | $215,600 | $1,750 | 0.81% |
| Lumpkin | $307,900 | $1,989 | 0.65% |
| Macon | $97,300 | $954 | 0.98% |
| Madison | $219,700 | $1,677 | 0.76% |
| Marion | $154,100 | $1,090 | 0.71% |
| McDuffie | $170,200 | $1,391 | 0.82% |
| McIntosh | $182,700 | $1,462 | 0.80% |
| Meriwether | $168,800 | $1,445 | 0.86% |
| Miller | $124,000 | $1,595 | 1.29% |
| Mitchell | $106,000 | $1,402 | 1.32% |
| Monroe | $271,200 | $1,886 | 0.70% |
| Montgomery | $115,500 | $1,204 | 1.04% |
| Morgan | $342,300 | $2,425 | 0.71% |
| Murray | $180,700 | $1,225 | 0.68% |
| Muscogee | $193,900 | $1,660 | 0.86% |
| Newton | $265,000 | $2,348 | 0.89% |
| Oconee | $461,600 | $3,222 | 0.70% |
| Oglethorpe | $231,600 | $1,733 | 0.75% |
| Paulding | $326,300 | $2,619 | 0.80% |
| Peach | $207,800 | $2,117 | 1.02% |
| Pickens | $332,700 | $1,990 | 0.60% |
| Pierce | $153,300 | $1,266 | 0.83% |
| Pike | $305,600 | $2,668 | 0.87% |
| Polk | $187,600 | $1,413 | 0.75% |
| Pulaski | $157,600 | $1,463 | 0.93% |
| Putnam | $249,300 | $1,698 | 0.68% |
| Quitman | $104,600 | n/a | 0.73% |
| Rabun | $295,200 | $1,651 | 0.56% |
| Randolph | $90,200 | $964 | 1.07% |
| Richmond | $178,500 | $1,508 | 0.84% |
| Rockdale | $292,900 | $2,074 | 0.71% |
| Schley | $143,900 | $1,288 | 0.90% |
| Screven | $124,300 | $1,519 | 1.22% |
| Seminole | $121,900 | $1,486 | 1.22% |
| Spalding | $228,700 | $2,142 | 0.94% |
| Stephens | $175,300 | $1,424 | 0.81% |
| Stewart | $65,100 | $994 | 1.53% |
| Sumter | $120,200 | $1,502 | 1.25% |
| Talbot | $117,100 | $1,356 | 1.16% |
| Taliaferro | $68,900 | $902 | 1.31% |
| Tattnall | $140,000 | $1,260 | 0.90% |
| Taylor | $87,700 | $838 | 0.96% |
| Telfair | $113,300 | $1,269 | 1.12% |
| Terrell | $118,400 | $1,227 | 1.04% |
| Thomas | $196,700 | $1,539 | 0.78% |
| Tift | $165,200 | $1,419 | 0.86% |
| Toombs | $137,000 | $1,235 | 0.90% |
| Towns | $316,100 | $1,084 | 0.34% |
| Treutlen | $100,100 | $708 | 0.71% |
| Troup | $217,200 | $2,024 | 0.93% |
| Turner | $97,300 | $1,026 | 1.05% |
| Twiggs | $111,300 | $807 | 0.73% |
| Union | $307,400 | $1,611 | 0.52% |
| Upson | $168,700 | $1,433 | 0.85% |
| Walker | $197,100 | $1,479 | 0.75% |
| Walton | $339,500 | $2,563 | 0.75% |
| Ware | $109,500 | $1,047 | 0.96% |
| Warren | $67,100 | $730 | 1.09% |
| Washington | $112,500 | $1,127 | 1.00% |
| Wayne | $162,800 | $1,265 | 0.78% |
| Webster | $82,600 | $925 | 1.12% |
| Wheeler | $88,200 | $554 | 0.63% |
| White | $278,900 | $1,800 | 0.65% |
| Whitfield | $218,000 | $1,391 | 0.64% |
| Wilcox | $87,600 | $795 | 0.91% |
| Wilkes | $122,700 | $1,292 | 1.05% |
| Wilkinson | $86,300 | $775 | 0.90% |
| Worth | $104,900 | $1,185 | 1.13% |
Sources
- Georgia Department of Revenue: Property Tax Homestead Exemptions (standard $2,000 homestead from assessed value; age and disabled-veteran exemptions, including the disabled-veteran exemption, which DOR set at $126,526 for tax year 2026; apply by April 1 or through the 45-day assessment-appeal window)
- Georgia Department of Revenue: Property Tax Valuation (property assessed at 40% of fair market value unless otherwise specified, O.C.G.A. s. 48-5-7; returns generally January 1 to April 1; taxes generally due by December 20, varying by county; appeals under O.C.G.A. s. 48-5-311)
- Tax Foundation, Property Taxes by State and County, 2026 (published March 16, 2026; county median housing value, median real estate taxes paid, and statewide rankings from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates)
Common questions
How is Georgia property assessed?
At 40% of fair market value unless another law applies (O.C.G.A. s. 48-5-7). A $200,000 home has an assessed value of $80,000 before exemptions.
How large is the basic Georgia homestead exemption?
The statewide standard homestead is $2,000 off assessed value for many county and school taxes. County local-option exemptions are often larger.