Property Taxes

When you buy a home, you have to pay property taxes, or more precisely, ad valorem taxes.

These taxes on the value of your property vary depending on which county and city the property is in. It is very hard to compare and contrast property taxes from state to state because the rules on how they are calculated vary so much. Also, some states have relatively low property tax and high sales or income taxes. Other states have just the opposite. Suffice it to say that Georgia’s property tax burden is somewhere in the bottom third of states.

Within Georgia, we can compare property taxes by city and county. It is not always easy, particularly in some of the Atlanta Metro counties to determine exactly which special districts your house is in and therefore which taxes apply, but we can get some rough comparisons.

Also, keep in mind that there are homestead exemptions to consider and variances in how real property is assessed, so please keep in mind that the data presented here is for relative comparison purposes only and not for calculating your exact tax liability. These property tax millage rates may not be precisely accurate. For more information on local property taxes, please contact the pertinent city and county. You may also find this Georgia Department of Revenue website useful.

2005 / 2006 Property Tax Comparisons

City

County

City Millage

County Millage

 Total
Atlanta Fulton 32.143 11.720 43.863
Sandy Springs Fulton     34.558
Roswell Fulton 6.087 32.827 38.914
Alpharetta Fulton 6.600 32.827 39.427
Johns Creek Fulton 4.614 32.827 37.441
Milton Fulton 4.614 32.827 37.441
Cumming Forsyth 0 22.863 22.893
Woodstock Cherokee 6.115 25.939 32.054
Marietta Cobb 2.867   31.617
Duluth Gwinnett 5.191 31.430 36.621
Lawrenceville Gwinnett 2.410 31.430 33.840

Property tax in Georgia is calculated by taking 40% the assessed value of your home, which may or may not be that close to the actual appraised value of your home, to determine the taxable value.  This taxable value is then divided by 1000 and multiplied by the millage rate.  The millage rate can be thought of as the price per $1,000 of taxable value.  For example, in The City of Alpharetta, you would pay $39.427 per $1000 of taxable value in your home.

My Rule of Thumb:  For quick calculations when considering homes for sale, I figure that the property taxes in North Fulton County will be approximately 1% of the sales price.  A $350,000 house will pay approximately $3,500 per year in property taxes.


Copyright © 2008 Warmath Real Estate    

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