In recent years, Fulton County has come under fire for retroactively revoking homestead exemptions — property tax breaks for owner-occupied homes — when someone dies, then billing heirs or co-owners for multiple years of back taxes.
Two proposed class-action lawsuits argue this “claw-back” practice disproportionately burdens lower-income Black homeowners, stripping away intergenerational wealth and destabilizing at-risk communities.
In some cases, homeowners didn’t learn their exemption had been rescinded until years later, leaving them with unmanageable tax bills, liens, or even the threat of foreclosure. The county insists it has already reinstated some exemptions and refunded improper charges, but the plaintiffs counter that none of the illegally collected taxes have truly been repaid.
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