Key takeaway
Georgia's homestead exemption takes at least $2,000 off the assessed value of the home you own and live in on January 1, for county and school taxes, and you apply once with your county by April 1. Many counties go further; Cobb's basic exemption is $10,000. Since 2025, HB 581 has also capped yearly increases in taxable value at inflation where local governments did not opt out, and SB 33, signed in May 2026, ends those opt-outs.
How a homestead exemption lowers a Georgia tax bill
Georgia taxes a home on 40% of its fair market value as of January 1. An exemption is subtracted from that assessed value before the millage is applied, so the formula is ((value x 40%) - exemptions) x mills / 1,000. Each $1,000 of exemption therefore saves $1 for every mill it applies to.
That is why the same exemption is worth different amounts in different places. Cobb's $10,000 basic exemption applies to county general (8.46 mills) and school (18.70 mills) taxes, 27.16 mills together, so it saves $271.60 a year at 2026 rates. A fuller Acworth bill is worked on our Cobb County property tax guide.
Exemptions come in two shapes. A flat exemption removes a fixed dollar amount. A floating exemption limits how much of a value increase can be taxed: a frozen version blocks assessed value from rising at all, while an adjusted base-year version, the kind HB 581 created, lets the taxable base rise each year by inflation.
Homestead exemptions every Georgia county must offer
State law sets a floor. Many counties pass local laws that raise the amounts, so your county's list will usually be longer than this one. Income figures below are the 2025 values the Department of Revenue publishes.
Standard homestead: $2,000 (O.C.G.A. 48-5-44)
$2,000 off assessed value for county and school taxes on the owner-occupied primary residence. It does not apply to school taxes levied by cities or to taxes that repay bonded debt.
Age 65: $4,000 (O.C.G.A. 48-5-47)
$4,000 from all county ad valorem taxes when household income for you and your spouse did not exceed $10,000 the prior year. Social Security and retirement income are left out of that test up to the 2025 maximum of $96,432.
Age 62 school exemption (O.C.G.A. 48-5-52)
Up to $10,000 of assessed value exempt from school taxes, including school bond taxes, with prior-year income of $10,000 or less.
Age 62 floating inflation-proof exemption (O.C.G.A. 48-5-47.1)
Exempts natural increases in value once appraised value has risen by $10,000 or more, for households with combined income of no more than $30,000.
Disabled veterans
The greater of $32,500 or the federal maximum under 38 U.S.C. 2102, which was $121,812 for 2025. It extends to an unremarried surviving spouse or minor children.
Surviving spouse of a fallen service member (O.C.G.A. 48-5-52.1)
$121,812 for 2025, for as long as the spouse remains unmarried.
Surviving spouse of a peace officer or firefighter (O.C.G.A. 48-5-48.4)
The full value of the homestead, for as long as the surviving spouse lives in it.
Who qualifies, and what to have ready
Georgia.gov lists the same core tests for every county. You must have owned the home on January 1, it must be your legal residence for all purposes, you must occupy it, and you cannot hold a homestead anywhere else, in Georgia or another state.
Have these ready when you file: your name and the property address, the parcel ID from your closing papers or tax notice, proof of residency such as a Georgia driver's license and vehicle registration at the new address, and possibly the recorded deed. If the home is held in a trust, expect to provide the trust documents. Counties can ask for more; Cobb's own list is on our Cobb homestead exemption guide.
The deadline and where to file
File with your county tax officials by April 1. In most counties that is the tax commissioner; in some, such as Paulding, it is the tax assessor. The Department of Revenue says you can apply any time during the prior year up to April 1, so a buyer who closes in July can file that summer for the following January. Missing April 1 waives the exemption for that year.
The Department of Revenue also notes that applicants may file up to the end of the 45-day window to appeal their assessment notice. Not every county reads it that way: Cobb's assessors say they cannot extend homestead deadlines. Treat April 1 as the date, and ask your county before relying on anything later.
After approval, most exemptions renew on their own while you own and live in the home. A new owner, a move, or a name or ownership change on the deed means a new application.
HB 581: the statewide floating homestead exemption
HB 581 was signed on April 18, 2024 and took effect on January 1, 2025. It added a floating exemption for every homestead in the state that limits growth in taxable value to the prior year's inflation rate, as set by the State Revenue Commissioner. It also created FLOST, a local sales tax of up to 1% for property tax relief.
