Gov. Brian Kemp at the annual State of the State address at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)
This storywas updated on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at 8:08 p.m.
Local governments and school districts in Georgia can now rescind their decisions to opt out of a statewide homestead tax exemption approved by voters last November.
Georgians voted to pass a state constitutional amendment to cap yearly property tax increases by basing property value on an annual assessment of the consumer price index. Still, local governments and school districts could have chosen to opt out of the tax exemption.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed House Bill 92, which would allow local bodies to rescind their decision to opt-out at any time by April 30, 2025, for tax year 2025 and by March 1 of each year for tax years 2026 to 2029.
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Numerous governments and school systems in Georgia have elected to opt out of the statewide exemption, including several in the metro Atlanta area. These includes the school districts of Atlanta, Clayton, Decatur, DeKalb, Fulton and Marietta; the education boards of Cobb, Gwinnett and Henry; the county commissions of Clayton, Cobb, Decatur and Gwinnett; and the city governments of Atlanta, College Park, Forest Park, Marietta, Smyrna and Stone Mountain.
Lead sponsor State Rep. Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire, told WABE that HB 92 was designed to be a “cleanup” of HB 581, the original measure that put the statewide homestead tax exemption to voters.
“So the hope is that there are enough things that are in this cleanup bill along with the original 581 that they can reconsider and stay in,” he said. “Give our homeowners some relief and predictability on their property tax.”
Georgia State Rep. Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire, sits in the House chamber on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Blackmon is the lead sponsor of HB 92, which Gov. Brian Kemp signed Wednesday. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)
Other provisions in the bill include an incentive for school districts that have the statewide homestead exemption in effect. This incentive comes in the form of tax rebates for certain construction materials used for capital outlay projects for educational purposes funded by a sales tax in the Georgia Constitution.
“Hopefully, that is a bit of carrot,” Blackmon said.
For those local bodies that still choose to opt out of the exemption, HB 92 requires them to include in every ad valorem property tax bill they issue a notice “in bold print” that informs the resident that the body has decided to opt out of the exemption and a telephone number they can call if they have concerns about that decision.
In addition, under the bill, surviving spouses who inherit a homestead would not need to apply for the exemption.
Finally, the bill limits the amount of property that can qualify for the statewide tax exemption to the primary residence and no more than five contiguous acres surrounding the residence.
Clarification:This article has been updated to clarify that under HB 581, local governments could have chosen to opt out of the exemption. The deadline to elect to opt out of the statewide exemption, however, has passed.
This article has also been updated to clarify that the 5-acre limitation on property that can qualify for the exemption means that the exemption will only apply to five acres or less of property surrounding the primary residence, not any property outside of that five acres.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly explained the provision for surviving spouses. It has been corrected.
