A year after Fulton County residents flooded town hall meetings upset over how they would manage to pay taxes on higher property assessments, state lawmakers proposed a slew of tax breaks to help homeowners save money on their property tax bills.
But none of those fixes will be in place in time for this year's tax bills. Instead, those homeowners will have to rely on the existing slate of exemptions if they want to lower their property taxes. And they need to hurry — applications are due to the county by Monday.
“It doesn’t cost you anything to get it, and it saves you money,” said DeWayne Pinkney, Fulton County’s deputy chief appraiser. “It’s kind of like a no-brainer. Why wouldn’t you?”
Everyone in the county who lives in the home they own has access to one, basic homestead exemption. Valued at $30,000, it’s subtracted from the assessed value — which is 40 percent of the fair market value — of a home.
The total assessed value minus that $30,000 exemption — and any others that homeowners may be eligible for — is what homeowners are actually taxed on.
After that, more individual exemptions may come into play.
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The two Fulton County school districts have two different exemptions for school taxes. For homeowners in the Atlanta Public Schools, it’s different $30,000 discount on the taxable value, this time applied to school taxes. For those the the Fulton County Schools, it’s $2,000.
And while Fairburn, Palmetto, Roswell and Union City don’t have additional exemptions from their city property taxes, every other city in the county does. They range from a $2,000 exemption in East Point to $40,000 in College Park and Alpharetta. Those exemptions help reduce the city portion of the tax bill.
But residents can only get those discounts if they already have the basic Fulton exemption.
There are other exemptions, too. Seniors — depending on age and income — can get tax reductions for county, city or school taxes.
And low-income seniors, when they reach age 70, don’t have to pay property taxes at all for the county, or for South Fulton, Johns Creek, Chattahoochee Hills or Sandy Springs.
Other property tax exemptions are available for people who are disabled and unable to work. Still more apply to disabled veterans or un-remarried spouses of police officers, firefighters or military members killed in the line of duty.
And all of them reduce a homeowner’s property taxes.
“It behooves citizens to know what’s out there,” said Jessica Corbitt, a Fulton County spokesperson. “The basic exemption opens up all the doors.”
For more information about the various exemptions, and how to apply, see http://fultonassessor.org/exemptions/ or call 404-612-6440 extension 4. For senior exemptions in Alpharetta, College Park, East Point, Hapeville, Fairburn, Milton, Palmetto, Roswell and Union City, call those cities directly.
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