I have had many of you ask about how your property taxes are determined and are they based upon your property’s value? You bet they are; that’s why I encouraged everyone to take a look at their home’s current tax bill and look at what the tax appraisers office say your home is worth.
Unfortunately, most of our property values in Gwinnett County, Georgia have seen a decline since 2007. I work North Gwinnett, mostly Duluth, Suwanee, Sugar Hill, Buford and Lawrenceville. I have not yet seen a neighborhood where values haven’t declined in the last 2 years. Some neighborhoods have declined as much as 25%; others may have only declined 10%. Remember, real estate is LOCAL.
If you are curious as to what your home is worth, submit your information to www.GAHomePrices.com and I’ll send you the information.
OK, back to our Gwinnett, GA property taxes. Our taxes are based upon the assessed value of the property minus any exemptions, then multiplied by the millage rate. Our assessed value is 40% of the appraised value.
If you have filed for Homestead Exemption (which I hope you have), then you get that amount of the homestead exemption off of the assessed value. There are additional exemptions people can qualify for, but this one is the most common – check with the official Gwinnett County website for additional information on homestead exemptions.
Gwinnett County, in 2010, has increased the millage rate to 13.25 mills (a 2.28 mill increase over 2009 millage rate). Remember, one mill equals one dollar for every $1,000 of assessed value.
Now, let’s take a simple example. Assume your property was appraised for $100,000:
- Appraised Value of Property: $100,000
- Assessed Value of Property (40% of appraised value): $40,000
- State Homestead Exemption: $2,000
- Local Homestead Exemption: $4,000
- Total Millage Rate: 30 mills (includes a 29.75 local millage rate (10 mills for county and 19.75 mills for board of education) and the 0.25 State of Georgia millage rate)
(Assessed Value – Exemptions) x Millage Rate = Taxes Due
($40,000 – $2,000 – $4,000) x .0300 = $1,020
Your tax bill is calculated based on the assessed value of the property (40% of the appraised value), minus any exemptions, multiplied by the millage rate.
Exemptions for property taxes vary from county to county. The State of Georgia has established a statewide $2,000 Homestead Exemption. In addition, many counties offer additional exemptions for the county residents as well as for the elderly and other special circumstances.
The millage rate is determined by the budgets adopted annually by the county board of commissioners, the county board of education and cities within the county (if the city you live in levies a property tax). A mill equals $1 in tax for every $1,000 of net assessed value. In addition, the state assesses a millage rate in each county of 0.25 mills.
In Gwinnett County, GA, you had until March 1st to do a filing to dispute your property taxes. Then in mid-April, you will get a letter from the county to say if they agree with what you stated your property value to be. If you disagree with their assessment, you then have 30 days to file an appeal.
In summary, your property taxes are directly related to what the county says your home is worth.
Remember, your real estate values are local to your area. If you have any questions about what your home is worth, please go to 