How the adjusted base-year value works
Your base-year value is the home's value for the year before you applied. Each year it is raised by the inflation factor, and the exemption is the gap between fair market value and that adjusted base. HB 581 does not freeze a value; it slows how fast the taxable value can grow.
An illustration with made-up numbers, not the actual inflation rate: a base-year value of $400,000 and a 3% factor give an adjusted base of $412,000. If the county values the home at $430,000, the exemption is $18,000 of market value and tax is figured on $412,000, an assessed value of $164,800. Ask the county tax office for the factor the Department of Revenue actually set for the current year.
What it covers
It applies to all millage except bond levies, including special service districts. The floating exemption is calculated first, then flat exemptions come off.
Improvements raise the base
Substantial improvements, such as an addition, increase the base-year value, so their added value is taxed.
It stays with the home's owner, not the home
The exemption is not portable or transferable. When a home sells, its taxable value resets to fair market value and the new owner's base year becomes the year before they bought. A surviving spouse who is not on the deed may keep it.
Where a local floating exemption already exists
Existing local exemptions stayed in place. Where a county already had its own base-year exemption, the owner gets whichever gives the bigger benefit each year.
The 2025 opt-out
A county, city or school district could opt out by holding three public hearings and filing a resolution with the Secretary of State between January 1 and March 1, 2025, each deciding on its own. The Tax Foundation counted 316 that did: 47 counties (30%), 141 cities and towns (26%), 123 school districts (68%) and 5 consolidated governments. The school systems of the five largest counties, Cobb's among them, opted out, as did Cobb's and Gwinnett's county governments.
HB 92 (2025): undoing an opt-out and new bill notices
HB 92, signed by Governor Kemp in 2025, lets a jurisdiction that opted out change its mind: by April 30, 2025 for that tax year, and by March 1 of each year from 2026 through 2029. Jurisdictions that stay out must print a bold notice saying so on tax bills. The law also says surviving spouses need not reapply, and caps the qualifying land at the residence plus up to five contiguous acres. Cobb's bills also carry an HB 92 disclosure when an adopted millage rate is above the estimated rollback rate printed on the assessment notice.
SB 33 (2026): opt-outs come to an end
Senate Bill 33, the HOME Act, was signed by Governor Kemp in May 2026. It bars local governments and school districts from opting out of the inflation-capped statewide exemption, and it creates LHOST, an optional local sales tax of up to 1% for property tax relief. According to a secondary source, Ownwell, the mandatory cap takes effect in 2027 and LHOST becomes available from 2028; the primary reporting we read confirms the ban on opt-outs but not the start year. A constitutional challenge has been raised because revenue bills must start in the Georgia House, so check with your county how the law applies to your 2027 bill.
HB 439: the one-time $18,000 credit on 2026 bills
The amended 2026 budget, HB 439, signed May 12, 2026, funds a $950 million Homeowner Tax Relief Grant. Each qualified homestead gets a one-time $18,000 reduction in assessed value on its 2026 bill, shown as a line-item credit rather than sent as a check. It does not apply to bond millage or certain special district rates.
Why a new buyer will not see it
The credit needs a homestead exemption on file by April 1, 2026, and only someone who owned and lived in the home on January 1, 2026 could have filed one. If you bought after that date, any credit on your home's 2026 bill belongs to the seller's homestead, and the grant is for 2026 only. Its dollar value depends on which levies your county applies it to, so read the credit line on the bill rather than estimating it, and ask your closing attorney how it was handled in the tax proration.
What this means for an Acworth buyer
In Cobb, both the county government and the school district opted out of HB 581, so the statewide floating exemption does not reduce those lines today. Cobb's own floating exemption still protects the county general line, and the City of Acworth has its own on the city bill. Acworth's own HB 581 status is less clear: only a January 2025 report of its intent to opt out was found. The details, with what to check, are on our Cobb County homestead exemption guide.
Some Acworth addresses are in other counties. Bentwater owners file with the Paulding County Tax Assessor before April 1, and homes in the Cherokee part of ZIP 30102, such as Centennial Lakes, also face an April 1 deadline. Ask each county whether it applies HB 581, its own floating exemption, or both.
