Property Tax Explained!
Posted by Ben Hirsh on Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 at 10:02am.One of the most common questions I get asked by buyers is what the annual property tax will be for a home in a particular Intown Atlanta neighborhood. The taxes obviously vary based on the county, as well as whether a home is located in a city or an unincorporated area. The vast majority of Intown Atlanta neighborhoods are located in either Fulton or Dekalb County, so I will focus on them, but if you have questions about other Metro Atlanta counties, feel free to send me an e-mail and I'll be glad to provide you the information.
So without further ado, here is the general formula for calculating annual property tax in the state of Georgia:
(Appraised Value of the Home x 0.4 - County's Homestead Exemption) / 1,000 x Millage Rate = Annual Property Tax
All of these variables will probably seem fairly intuitive except the millage rate. So what exactly is the millage rate? The millage rate (also known as the tax rate) is a figure applied to the value of your property to calculate your property tax liability. One "mill" is one dollar of tax on every thousand dollars of taxable value. Each city and unincorporated district within a county has their own predetermined millage rate and below are some of the figures for Fulton and DeKalb counties:
| Alpharetta | 36.43 |
| Atlanta | 43.86 |
| Roswell | 34.33 |
| Sandy Springs | 35.91 |
| South Fulton | 34.56 |
| Unincorporated | 39.33 |
| Atlanta | 43.89 |
| Avondale | 47.76 |
| Decatur | 50.59 |
| Unincorporated | 39.30 |
So, to estimate your annual real estate taxes, follow these steps:
1. Multiply the total appraised value of your home by 0.4 (40 percent).
2. Deduct from this amount your homestead exemption ($10,000 for DeKalb ; $15,000 for Fulton).
3. Divide the balance by 1,000.
4. Multiply this amount by the millage rate listed above.
The final figure you get is your estimated annual tax. To determine your estimated monthly property tax, simply divide by 12.
For example, if you are looking to buy a $500,000 home in Virginia Highlands that falls under Fulton County's Atlanta district, you would calculate your annual property tax as:
($500,000 x 0.4 - $15,000) / 1,000 x 43.86 = $8,114.10
The estimated monthly property tax for this home would be $676.18.
I hope this explanation was simple enough to understand and I most certainly hope you will find it useful when calculating annual and monthly costs of your new home purchase. As I mentioned already, the millage rates provided above are not exhaustive, so if you have questions about any other counties or cities, please send me an e-mail at damir@kunovac.com and I will gladly answer.
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