Frequently Asked Questions

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General Information

The format was modified to comply with new state law, as outlined in House Bill 92, passed in 2025. This changed the contents required in the notice under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-306. The Georgia Department of Revenue revised Box C to comply with HB 92. The Gwinnett County Tax Assessors’ Office is required by law to use the Annual Notice of Assessment form developed by the Georgia Department of Revenue.

These changes require greater transparency around:

  • Rollback rates
  • Homestead Exemption impacts
  • Legislative opt-in or opt-out provisions

 

These updates ensure taxpayers are informed about how local decisions affect their exemptions and millage calculations, especially when comparing last year’s assessed value to the current year’s. The legislature chose to remove the estimated taxes from the notice and include these new requirements.

Not necessarily. The Board of Assessors must appraise property as of January 1 of the current year using the most relevant appraisal data. If your property was sold in the previous year, we have considered the sale, including the sale date and market activity between the sale and January 1.

The Gwinnett County Board of Assessors’ appraisal staff determines your property value. Appraisers use three different approaches to value and determine which provides the most credible fair market value. The approaches to value include:

  • The Sales Comparison Approach is based on the sales prices of comparable properties.
  • The Cost Approach is based on the estimated costs of replacement or reproduction of structures, less accumulated depreciation, plus the value of the land.
  • The Income Approach is based on the capitalization of income generated by the property.
  • All three approaches must be considered but relied upon differently for different types of properties.

For residential properties, the sales comparison approach is the most typical method. Sales that occurred in the prior year (January through December) help determine the likely selling price of similar properties as of the assessment date, which is January 1 of the current year. The income approach may be considered if the property is income-producing. Typical income and expenses of similar income-producing properties can indicate a likely sales price. The cost approach may be used when the property being valued lacks recently sold comparable properties and when market income and expenses are not readily available.
Neighborhood property information, sales, and other transactions are available online on our Property Information Search webpage. When searching, be sure to enter the parcel number, property owner name, or property address. You can also locate your property in our online portal, then look for “Recent Sales In Area” or use the “Comp Report Generator” on the same page.

The Tax Assessors’ Office uses market studies to determine if properties are valued fairly, as required by the Georgia Department of Revenue.

We categorize properties by type, such as residential, agricultural, commercial, or industrial, and analyze recent sales within each category. Residential and agricultural properties are reviewed by neighborhood or land type. Commercial and industrial properties are evaluated based on their use and valued using approaches such as income, cost, or land value.

A recent sale of your property is usually the best indicator of its fair market value. For other properties, we compare recent sales in the area to our appraised values. If the values are too high or too low, we adjust them for the entire group.

Adjustments may increase, decrease, or leave your property value unchanged, depending on how it compares to others in the same group. The goal is to maintain uniform values and align them with the market.

NBHD stands for "neighborhood." In property appraisal, it refers to a group of similar properties that tend to sell or behave similarly in the real estate market. Boundaries can be manmade or natural, but neighborhoods are defined based on how properties relate to each other, not just location. Properties don’t have to be in the same subdivision, as long as they share common traits that affect value.

Value and Appeal Process

A Property Tax Return is not considered to be a Property Appeal because appeals are filed as a response to the Annual Notice of Assessment. Information provided by filing a Property Return prior to the Annual Notice of Assessment will be considered. If you filed a Property Return and then receive an Annual Notice of Assessment that states a property value you disagree with, you will need to file an appeal despite filing a return. Please visit our website to file an appeal if you disagree with the information on your Annual Notice of Assessment.

A: The Board of Equalization

  • The Board of Tax Assessors will review your appeal. Adjustments may be made, or the appeal may be forwarded to the Board of Equalization. The taxpayer will be notified by U.S. mail of any adjustment or forwarding of the appeal.
  • The Board of Equalization consists of panels of three persons appointed by the Grand Jury. Each member must reside in and own property in the county, have a high school diploma or GED, and complete Georgia Department of Revenue training.
  • The Clerk of Superior Court has oversight authority of the Board of Equalization.
  • The Board of Equalization is charged with listening to the valuation evidence presented by both parties (the property owner and the Tax Assessors’ Office) at a scheduled hearing.
  • After the hearing, the panel will render a decision, which either party may appeal.
  • There is no additional cost to the taxpayer for a Board of Equalization hearing.