Common homestead mistakes in Georgia
- Expecting the seller's exemptions on your first bill. Flat and floating exemptions both restart with a new owner.
- Keeping a homestead on your old home. You can hold only one, and claiming two brings penalties.
- Assuming the state $2,000 is the whole story. Your county's local exemptions are often larger; ask for the full list.
- Skipping the senior exemptions at 62 and 65. They are not added automatically; you apply when you become eligible.
Once you are under contract, I can point you to the right county office for the address you are buying.
Common questions
Does homestead exemption need to be done every year?+
No. Once your county approves it, a Georgia homestead exemption renews automatically each year while you own and live in the home under the same ownership. You file again only after a sale, a move, a name or ownership change on the deed, or when you become eligible for a larger exemption such as a senior exemption at 62 or 65.
How much does a homestead exemption save you in Georgia?+
It depends on the county and its millage. The state minimum is $2,000 of assessed value, which saves $2 per mill. In Cobb, the $10,000 basic exemption saves $271.60 a year at 2026 rates, and floating exemptions save more over time as values rise, because they keep reassessments from raising the taxable value.
What do I need to bring to get homestead exemption?+
Your name, the property address and parcel ID, and proof that the home is your residence: usually a Georgia driver's license and vehicle registration showing the new address. Some counties also ask for the recorded deed, and homes held in a trust need the trust documents. Cobb asks for registration or tax receipts for every vehicle you own.
How long does homestead exemption last in Georgia?+
As long as you own the home and live in it as your primary residence under the same ownership. It ends when you sell or move out, and the next owner has to apply for their own. Floating exemptions, including HB 581's, are not portable: the taxable value resets to market value for the new owner.
What is the Georgia homestead exemption deadline?+
April 1. You must have owned the home on January 1 and file with the county tax commissioner or, in some counties, the tax assessor by April 1. You can file any time during the prior year, so a buyer who closes mid-year can apply right away for the next tax year. Missing the date waives the exemption for that year.
What is HB 581 in Georgia?+
HB 581 is a 2024 law that created a statewide floating homestead exemption from January 1, 2025. It limits yearly growth in a homestead's taxable value to inflation on all millage except bond levies. Local governments could opt out by March 1, 2025, and 316 did; SB 33, signed in May 2026, ends those opt-outs, from 2027 according to a secondary source.
Sources
- Georgia Department of Revenue: Property Tax Homestead Exemptions
- Georgia.gov: Apply for a Homestead Exemption
- Georgia Department of Revenue: County Property Tax Facts - Cobb
- Georgia Department of Revenue: County Property Tax Facts - Cherokee
- Paulding County Tax Commissioner: FAQ
- ACCG: HB 581 (2024) Frequently Asked Questions Document
- Tax Foundation: Localities Opt Out of Georgia's New Homestead Tax Exemption (April 2025)
- WABE: Georgia Gov. Kemp signs bill allowing local bodies to rescind opting out of statewide homestead tax exemption (April 2, 2025)
- Cobb County Tax Commissioner: Understanding Your Tax Bill 2025
- WABE: Georgia governor signs income, property tax reduction laws (May 11, 2026)
- Ownwell: What Georgia's HOME Act (Senate Bill 33) Means for Your Property Taxes (June 2026)
- Georgia Department of Revenue: 2026 Property Tax Relief Grant
- Cobb County Tax Commissioner: Exemptions - Property Taxes
- Cobb County Tax Commissioner: 2026 Millage Rates of Cobb County Bills
- Cobb County: Statement on Notice to Opt Out of Homestead Exemption
- Cobb County School District: Intent to Opt Out of Homestead Exemption
- Cobb County Courier: Cobb County School District to opt out of HB 581 homestead exemption (January 2025)
- Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors: FAQs
Lawrence Jackson
I am a Realtor® with Atlanta Communities and part of Team Jackson Sells Atlanta. I specialize in Acworth, Kennesaw, Marietta and Woodstock and serve all of Cobb County and metro Atlanta. You work directly with me at every step, from your first question to the closing table.
Realtor®, Atlanta Communities. General information, not legal, tax or lending advice.
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