Appealing Your Property Taxes

Beacham & Company makes no guarantees or warranties that the information on this page is correct and further stipulates that this information may contain errors and omissions. You should check with the county or municipality where the property is located before relying on the information contained herein.

Often times, and especially in today's volatile market, properties similar to yours are being taxed at property values that are simply too high. In reviewing your tax bill, it may appear that your taxes may not be uniform in value to similar properties within your tax district.

Georgia law provides a procedure for property tax assessment appeals to each county's tax assessor. Taxpayers simply must complete a "Real Property Tax Return" and submit it to the appropriate county's tax assessor. Each county uses their own form. In Fulton County, the Real Property Tax Return is the same form the county uses for homestead exemption applications. To obtain a copy of the property tax assessment appeal forms for Fulton, Dekalb and Cobb Counties, see the links at the bottom of this page. The application simply needs to be completed and mailed to the county tax assessor.

The deadline for submitting the appeal is April 1, 2010.

In general, property owners have a greater likelihood of success in their appeals if they submit supporting documentation along with the real property tax return. Examples include:

1) a recent appraisal of the Property;
2) a copy of your settlement statement from your recent purchase of the Property;
3) a list of recent sales of comparable properties.

After you appeal is received, the tax assessor will review your file and either approve your new suggested value, establish a new value or deny your appeal. In deciding whether to submit an appeal it is important to remember the assessor does have the right to raise your tax bill if they believe your assessment is currently too low. Property owners whose taxes are not overvalued or only slightly overvalued would most likely not benefit from the appeal. During the period of your appeal your taxes will be billed at eighty-five percent (85%) of their current value. If you are buying or selling a home and the seller has started a property tax appeal, the buyer should be able to resume the appeal after closing. Depending on the outcome of your appeal a refund will be issued or an additional bill will be issued for the year.

If you would like more information about property tax appeals, please call us at 404.261.6300 or email info@beacham.com.