County-by-county comparison of every Georgia property tax exemption: homestead, senior, veteran, and disability. Ranked by dollar savings with 10 data tables, sourced from official county records.
Last Updated: March 2026
Georgia's property tax exemption system isn't one-size-fits-all. The state provides a baseline of homestead, senior, veteran, and disability exemptions, but counties layer on their own programs that can multiply those savings by ten or more. A 62-year-old in Cobb County pays zero school taxes regardless of income, saving roughly $3,800 a year on a median-value home. A 65-year-old in a rural county with only the state exemption saves maybe $100.
That gap is the story of Georgia's exemption landscape: identical homeowners, wildly different tax bills, depending entirely on which county they live in.
This compilation ranks Georgia counties by exemption value across every major category. The data covers the 25 most-populated metro Atlanta and suburban counties, with statewide figures for programs that apply uniformly.
Georgia assesses property at 40% of fair market value. A $400,000 home has a $160,000 assessed value, and all exemptions are applied against that assessed figure. The state sets a floor of basic exemptions, but Georgia's home rule provisions allow each of the 159 counties to enact additional local exemptions through legislation or voter referendum.
The result is a patchwork. Two neighbors separated by a county line could have tax bills that differ by thousands of dollars, even on identical homes.
Every exemption in Georgia requires an application filed with your county tax commissioner or board of assessors by April 1 of the tax year. Exemptions aren't automatic.
The standard state homestead exemption is $2,000 off assessed value, available to all homeowners who own and occupy their primary residence. Many counties enhance this substantially.
Notes: DeKalb's EHOST program makes it the most generous basic homestead county in Georgia. The EHOST credit isn't technically an exemption -- it's a sales tax credit that zeroes out specific levy categories -- but the effect on the homeowner's bill is the same: roughly $1,658 per year on a median $357,800 home. The Gwinnett VOE (Value Offset Exemption) automatically freezes the county portion of assessed value at the time of homestead filing.
DeKalb County's EHOST program returned $206.3 million to homesteaders in 2025, making it the most valuable basic homestead benefit in Georgia.
Senior exemptions vary enormously by county. The state provides a $4,000 exemption off assessed value for age 65+ (income limit: $10,000 net, excluding Social Security). But the real savings come from county school tax exemptions.
All savings calculated on a $400,000 home (assessed value = $160,000).
Calculation notes: Savings represent the school tax portion eliminated (exempted assessed value x school millage rate), since school taxes are the dominant component. Cobb: $160,000 x 18.70 mills = $2,992. Gwinnett: $160,000 x 20.15 mills = $3,224. Cherokee: $160,000 x 17.95 mills = $2,872. Clayton: $160,000 x 19.600 mills = $3,136.
This is the gold standard of Georgia property tax relief. In these counties, qualifying seniors pay zero school taxes, period. School taxes typically account for 50-70% of the total property tax bill.
A 62-year-old in Cobb County pays zero school taxes regardless of income. On a $400,000 home, that's $2,992 in annual savings from a single exemption.
What about the "$10,000 income limit"? This sounds restrictive, but Georgia excludes Social Security and retirement income up to $99,648 (2026) from the calculation. A retiree drawing $70,000/year from Social Security and pensions could have a Georgia net income of $0, easily meeting the threshold. Meanwhile, Cobb, Cherokee, Clayton, Forsyth, Carroll, and Coweta don't have any income limit at all.
This table uses each county's actual median home value (from ACS/Census data) to calculate real-world savings for different exemption types.
Reading this table: The basic homestead savings column shows why DeKalb stands out for all homeowners (not just seniors or veterans) -- the EHOST program delivers roughly $1,658 in annual relief to every homesteaded property. For seniors, the school tax exemption dominates the savings column. For disabled veterans, the $126,526 assessed value exemption produces the largest dollar savings in high-millage counties like DeKalb and Fulton.
Calculation formulas:
Georgia's disabled veteran exemption is a statewide program under O.C.G.A. Section 48-5-48, so the exemption amount is uniform across all 159 counties. The county-by-county variation comes from millage rates, which determine the dollar value of that exemption.
The 2026 exemption shields $126,526 of assessed value from ALL taxes (state, county, municipal, school). A home with a fair market value at or below ~$316,315 pays zero property taxes.
Key qualifications:
A 100% disabled veteran in DeKalb County saves $5,731 per year. On a home valued at $300,000 or less, they pay zero property taxes.
