If you own your home in Fulton County, there are ways to reduce your property tax bill.
Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. started this year’s “District Dialogues” by describing homestead tax exemptions with the help of county tax officials in a virtual forum Monday evening.
“If you live in a house in Fulton County you very well may qualify for a homestead exemption,” said James Whitman, deputy chief appraiser for the homestead division of the tax assessor’s office.
But that home must be the owner’s primary residence. Homeowners can apply anytime, but to be counted toward the current tax year they must own and live in the house as of Jan. 1, and apply for exemption by April 1. Applications that don’t meet those criteria won’t be counted until the following tax year.
This year homeowners actually have until April 3 because the 1st falls on a Saturday, Whitman said.
A house’s value for tax purposes is typically 40% of its market value, he said. A homestead exemption will reduce that taxable amount even further.
There are several kinds of homestead exemption, Whitman said. There is a basic $25,000 value exemption for which all owner-occupants qualify, plus special exemptions for people over age 62, various income levels, disabled veterans and the surviving spouses of veterans or of police and firefighters who died in the line of duty, he said. There is also a “poverty exemption” based on federal household income limits, but it must be renewed every two years, Whitman said.
Arrington said those who receive age-related exemptions at age 62 need to reapply for a similar exemption at ages 65 and 70; for the standard exemption, not based on the homeowner’s age, people only need to apply once.
A new exemption this year will deduct $10,000 from a house’s taxable value from Fulton County school taxes – but only if the homeowner is over age 65 and has already gotten a basic exemption for at least five years, Whitman said.
Arrington added that only applies outside the limits of Atlanta city schools.
The easiest way to apply for exemptions and get information is online at https://fultonassessor.org, Whitman said. Homeowners can also visit six locations of the tax assessor’s office around the county, or call 404-612-6440 ext. 4.
Arrington will also hold two in-person town halls over the following week. The first will take place at 11 a.m. Monday, March 13, at New Beginnings Neighborhood Senior Center, 66 Brooks Drive in Fairburn. The second will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, at Palmetto Branch Library, 9111 Cascade Palmetto Highway in Palmetto.
Arrington said he will hold a public safety forum with South Fulton city officials and Sheriff Patrick Labat on March 23 at Friendship Community Church in South Fulton.
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