TAXPAYER INFORMATIONDuties of the AssessorThe Board of Assessors is charged with specific administrative and statutory duties. It shall be the duty of the county board of tax assessors to investigate diligently and to inquire into the property owned in the county for the purpose of ascertaining what real and personal property is subject to taxation in the county and to require the proper return of the property for taxation. The Board of Tax Assessors is also responsible for the approval or denial of homestead and special exemption applications. The effective date of the assessment is January first of each year. The Assessor determines a full or partial value for all new construction and improvements depending upon their state of completion as of that January first date. Property is assessed to the owner of record as of January 1. GENERAL MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE ASSESSOR'S DUTIES The Board of Tax Assessors is not responsible for: Collecting taxes Calculating taxes Determining tax rates The Assessor is concerned with value, not taxes. Taxing jurisdictions such as schools, cities and county, adopt budgets after public hearings. This determines the tax levy, which is the rate of taxation required to raise the money budget.  Each county board of tax assessors consist of not less than three nor more than five members. The County Governing Authority appoints assessors to their position. His/her term may vary from three to six years depending on the county. Only one county in Georgia has elected Assessors. Assessors are required by law to pass a state examination and complete a continuing education program consisting of 40 hours of formal classroom instruction with and a passing grade of 70% attained. They must successfully complete at least 40 hours of approved appraisal courses during each two years of his/her tenure as a member of the county board of tax assessors. Fair Market Value Residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural real and personal property are assessed at 100% market value. Market value of a property is an estimate of the price that it would sell for on the open market on the first day of January of the year of assessment. This is often referred to as the "arms length transaction" or "willing buyer/willing seller" concept. The Assessor must determine the fair market value of real and personal property. To do this, the Assessor generally uses three approaches to value. Market Approach The first approach is to find properties that are comparable to the subject property and that have recently sold. Differences between the sales and the subject property are then considered. This method is generally referred to as the MARKET APPROACH and is usually considered the most important in determining the value of residential property. Cost Approach The second approach to value is the COST APPROACH, which is an estimate of how many dollars at current labor and material prices it would take to replace a property with one similar to it. In the event the improvement is not new, appropriate amounts of depreciation and obsolescence are deducted from replacement value. Value of the land is added to arrive at an estimate of total property value. Income Approach The INCOME APPROACH is the third method used if the property produces income. If the property is an income producing property, it could be valued according to its ability to produce income under prudent management; in other words, what another investor would give for a property in order to gain its income. The income approach is the most complex of the three approaches because of the research, information and analysis necessary for an accurate estimate of value. This method requires thorough knowledge of local and national financial conditions, as well as any developmental trends in the area of the subject property being appraised since errors or inaccurate information can seriously affect the final estimate of value. Why Values Change After properties have been appraised, the values are analyzed to ensure accurate and equitable assessments. Changes in market value as indicated by research, sales ratio studies and analysis of local conditions, as well as economic trends, both in and outside the construction industry, are used in determining property assessments. Notification and Appeal If the Board of Tax Assessors changes your value, they are required to send the taxpayer a "notice of change in assessment". If you disagree with the Assessor's estimate of value, please consider these three questions:
Taxpayers may appeal their assessment to the county board of equalization by mailing or filing with the county Board of Tax Assessors a notice of appeal within 45 days from the date on which the notice was mailed. In counties where the governing authority allows payment of taxes in installments, a notice of appeal must be filed or mailed within 30 days. Click here to find out the time limit in a specific county. The Board of Tax Assessors will review your appeal, and if a change is made to your value, you will receive another notice. You will have 21 days to respond in writing. You may accept the new value and terminate your appeal, or you may continue with your appeal to the County Board of Equalization or to Arbitration.If you have any questions about the assessment of your property, please contact your assessor's office. Board of Equalization and Arbitration The Board of Equalization is an independent board appointed by the Grand Jury in each county. Each person who is, in the judgment of the appointing grand jury, qualified and competent to serve as a grand juror, who is the owner of real property, and who is at least a high school graduate shall be qualified, competent, and compellable to serve as a member or alternate member of the county board of equalization. No member of the governing authority of a county, municipality, or consolidated government; member of a county or independent board of education; member of the county board of tax assessors; employee of the county board of tax assessors; or county tax appraiser shall be competent to serve as a member or alternate member of the county board of equalization. There are no cost involved in filing an appeal to the Board of Equalization. Arbitration is a totally different process. If the taxpayer request arbitration, the Board of Tax Assessors will file the appeal with the Clerk of Superior Court, and a Judge will assign a referee. If both parties agree, the matter may be submitted to a single arbitrator. If both parties agree, the referee may serve as the single arbitrator. If the parties do not agree to a single arbitrator, then three arbitrators shall hear the appeal. If one or both parties are unable to select an arbitrator, the appeal shall be heard by a single arbitrator that is appointed by the judge of the superior court. In order to be qualified to serve as an arbitrator, a person must be at least a registered real estate appraiser as classified by the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board. The taxpayer shall be responsible for the fees and costs of such taxpayer's arbitrator and the county shall be responsible for the fees and costs of such county's arbitrator. The two parties shall each be responsible for one-half of the fees and costs of the third arbitrator. In the event the appeal is submitted to a single arbitrator, the two parties shall each be responsible for one-half of the fees and costs of such arbitrator; and Important Dates January 1 Effective date of current assessment January 1 until March 1 or April 1 Period to file tax returns for real and personal property. Period to file personal property reporting forms. Period to file for Preferential Agricultural, Conservation Use, Freeport, Residential Transitional and Environmentally Sensitive Exemptions. March 1 Signup deadline Homestead Exemptions |