Georgia Property Tax Rates by County: Millage, Exemptions, Appeals

Property tax rates in Georgia are set county by county, which is why two identical houses can produce very different bills depending on where they sit. The statewide average lands near 30 mills once county, school, and city levies are combined, but individual counties fall well above or below that figure based on local budgets and how much taxable property they have to work with. Every property in the state is taxed on 40% of its fair market value, and the millage rates layered onto that assessed value are what actually determine your bill.¹

How the Georgia System Works

A home that would sell for $300,000 is assessed at $120,000 for tax purposes. That assessed value is the number every millage rate gets applied to.

One mill equals $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. At a total rate of 30 mills on a $120,000 assessed value, the pre-exemption tax is $3,600.² Your bill is not set by any single body. It combines separate rates from the county commission, the board of education, and, if you live inside city limits, the municipal government. The school portion is usually the largest slice.

Why Rates Vary So Much From County to County

Two homes with the same market value can produce wildly different tax bills because they sit in different counties. A metro county with dense population, extensive roads, and large school systems needs more revenue per dollar of property than a rural county with fewer services to fund. But the flip side matters too. A rural county with a small tax digest, meaning the total assessed value of everything taxable within its borders, may need a relatively high millage rate to raise enough revenue for basic operations even though its service costs are lower.

The composition of the tax base matters as well. A county with significant commercial or industrial property spreads the burden across more taxpayers and can hold residential rates down. A predominantly residential county lacks that cushion.

How to Find Your County’s Millage Rate

The Georgia Department of Revenue publishes a statewide millage rate table covering every taxing jurisdiction in Georgia. It’s available on the Department’s Local Government Services page as a downloadable spreadsheet, organized alphabetically by county.² As of mid-2025, the most recent complete data covers the 2024 tax year. New rates are typically finalized in late July or August after local authorities adopt their budgets, so the 2025 table follows later that year.

The spreadsheet splits the total rate into its components: county general, county bonds, school maintenance and operations, school bonds, state, and any municipal levies. To pull your exact rate, match your tax district code, printed on your annual assessment notice, against the district codes listed in the table. A single county can contain several tax districts. A home inside city limits pays the municipal levy on top of the county and school rates; a home in an unincorporated area of the same county does not. Using the wrong district means reading someone else’s rate.

Calculating Your Property Tax Bill

Once you have three numbers, the math is direct: your property’s fair market value, your applicable exemptions, and your total millage rate.

Start with fair market value from your annual assessment notice, not the purchase price and not an online estimate. A home assessed at $350,000 fair market value has a taxable assessed value of $140,000, because Georgia taxes at 40% of fair market value.¹
Subtract exemptions. A standard $2,000 homestead exemption drops the net assessed value to $138,000.
Apply the millage rate by multiplying by the rate divided by 1,000. At 32 mills, that’s $138,000 × 0.032 = $4,416 per year.

Your assessment notice lists fair market value, assessed value, and your parcel identification number, along with any exemptions currently applied.³ Confirm whether the property is inside or outside city limits, because that changes the district and rate that apply.

Exemptions That Reduce Your Bill

Georgia offers several exemptions that reduce assessed value before the millage rate is applied. Exemptions are not automatic. You have to file an application with your county tax office.

Standard Homestead Exemption

Every Georgia homeowner who lives in the property as a primary residence qualifies for a $2,000 reduction from the 40% assessed value for state, county, and school taxes, excluding municipal school taxes and bonded debt.⁴ The savings are modest, roughly $60 to $70 a year depending on the millage rate. The home must be owned and occupied as of January 1 of the tax year.

Floating Homestead Exemption for Seniors

Residents aged 62 or older whose household income is $30,000 or less qualify for a floating homestead exemption that effectively freezes their county tax assessment at the base-year value. The exemption covers the difference between the current assessed value and the assessed value from the year before it was first granted.⁵ Rising property values don’t push up your county tax bill as long as you keep living in the home. The exemption applies to county taxes only, not school or municipal taxes, and covers no more than five acres surrounding the primary residence.

