Fulton County property tax due dates fall on October 15 for county bills and August 15 for the City of Atlanta portion, with bills mailed in July. Georgia law guarantees at least 60 days from the postmark date on your bill before interest begins, so even if the county mails late, you keep a two-month window to pay.1Fulton County Tax Commissioner. Fulton County Tax Commissioner – About Our Office
Key Due Dates
The Fulton County Tax Commissioner mails property tax bills in July. Two separate deadlines apply depending on where the property sits:1Fulton County Tax Commissioner. Fulton County Tax Commissioner – About Our Office
- City of Atlanta properties: city taxes are normally due August 15. Atlanta has its own municipal levy collected through the same office, so you may see a separate line item or a separate bill for the city portion.
- All other Fulton County properties: county taxes are normally due October 15. This applies whether you own in Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Chattahoochee Hills, Mountain Park, or unincorporated Fulton County.
The Tax Commissioner collects on behalf of Fulton County government, Fulton County Schools, Atlanta Public Schools, the State of Georgia, and the individual cities within the county.2Fulton County. Tax Commissioner Your bill reflects all of those levies combined, broken down by millage rate.
Bills are issued to whoever owned the property on January 1 and are not prorated. If you bought a home mid-year, the previous owner of record still receives the bill, and any proration between buyer and seller is handled privately at closing rather than by the county.1Fulton County Tax Commissioner. Fulton County Tax Commissioner – About Our Office
The 60-Day Minimum Window
Georgia law provides a safety net when the county runs late. Under O.C.G.A. ยง 48-5-148, every taxpayer gets at least 60 days from the postmark date on their bill before interest begins accruing.3Justia Law. Georgia Code 48-5-148 – Interest on Unpaid Taxes; Rate In a normal year, the July mailing and October 15 due date already exceed that floor. If digest approval delays push bills into September, the due date effectively shifts forward so you still get the full two months.
One detail catches people off guard: not receiving a bill does not excuse late payment. The Tax Commissioner states this explicitly. If you recently bought, changed your mailing address, or simply didn’t get a bill, you are still responsible for finding the correct amount and paying by the deadline.1Fulton County Tax Commissioner. Fulton County Tax Commissioner – About Our Office
What Late Payment Costs
Missing the due date triggers both interest and penalties, and they stack faster than most people expect. Georgia imposes a 5 percent penalty on the unpaid balance once taxes are 120 days overdue. Another 5 percent hits every 120 days after that, up to a maximum total penalty of 20 percent of the original amount owed.4Justia Law. Georgia Code 48-2-44 – Willful Failure to File Return or Pay Tax
Interest runs separately on top of those penalties. Because Fulton County’s population exceeds 900,000, unpaid taxes over $1,000 carry an additional 1 percent per month in interest beyond the standard state rate.5Justia Law. Georgia Code 48-5-24 – Payment of Taxes to County On a $5,000 bill, that extra layer alone adds $600 a year before you account for the standard rate and the penalty tiers.
After prolonged non-payment, the Tax Commissioner issues a tax execution, commonly called a fi. fa., which functions as a lien against your property. Georgia law requires a written notice giving you 30 days to pay before the execution is issued. Once recorded with the Clerk of Superior Court, the lien attaches to the property and shows up on title searches, which blocks any sale or refinance until the debt is cleared.
If delinquency continues, the county can eventually sell the property to recover unpaid taxes. Georgia law gives you 12 months from the sale date to redeem the property by paying what the buyer spent plus a statutory premium, and you can still redeem after that window until the buyer formally forecloses your right of redemption through a separate legal process.6Justia Law. Georgia Code 48-4-40 – Persons Entitled to Redeem Land Reaching that stage takes years, but the accumulated penalties, interest, and legal fees make the eventual cost far higher than the original tax bill.
How to Pay Before the Deadline
The Tax Commissioner’s website has a search tool where you can look up your bill by street address, parcel ID, or account number.7Fulton County Taxes. Property Taxes The parcel ID is the multi-digit number unique to your land, printed on your assessment notice, your deed, and any prior tax bill. If you’ve misplaced everything, the address search will pull it up.
The online record shows your current balance, any outstanding amounts from prior years, a breakdown of millage rates, and which exemptions have been applied. Check the total against what you expect. Errors in exemption status are the most common surprise, especially after a recent purchase when the prior owner’s homestead exemption drops off and the bill jumps.
Online Payment
The county’s online portal accepts credit cards and electronic checks. Credit card payments carry a convenience fee charged by the payment processor, not the county. Electronic check payments drawn directly from a bank account have no added fee. Save or print the confirmation screen after the transaction as your immediate receipt.7Fulton County Taxes. Property Taxes
Payment by Mail
Mail your check along with the payment coupon from the bottom of your bill to:
Fulton County Tax Commissioner
141 Pryor Street, Suite 1106
Atlanta, GA 303038Fulton County Taxes. Fulton County Taxes – FAQ
Including the coupon matters because it ties your payment to the correct parcel. Without it, your check could sit in a processing queue while the deadline passes. The postmark date on your envelope counts as the payment date, so mailing on October 15 satisfies the deadline even if the office doesn’t open the envelope until later that week.
Other Fulton County Tax Deadlines to Watch
Two other dates sit alongside the payment deadlines and often matter more than the payment date itself.
Homestead exemption applications must be filed by April 1 for the current tax year. Applications received after that roll over to the following year. You only need to apply once unless your eligibility changes or you move to a different property.9Fulton County Board of Assessors. Exemptions Fulton County also offers age-based school tax exemptions with no income requirement, which are worth checking if you or a co-owner is 65 or older.10Fulton County, Georgia. New Tax Exemption Postcards On The Way For Homeowners
If you think the county has overvalued your property, you have 45 days from the date printed on your notice of assessment to file an appeal. Notices typically arrive in June, which puts most deadlines around early August, and the notice itself prints the exact date. A written objection to the Fulton County Board of Tax Assessors identifying your property’s location and parcel ID counts as a valid notice of appeal, and the postmark or email transmission date is your filing date.11FindLaw. Georgia Code Title 48 Revenue and Taxation 48-5-311 Filing an appeal does not pause the payment deadline, so pay the undisputed portion of the bill on time to avoid penalties while the appeal works through the system.