B: Arbitration
  • An appeal of value may be filed to arbitration by filing your appeal specifying arbitration with the Board of Assessors within 45 days of the date of the notice.
  • The taxpayer must submit a $25 check for the filing fees of the Superior Court and a certified appraisal of the subject property within 45 days of the filing of the notice of appeal. The appraisal must be signed by a licensed appraiser and reflect an appraisal date close to January 1 of the tax year.
  • The Board of Assessors may accept the value indicated in the appraisal or reject it.
  • If the taxpayer's appraisal is rejected, the Board of Assessors will certify the appeal to the Clerk of Superior Court for arbitration. The judge will authorize the arbitration, and an arbitrator will be appointed to preside over the proceedings. If all parties agree on the appointed arbitrator, a hearing will be scheduled within 30 days.
  • Both the taxpayer's appraisal and the assessor's appraisal will be submitted to the appointed arbitrator. The arbitrator may schedule a hearing.
  • The arbitrator will issue a decision after the hearing. This decision can be appealed to Superior Court by either party in the same manner as Board of Equalization decisions.
  • The party whose value is farthest from the fair market value determined by the arbitrator is responsible for the fees and costs of the arbitrator.
  • Arbitrator costs may be substantial. Please contact the Clerk of Superior Court for estimates on arbitrator costs.

C: Hearing Officer
  • Only appeals made based on value or uniformity can be appealed to a hearing office.
  • Only non-homestead real property where the value is equal to or more than $500,000, or for one or more account numbers of a wireless company property totaling $500,000 or more qualifies for an appeal to a hearing officer.
  • The Clerk of Superior Court will appoint a hearing officer from an approved list of appraisers. Hearing Officers are either state-certified general real property appraisers or state-certified residential real property appraisers as classified by the Georgia Real Estate Commission and the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board, and who have received the necessary training by the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board. In the case of wireless property matters, Hearing Officers must be designated appraisers of such property with proper qualifications and experience to value such property. The County will pay for the services of the hearing officer; however, the taxpayer is responsible for any additional costs they may incur, such as legal representation and appraisal fees.
  • The decision of the hearing officer may be appealed to Superior Court by either party.

Taxes/Homestead Exemption

House Bill 92 requires all cities to provide an estimate of their millage rate. However, estimated taxes were removed from the notice format because millage rates cannot be accurately calculated until levying authorities receive final property values from the Board of Assessors.

The law also anticipated that some cities might not comply with the requirement to provide an estimate. In such cases, it directs assessors to revert to the previous estimation method using the prior year’s millage rate.

Note: Our office is required by law to use the Annual Notice of Assessment form developed by the Georgia Department of Revenue, which reflects these changes.

The new law requires each city, county, and school system to estimate its rollback millage rate. As a result, estimated taxes are no longer shown unless a jurisdiction did not provide this estimate.
If a property is still under appeal with no value settlement in place yet, the Tax Commissioner will issue a partial tax bill. This is a temporary bill and does not reflect that the property value was changed. Do not withdraw your appeal based solely on this temporary, partial tax bill. The partial, temporary bill sent to you by the Tax Commissioner’s Office was calculated using the lesser of either 100 percent of the prior year value or 85 percent of the most recent value. Your payment for this partial, temporary bill is due to the Tax Commissioner’s Office by the due date to avoid penalties and interest. The Tax Commissioner’s Office will calculate a final bill once your appeal is complete.

Personal Property

Business Personal Property assets include furniture, fixtures, equipment, machinery and inventory used in the normal course of your business. Leased and rented equipment must also be reported, but separately from owned assets.
All businesses in Gwinnett County should report Business Personal Property assets regardless of value.
You may mail the return through your preferred carrier. HOWEVER, we cannot accept a metered return as proof of timely filing. Only the USPS cancellation stamp can be considered. We suggest sending the documents by a trackable method to confirm delivery.
Report Business Personal Property assets on state of Georgia form PT-50P. The deadline for filing a Personal Property Return is on or before April 1.
Assets owned as of January 1 of each year must be returned on or before April 1 of each year.
No, there are exceptions. The Georgia Personal Property law states: All tangible personal property of a taxpayer, except motor vehicles, trailers, and mobile homes, shall be exempt from all ad valorem taxation if the actual fair market value of the “total amount” of taxable tangible personal property owned by the taxpayer within the county, as determined by the board of tax assessors, does not exceed $20,000.00
If your business has inventory and you are a Georgia manufacturer or distributor that ships products out of Georgia, you may qualify for a Freeport Inventory Exemption. If you believe this exemption may apply to you, please review the information provided by the Georgia Department of Revenue as guidance.
Georgia law states a 10% non-filing penalty should be added to all taxable unreported or late-reported assets.

All appeals must be received or postmarked within 45 days of the notice date.

We can accept any letter of disagreement that identifies the property (by parcel number or address) and is received or postmarked within a 45-day period as a formal appeal. Any information concerning the reasons for the appeal or information you can share about the property will greatly assist in the process. Grounds for appealing your valuation are:

  • Value: Would the property sell for the appraised amount?
  • Taxability: Is the property taxable?
  • Uniformity: Is the appraisal uniform with other similar properties?