DeKalb County Property Tax: Bills, Exemptions & Appeals

DeKalb County property tax is calculated by taking 40% of your home’s fair market value and multiplying it by the combined millage rate set by the county, school district, state, and any city you live in. The Board of Tax Assessors sets the value. The Tax Commissioner sends the bill and collects the money. Between those two offices sit the levers that actually change what you pay: homestead exemptions, and your right to appeal the value.

How Your Bill Is Calculated

Georgia law pegs the taxable (assessed) value of a home at exactly 40% of its fair market value.¹ A home the county values at $400,000 has an assessed value of $160,000. That smaller figure is what your tax is calculated on.

The second number is the millage rate. One mill equals $1 of tax per $1,000 of assessed value. The county, the school system, the state, and (in some neighborhoods) a city each set their own rate, and they stack. The formula:

Assessed value = fair market value × 40%
Tax = (assessed value ÷ 1,000) × total millage rate

A home with a $350,000 market value has an assessed value of $140,000. At a combined 35 mills, the tax before exemptions is $4,900. Rates vary across DeKalb depending on which city, if any, you live in, and the Tax Commissioner’s Office publishes the finalized rates each year once local budgets are set.²

In late spring, the Property Appraisal Department mails every owner an Annual Assessment Notice. The 2025 notices went out on June 3.³ It is not a bill. It shows last year’s value next to this year’s, along with an estimate based on the prior year’s millage. Check the square footage, lot size, and other property details on it; errors in the county’s record carry straight through to your assessment.

Key Dates to Know

January 1 is the anchor. Ownership, occupancy, and exemption eligibility are all judged as of that date, so if you bought your home in March, you aren’t eligible for a homestead exemption until the following year.⁴

April 1 is the deadline for homestead exemption applications and property tax returns.⁵ Anything filed after April 1 is pushed to the next tax year.

Assessment notices arrive in late spring. Tax bills follow in mid-to-late August, once millage rates are finalized. DeKalb splits county taxes into two installments: the first is due September 30, the second November 15. You can also pay the full amount by September 30 if you prefer.² If you live inside the City of Atlanta portion of DeKalb, your city taxes carry a separate due date printed on your bill.

Homestead Exemptions That Lower Your Bill

A homestead exemption shaves a portion of the assessed value off the tax calculation. To qualify, you must own and occupy the home as your primary residence on January 1 of the application year, carry a Georgia driver’s license or state ID showing the property address, register all your vehicles in DeKalb at that address, file your income taxes from the home, and hold no homestead exemption anywhere else.⁶ Applications are accepted January 1 through April 1.

Senior and Disability Exemptions

Beyond the basic exemption, DeKalb offers additional tiers tied to age, disability, and income. Your age on January 1 of the application year determines which tier applies:⁶

Age 62: H3 (household income up to $10,000 Georgia net income) or H7 (up to $40,000 gross income)
Age 65: H4 ($10,000 Georgia net income), H6 ($37,500 Georgia net income), or H8 ($40,000 gross income)
Age 70: H9 ($110,568 federal adjusted gross income)
100% disabled veteran: H10 ($10,000 Georgia net income)

“Georgia net income” is not a line on your tax return. The state’s formula excludes a large portion of Social Security and retirement benefits, and in recent years individuals could exclude more than $48,000 and joint filers more than $96,000 of that income before the limit was tested.⁶ Many seniors who assume they earn too much actually qualify.

To apply, bring copies of the prior year’s federal and state returns, any Social Security 1099 forms, and your Georgia ID.⁷ Disability applicants also need certification of permanent and total disability from a doctor or the Social Security Administration.⁸

If You Think Your Assessment Is Too High

You have 45 days from the date printed on your Annual Assessment Notice to file an appeal.⁹ The deadline is firm. Use the state’s PT-311A form.¹⁰ On the form, pick one of three paths:

Board of Equalization. A three-member citizen panel hears your evidence and the assessors’. This is the default for homestead properties and covers value, uniformity, taxability, and homestead denials.
Hearing officer. Available for nonhomestead real property with an assessed fair market value above $500,000.
Nonbinding arbitration. Open to any taxpayer. You must submit a certified appraisal within 45 days of the county’s acknowledgment. If the arbitrator’s final value lands closer to yours, the county pays the arbitration costs; if closer to the assessors’, you pay.¹¹

Your Bill While the Appeal Is Pending

If bills go out before your appeal is decided, you get a temporary bill. If you don’t specify a preference, the county defaults to the lesser of your last finalized value or 85% of the current year’s assessment.² You pay that temporary amount. A win on appeal produces a refund or credit; a loss produces a balance due.

The Value Freeze

Under O.C.G.A. 48-5-299, when an appeal results in a reduced value, the Board of Tax Assessors cannot raise that value for the next two tax years.¹² Counting the appeal year itself, that is a three-year lock on the assessed value. The freeze protects the value only; millage changes can still move your bill up or down.

The freeze breaks if you sell, make substantial improvements, file a new appeal, or file a return at a different value. After recent changes through House Bill 581, the freeze only applies if the appeal actually produces a reduction, and you (or your representative) must attend the hearing and submit at least some written evidence of value. A no-show appeal does not trigger the freeze even if the value happens to drop.¹²

What Happens If You Pay Late

A 5% penalty hits if the first installment is not postmarked by September 30, and another 5% penalty hits the second installment if it is not postmarked by November 15. Monthly interest also accrues from the day after the due date.² Under Georgia law, any balance still unpaid 120 days past the due date gets another 5% penalty, and the cycle repeats every 120 days up to a cap of 20% of the original tax.¹³ Balances still open after December 31 become subject to a tax lien.¹⁴

From there, the county can take the property to a tax sale. Sales are held monthly, generally April through December, on the first Tuesday on the courthouse steps.¹⁵ If your property is sold, you have 12 months to redeem it. The redemption price is what the buyer paid, plus any taxes the buyer paid after the sale, plus a 20% premium for the first year. After the first year, an additional 10% premium is added for each additional year or fraction of a year.¹⁶ Once the 12 months pass, the purchaser can move to permanently foreclose your right to redeem. If you’re falling behind, call the Tax Commissioner’s Office before the account reaches that stage.

1
Georgia Department of Revenue. Property Tax Valuation
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DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Tax Bill Information
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DeKalb County, GA. Property Appraisal
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Justia Law. Georgia Code 48-5-40 – Definitions
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Georgia Department of Revenue. County Property Tax Facts – DeKalb
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DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Exemptions
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DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Senior Residents
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DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Disabled Residents
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DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Property Assessment
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Georgia Department of Revenue. PT-311A Appeal of Assessment Form
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Justia Law. Georgia Code 48-5-311 – Appeal of Assessments
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Justia Law. Georgia Code 48-5-299 – Ascertainment of Taxable Property
13
FindLaw. Georgia Code Title 48 Revenue and Taxation 48-2-44
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DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Delinquent Taxes
15
DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Tax Sales
16
Justia Law. Georgia Code 48-4-42 – Amount Payable for Redemption