Georgia lawmakers could require local governments that have already opted out of a new statewide homestead property-tax exemption to renew their decision annually — a move that reflects the legislature’s recognition of widespread opt-outs across the state, particularly in metro Atlanta, and its bid for broader adoption of the policy.
Nearly two-thirds of 4.8 million Georgia voters approved a (confusingly worded) constitutional amendment in November that permanently caps any annual increases in the assessed value of someone’s primary residence at the annual inflation rate statewide.
The referendum, teed up last year via House Bill 581, was pitched as offering Georgia homeowners relief from skyrocketing property taxes in a heated real estate market — particularly for high-value properties.But critics warned it could deprive schools — which rely heavily on property tax revenue — and other public services of much-needed funding.
The Local Option Homestead Property Tax Exemption took effect on Jan. 1, but the law gave city and county governments and local school boards until March 1 to decide if they wanted to opt out and stick with their own local property-tax codes. Local governments that missed the March 1 deadline are locked into Georgia’s homestead tax exemption for perpetuity, since it’s a constitutional amendment.
That tight timeline triggered a wave of opt-outs across the state, fueled by local governments’ dual concerns over losing property-tax revenue and their control over taxation. When the city of Atlanta opted out, for instance, it said it was “prioritizing local control over property tax policies to better serve Atlanta’s unique needs,” according to a press release. The city’s existing homestead tax exemption, enacted in 2019, caps annual taxable property assessment increases at 2.6%.
In response, Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) introduced House Bill 92 — which he called “a cleanup to the homestead exemption piece,” according to Decaturish — to create a more cumbersome opt-out procedure.
HB 92 is under Senate consideration after overwhelmingly passing the House by a 173-1 vote on Feb. 18. It would make the opt-out process annual, requiring cities, counties, or school boards to hold three rounds of public hearings, then file an opt-out notice with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office by March 1 of each year.
The bill does not include any provision to allow local governments or school districts that already opted in by default this year to later opt out.
If HB 92 passes, Atlanta, like other local jurisdictions that opted out, would have to opt out again in 2026 and every subsequent year, or else get permanently locked into the state’s homestead tax exemption.
If the annual opt-out requirement takes effect, said Courtney English, Mayor Andre Dickens’ top policy advisor, “the city council will have to reassess its current and future funding priorities and justify whether or not the [city’s current homestead] exemption should be expanded or not.”
“The mayor’s administration and the council will weigh the revenue needed to provide high-quality city services, versus expanding the exemption,” English added.
Most, if not all, metro-area school districts opted out too — including those for Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Clayton, and Gwinnett Counties, as well as Atlanta Public Schools and City Schools of Decatur.
Fulton County’s board of commissioners, on the other hand, opted in.
“While Fulton County has had a floating homestead exemption in place for 20 years, HB 581 offers an option that may be more advantageous for some homeowners,” Fulton County Commissioner Bob Ellis said in a press release.
The Fulton Board of Assessors will automatically calculate and apply whichever homestead exemption — its own or the state’s — affords the biggest tax break to each eligible homeowner, Ellis said.
Conflicting opinions
The surge of opt-outs among local governments in metro Atlanta and across Georgia represents a sharp disparity of opinion on whether a mandatory statewide homestead tax exemption is either beneficial or necessary.
Julian Bene, a local property tax watchdog, said the new bill constitutes “harassment” — an effort to complicate the opt-out process for local governments and school districts that prefer to institute their own homestead tax exemptions — or have none at all.
“It’s a waste of the public’s time,” he said in an email. “We need local control. If voters don’t like [opting out], they can elect a new school board or politicians. And why do we have elected local school boards? They know better than statewides what budget their school system needs and how to fund it.”
Clayton County’s school board explained in a statement that its assessed property values were already quite low, relative to other neighboring school districts.
“While the intent of House Bill 581 is to offer property tax relief to homeowners, it could have unintended consequences for school systems like Clayton County Public Schools, which already receives less funding compared to other large metro Atlanta districts,” the school board’s statement said.
Some metro Atlanta homeowners are miffed by the torrent of opt-outs, claiming escalating property-tax bills are too burdensome, according to the Associated Press.
But an Atlanta Civic Circle analysis last year revealed that the property-tax savings from capping the annual assessment value of a primary residence at the statewide inflation rate would mainly accrue to owners of expensive houses.
If the fair-market assessment value of a home jumps from, say, $10 million to $12 million — a 20% increase — but the annual Georgia inflation rate is only 3.5%, then the assessment increase would be capped at $350,000 (3.5% of $10 million). Consequently, an entire $1.65 million of the increase in the house’s value would be tax exempt.
“I would not see how this would do anything but further [widen] the income and wealth gap in Atlanta and across the state,” Kyle Kessler, the Center for Civic Innovation policy and research director, said in November.