2023 Property Tax Relief Grant

Property owners will receive the tax relief grant in the form of a $18,000 reduction of the assessed value of their property. Below are the steps of this process:

• Following preparation of property tax bills, local tax officials notify the Department of Revenue of the total anticipated revenue if all applicable millage rates were applied to all qualified homesteads. The local tax officials apply to the Department of Revenue for this money.
• The Department of Revenue issues credits appropriated by the General Assembly to the local taxing authorities. The credit cannot exceed liability once all applicable homestead exemptions and millage rollbacks have been applied.
• Appropriation of funds is conditional on local taxing authorities reducing a taxpayer’s liability and including a notice on the property tax bill which states that the reduction comes from the Governor and the General Assembly.

Homestead owners will receive their credit in installments as well.

No. The Property Tax Relief Grant only applies to properties claimed as a homestead by a Georgia taxpayer filed prior to the April 1 deadline. Homesteads where the property owner does not owe property taxes will not receive a Property Tax Relief Grant.

The Property Tax Relief Grant is different from a homestead exemption. The standard homestead exemption in Georgia is $2,000. This $2,000 is deducted from the 40% assessed value of the homestead. Additional homestead exemptions are offered for:

• seniors over 65,
• seniors over 62,
• disabled veterans, and
• the surviving spouses of public safety officers, firefighters, disabled veterans, and military members.

Georgia also offers a Floating Inflation-Proof Exemption for those over 62 based on natural increases in a homestead’s value. Because some homestead owners do not owe taxes on their homestead, some of these homestead owners will not qualify for the Property Tax Relief Grant.

The Property Tax Relief Grant program was created by the Governor and the General Assembly in the late 1990s and discontinued following the 2008 Recession. Following FY 2009, the General Assembly can only appropriate Property Tax Relief Grants to local taxing authorities if certain limitations are met. Those limitations prohibit Property Tax Relief Grants unless estimated revenues for the current fiscal year exceed estimated revenues available for appropriation as enumerated in the budget of the most recent fiscal year in which Property Tax Relief Grants were appropriated by 3 percent plus Consumer Price Index inflation as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor. Due to the State’s excess reserves, these limitations have been met and the Governor and General Assembly can appropriate the Property Tax Relief Grants.

It is recoverable in the same manner as other delinquent ad valorem taxes. Likewise, local taxing authorities must provide the property tax relief grant if one was erroneously denied.

The Property Tax Relief Grant applies to all millage rates except for bond millage rates and tax allocation district millage rates.

O.C.G.A. §36-89-1 et seq.

No. The Property Tax Relief Grant is shown as a reduction of your property tax bill. You will see savings on your bill, but you will not receive a check in the mail or a payment via direct deposit. 

No. Georgia law requires individuals to make an application for homestead between January 1 and April 1 to receive a homestead exemption for the current tax year. Any application filed after April 1 is applied to the following tax year. 

Property owners will receive the tax relief grant in the form of a $18,000 reduction of the assessed value of their property. Below are the steps of this process:

• Following preparation of property tax bills, local tax officials notify the Department of Revenue of the total anticipated revenue if all applicable millage rates were applied to all qualified homesteads. The local tax officials apply to the Department of Revenue for this money.
• The Department of Revenue issues credits appropriated by the General Assembly to the local taxing authorities. The credit cannot exceed liability once all applicable homestead exemptions and millage rollbacks have been applied.
• Appropriation of funds is conditional on local taxing authorities reducing a taxpayer’s liability and including a notice on the property tax bill which states that the reduction comes from the Governor and the General Assembly.

The Tax Commissioner and/or their digest vendor, pending Department of Revenue validation.

Tax commissioners provide the Department of Revenue with a copy of their tax digest in a computer readable format. The requirements for this file are found in Regulation 560-11-2-.57. Additional instructions and guidance will be provided by the Department of Revenue as the process is finalized.

Local taxing authorities must provide the total number of qualified homesteads, the local millage rates, and the total amount of credits allowed on the tax bills.

The Department of Revenue remits the homeowner tax relief grants within 60 days of certification.

The money is remitted back to the Department of Revenue by the local taxing authority. The Department of Revenue sends the money back to the State Treasury.

No. The Department conducted an extensive review of statute, regulation, case law, and past practice. Following this review, the Department concluded it was most prudent to exclude special tax districts created after 2004. This is consistent with the law and the Department’s administration of the Homestead Tax Relief Grant in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Regulation 560-11-2-.57 defines county millage rate as follows…

(c) "County millage rate" means the net ad valorem tax millage rate, after deducting applicable rollbacks, levied by a county for county maintenance and operations purposes and applying to a qualified homestead, but shall not include any ad valorem tax millage rate levied for purposes of bonded indebtedness or any ad valorem tax millage rate levied within a special tax district that was not created or reported on the 2004 ad valorem tax digest certified to and received by the State Revenue Commissioner on or before December 31, 2004.

Similarly, Regulation 560-11-2-.57 defines municipal millage rate as follows:
(j) "Municipal millage rate" means the net ad valorem tax millage rate, after deducting applicable rollbacks, levied by a municipality for maintenance and operations purposes and applying to a qualified homestead, but shall not include any ad valorem tax millage rate levied for purposes of bonded indebtedness or any ad valorem tax millage rate levied within a special tax district that was not created or reported on the 2004 ad valorem tax digest certified to and received by the State Revenue Commissioner on or before December 31, 2004.

For further questions, please contact Local Government Services Division Staff at [email protected].  

As of February 1, 2023, every local government is in compliance with DCA. Eligibility for the Property Tax Relief Grant will be determined based on compliance on the date that the AFY 2023 budget becomes law. If a local government is out of compliance on that date, the Department will utilize its authority to require that savings are passed along to the homeowner. The Department will then send the Property Tax Relief Grant reimbursement to local governments once they are back in compliance.

No. The qualified local government statute applies to grants from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Community Affairs, and the OneGeorgia Authority. It does not impact grants from the Department of Revenue.

Eligibility for the Property Tax Relief Grant will be determined based on compliance on the date that the AFY 2023 budget becomes law. DOR intends to work closely with DOAA to ensure that all local governments are in compliance with O.C.G.A. § 36-81-7 in a timely manner to avoid any concerns or limitations under O.C.G.A. § 31-81-7(d)(5). If a local government is out of compliance on the effective date, there may be circumstances where the local government may request that the state auditor extend or waive the statutory deadlines for compliance. See O.C.G.A. § 36-81-7 (d) and (g).

The Property Tax Relief Grant applies to all millage rates except for bond millage rates and tax allocation district millage rates.

O.C.G.A. §36-89-1 et seq.