Many counties have also adopted their own local value-freeze exemptions with different age or income thresholds.⁴ Your county tax commissioner’s office can tell you which local exemptions exist beyond the statewide options.

Disabled Veteran Exemption

Honorably discharged Georgia veterans rated 100% disabled by the VA, or compensated at the 100% rate due to unemployability, can exempt a substantial portion of their homestead from all property taxes, including state, county, municipal, and school levies. The exemption amount is indexed annually and was $121,812 for the 2025 tax year; the 2026 figure had not been published at the time of writing.⁶ It extends to an un-remarried surviving spouse or to minor children who continue to live in the home. Veterans must file an application with their county tax office.

Conservation Use Assessment

Owners of agricultural, timber, or environmentally sensitive land can cut their property tax burden significantly by placing the land under a 10-year conservation use covenant. Instead of fair market value, the land is assessed at its current use value, which is typically far lower.⁷ The Georgia Department of Revenue publishes current use values annually by county.⁸

Breaking the covenant triggers a penalty equal to twice the total tax savings received over the life of the covenant, plus interest. On land that has been in the program for years, that penalty is substantial. Reduced penalties apply in limited situations, such as a breach caused by foreclosure, documented medical disability, or an owner aged 65 or older who has renewed the covenant at least once and maintained qualifying use for at least three years.⁷ Applications must be filed with the county board of tax assessors before the ad valorem tax return deadline for the county.

If Your Assessment Looks Wrong

If you believe your property’s fair market value on the assessment notice is wrong, you have 45 days from the date the notice was mailed to file an appeal with the county board of tax assessors.⁹ That deadline is rigid. Miss it and you lose the right to challenge the assessment for that tax year.

Appeals rest on one of three grounds: the assessed value is too high, the assessment isn’t uniform with similar properties nearby, or the property isn’t taxable at all. Most homeowner appeals focus on value. Recent sales of comparable homes help; a professional appraisal, typically $400 to $1,500 for a residential property, strengthens the case.

After you file, the county board of equalization must schedule a hearing within 15 days and hold it within 20 to 30 days after notifying you of the date. The tax assessors’ office presents its case first, and you can cross-examine and present your own evidence. The county carries the burden of proving its value is correct by a preponderance of the evidence.¹⁰ The board must announce its decision at the end of the hearing, and the written decision must explain its reasoning on each issue you raised.⁹

Payment Deadline and Late Penalties

Georgia property taxes are due by December 20 unless your county has adopted an earlier deadline or splits the bill into two installments.¹¹ The county tax commissioner’s office handles billing and collection, and property owners have 60 days from the billing date to pay.¹²

Missing the deadline gets expensive fast. Unpaid taxes accrue interest monthly at an annual rate equal to the federal bank prime loan rate plus 3%, and any partial month counts as a full month.¹³ On top of the interest, a 5% penalty is added to the unpaid balance every 120 days, up to a maximum of 20% of the original tax due.¹⁴ Neither the interest nor the penalties can be waived. If the balance stays unpaid, the county can issue a tax execution that creates a lien on the property, and the lien can eventually lead to a tax sale.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 48-5-7 – Assessment of Tangible Property
2
Georgia Department of Revenue. Property Tax Millage Rates
3
Justia. Georgia Code 48-5-306 – Annual Notice of Current Assessment
4
Georgia Department of Revenue. Property Tax Homestead Exemptions
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Justia. Georgia Code 48-5-47.1 – Homestead Exemptions for Individuals 62 or Older
6
Georgia Department of Veterans Service. Disabled Veteran Homestead Tax Exemption
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Justia. Georgia Code 48-5-7.4 – Preferential Assessment for Bona Fide Conservation Use Property
8
Georgia Department of Revenue. Conservation Use Land Values
9
Justia. Georgia Code 48-5-311 – Creation of County Boards of Equalization
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Georgia Secretary of State. County Board of Equalization Hearings
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Georgia Department of Revenue. Property Tax Returns and Payment
12
Georgia.gov. Pay Property Taxes
13
Justia. Georgia Code 48-2-40 – Rate of Interest on Past Due Taxes
14
FindLaw. Georgia Code 48-2-44