AssessCheck

Deadlines: Homestead, Appeal Window, and Payment

Georgia’s calendar runs on fixed dates with one variable window: January 1 fixes the value, the spring notice opens the appeal, the 45-day count from the notice’s mailing date closes it, and December 20 (in most counties) ends the year with payment. The homestead exemption rides the same calendar — with a recent extension that ties its deadline to the appeal window itself.

January 1: the annual valuation date

All property is returned and assessed at fair market value every year (O.C.G.A. 48-5-6), with the value established as of January 1 (O.C.G.A. 48-5-2). There is no state-mandated revaluation schedule: counties review their digests annually against sales data and update values at the frequency their market warrants. The assessed value is 40% of fair market value, and the tax is the millage rate applied to assessed value after exemptions.

Date: January 1 (valuation date, annually)

The annual assessment notice

The county board of tax assessors must send an ANNUAL assessment notice for real property (and a notice whenever it disagrees with a personal-property return). When the notice reflects a CHANGE in assessment, it must give the owner a knowledgeable contact and, where the increase exceeds 15%, a non-technical explanation of the basis plus the right to view or copy the records used.

Anchor: the county board of tax assessors' annual mailing, typically in spring · Basis: rule tied to an event

45 days from the mailing date

The written appeal is filed with the county Board of Tax Assessors within 45 DAYS of the date the Assessment Notice was mailed — the Department states plainly that missing it forfeits the appeal rights. The appeal may be based on taxability, value, uniformity and/or a denied exemption, and in the initial written dispute the owner must DECLARE a method: the county Board of Equalization, a Hearing Officer, or an Arbitrator. The state's uniform form is PT-311A; email filing works only where the board has adopted an electronic-submission policy. When the board CHANGED the owner's returned value, the burden of proving the change rests on the board — and stays there even into superior court; and if the final determination lands at 85 percent or less of the appeal-stage valuation, the owner recovers costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

Anchor: the date the Assessment Notice was mailed · Basis: rule tied to an event

April 1 — now extendable to the appeal window

The homestead exemption requires owning and occupying the home as your legal residence as of January 1 (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-40), with the application filed with the county tax commissioner (or the delegated tax assessor in some counties) by the property-tax-return deadline of April 1. Georgia has extended this: a homeowner may now apply beyond April 1 up to the END of their 45-day appeal window. The state standard exemption is $2,000 deducted from the 40% assessed value; many counties add local exemptions, including valuation-freeze exemptions that hold the assessment at a base year while the owner resides there.

Date: April 1 (historic deadline; now extendable to the end of the 45-day appeal window)

December 20 in most counties

Property taxes are normally due December 20 in most counties, though some counties set a different date; taxpayers have 60 days from the date of billing to pay. The county tax commissioner bills and collects for the county, school and state.

Date: December 20 (most counties) · 60 days from billing

The shape of a year (illustrative)

Illustrative sequence — your county’s notice mailing and payment date control the middle and the end.

  1. January 1: the valuation date — market value as of this day, for this year’s digest.
  2. April 1: the historic property-tax-return and homestead-application deadline — now extendable, for homestead, up to the end of the 45-day appeal window.
  3. Spring (say, April 10): the assessment notice mails — with the Bill of Rights contents if the value changed.
  4. Within 45 days of the mailing (say, May 25): PT-311A filed — declaring your method — and the extended homestead window closes with it.
  5. Summer – fall: the declared method hears the appeal (Board of Equalization, hearing officer, or arbitration); unresolved cases continue toward superior court.
  6. By December 20 (most counties): the tax is due — computed on the final value, with 60 days from billing as the alternative count in counties that bill later.

What this tells you: Georgia’s deadlines are all front-loaded relative to the bill — the appeal is fully underway months before payment. The extended homestead window is the quiet gift in the calendar: a new homeowner who missed April 1 can still file while the appeal window is open.

What it does not tell you: your county’s notice mailing date and payment date (some counties set a different due date than December 20) — both published by your county tax commissioner.

Where the processes are explained

Sources