Pending legislation: SB 129 would eliminate the $126,526 cap entirely for 100% disabled veterans AND create a new proportional exemption for partially disabled veterans. If approved by voters in November 2026, it would take effect January 1, 2027.
Georgia has no statewide non-veteran disability exemption beyond the standard $2,000 homestead. All meaningful disability relief for non-veterans comes from county-level programs. Most require 100% total and permanent disability documented by a physician.
A critical feature: many counties use "age 62+ OR 100% disabled" language, giving younger disabled homeowners access to what are technically "senior" exemptions.
SSDI recipients take note: Social Security disability income is excluded from Georgia net income calculations up to $99,648 for 2026. A person receiving $2,200/month in SSDI ($26,400/year) with no other income has a Georgia net income of $0, easily meeting even the strictest county thresholds.
DeKalb's Equalized Homestead Option Sales Tax (EHOST) is unique in metro Atlanta. It uses a 1% sales tax to fund a 100% credit on the General and Hospital Fund levies for homesteaded properties. No other metro county provides this level of universal homestead relief.
How it works: Every DeKalb homeowner with a homestead exemption on file receives a credit that eliminates 100% of the General Fund and Hospital Fund levies. These levies total approximately 11.6 mills. On a median $357,800 home (assessed value $143,120), that's roughly $1,658 per year -- before any senior, veteran, or disability exemptions even kick in.
EHOST has been in effect since 2021 and is funded through the county's HOST (Homestead Option Sales Tax). The credit applies automatically to any property with a homestead exemption.
DeKalb's EHOST distributed $206.3 million to homesteaders in 2025. No other metro Atlanta county provides a comparable universal homestead credit.
Several Georgia counties offer exemptions that freeze the taxable value of a home, protecting homeowners from rising assessments. These come in different forms.
The HB 581 opt-out problem: Georgia voters approved HB 581 with 63% in November 2024. But the law allowed local governments to opt out by March 1, 2025. Approximately two-thirds of school systems, one-third of counties, and one-quarter of cities opted out (per Georgia State University). Every major metro Atlanta school system -- Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, DeKalb, and Chatham -- opted out. SB 382, which passed the Georgia Senate 31-19 in February 2026, would prevent local governments from opting out.
The mid-year birthday trap: Georgia uses January 1 as a firm statutory cutoff. If you turn 62 on January 15, you don't qualify for the age 62+ school tax exemption until the FOLLOWING year. Plan ahead: mark your calendar to apply between January 1 and April 1 of the year after you meet the age threshold.
This table highlights how much county-level programs multiply the state baseline. Every figure uses a $400,000 home (assessed value = $160,000) for comparison.
The state homestead exemption saves roughly $52 per year. DeKalb's EHOST-enhanced homestead saves $1,658 -- a 32x multiplier from a single county add-on.
Why the multiplier matters: Content creators and journalists frequently cite Georgia's "$2,000 homestead exemption" as if that's the whole story. It isn't. The counties have built a parallel exemption system that dwarfs the state baseline. Any analysis of Georgia property taxes that ignores county-level programs is fundamentally incomplete.
The exemption landscape is shifting fast. Here are the most significant recent and pending changes.
Fulton County voters approved three new senior exemption bills with 75%+ margins in November 2025:
An estimated 35,000+ seniors will benefit, with ~$50 million in annual revenue impact to the school district. Existing qualifying seniors are automatically enrolled.
Cherokee County removed the home value cap ($501,000 previously) on the senior/disabled school tax exemption. Homeowners in $800,000+ homes now get the same 100% school tax elimination as everyone else. New applicants after January 1, 2025 must meet a 5-year homestead requirement.
The statewide floating homestead exemption approved by voters in November 2024 was supposed to cap assessed value increases at the rate of inflation for all homesteaded properties. But approximately two-thirds of school systems opted out. SB 382 (passed Senate, pending in House) would close this loophole by making the cap mandatory.
SB 129, which passed the Georgia Senate 56-0, would:
This isn't a comprehensive eligibility guide -- each county publishes detailed requirements on their tax commissioner's website. But the priority order is clear:
April 1 is the deadline. Applications filed after April 1 won't take effect until the following year. File between January 1 and April 1 at your county tax commissioner's office.
This compilation draws from the following categories of sources:
Government sources (primary):
Data sources:
Legislative sources:
Methodology:
Limitations: