Georgia Property Tax Appeal Stats
We maintain a relational database of individual parcels and summary statistics going back years for millions of parcels in Georgia as part of our data-driven approach to property tax appeals. My background is in big data and analytics (think “Moneyball”), most recently with Fidelity Investments. Crunching data of this type is second nature to me. Wrangling disparate data sources into clear, bite-sized, bullet points is a fun challenge. This can give us a competitive advantage at the Board of Equalization and provides key insights for the state of Georgia as a whole. This is the latest data available as of April 2022.
More People Appeal Their Property Taxes Than You Think
Overall in 2020, there were about 122,174 property tax appeals filed in Georgia (residential + commercial), representing 2.7% of the 4.5M total parcels (or about 1-in-37 parcels) in the state. This was an 8.3% increase in the number of appeals from the prior year. The majority of appeals were residential properties. The average value of parcels appealed was $805,800 (residential + commercial), although the median is much lower. Overall, 9.9% of all property value in the state was appealed in 2020. Properties with higher assessed values were more likely to appeal.
Metro Atlanta counties appealed 4.4% of parcels (about 1-in-23 parcels) and 14.6% of total parcel value (average value = $897,500)
Fulton County was one of the highest at 5.8% of parcels (about 1-in-17 parcels) and 15.1% of total parcel value
Other Georgia counties (non-Metro Atlanta) appealed 1.5% of parcels (about 1-in-68 parcels) and 4.8% of total parcel value (average value = $601,900)
Metro Atlanta counties were about 3.0x more likely to appeal their property taxes than non-Metro Atlanta counties
These statistics show that it is pretty common for a homeowner to file a property tax appeal with the county tax assessor in any given year. Factoring in the three-year valuation freeze period, it is very likely that someone in your neighborhood has appealed this year or is under a valuation freeze from a prior year appeal and enjoying a lower tax burden. You should check your notice of assessment annually for errors as a first step in taking control of your property taxes. We’re happy to help.
Note: Ten counties have not yet submitted 2020 appeal statistics (representing about 5% of appeal volume), for these counties, the latest available data is used for these summary stats.
Most Property Tax Appeals Are In Metro Atlanta
In 2020, Metro Atlanta represented two-thirds (69.0%) of the total number of appeals and 76.8% of total appeal value ($) in the state. The largest counties in Metro Atlanta for property tax appeals were:
Fulton County: 19,969 appeals, 16.3% of the total number of appeals and 30.5% of total appeal value ($) in the state
DeKalb County: 11,435 appeals, 9.4% of the total number of appeals and 4.8% of total appeal value ($) in the state
Gwinnett County: 13,595 appeals, 11.1% of the total number of appeals and 15.1% of total appeal value ($) in the state
Cobb County : 7,999 appeals, 6.5% of the total number of appeals and 10.9% of total appeal value ($) in the state
These four counties alone represent 43.4% of the total number of appeals and 61.3% of total appeal value ($) in the state
More Than One-Third of Appeals are Settled or Withdrawn Before Hearing
Prior to a hearing, an appeal can be settled or withdrawn (for various reasons) and more than one-third of appeals (43.5%) ended this way in 2020. Appeals that do not make it to the hearing stage generally fall into one of three categories:
An amended notice is sent by the county (lowering the assessment, but probably only by a small fraction of what you requested) and the appellant does not continue the appeal. This is a common tactic employed by the county that effectively removes your appeal from the Board of Equalization calendar and denies you a three-year valuation freeze. If you have received an amended notice of assessment, contact us to discuss your options in securing your three-year freeze (note, you have 30 days to act from the mailing of this notice).
County and appellant come to an agreement on value (lowering the assessment). Depending on how this is arranged, the three-year freeze may or may not apply.
Appellant withdraws the appeal (no change in assessment). Counties make it very easy to withdraw your appeal prior to a hearing and often take up more space in the letter explaining how to withdraw your appeal than they do explaining when and where your hearing is.
The Board of Equalization Handles Almost All Appeals
Of those that make it to the hearing stage, 94.4% are submitted to the Board of Equalization (BOE), 5.2% to a hearing officer, and 0.4% to arbitration. As these numbers suggest, it’s pretty much all Board of Equalization. What is the Board of Equalization?
The Board of Equalization (BOE) is a three member panel made up of property owners from the county that have undergone training to hear your property tax appeal
They are selected by the Grand Jury and are sworn in by a Superior Court Judge
The county has the burden of proof in establishing the assessment value
The Board of Equalization decides at the conclusion of the hearing based on majority vote
Their decision may be appealed by either party to the Georgia Superior Court within 30 days (see below)
Many Homeowners Lose Their Appeal Because They Fail To Show Up To The Board Of Equalization
Overall, 17.0% of appellants that are scheduled for the Board of Equalization (BOE) failed to appear at the hearing in 2020. This, in practice, results in an automatic loss for their property tax appeal and the homeowner is not awarded a three-year freeze.
Metro Atlanta appellants failed to appear at the Board of Equalization hearing 16.5% of the time
Other Georgia appellants failed to appear at the Board of Equalization hearing 18.7% of the time
We believe these figures are low because the denominator, the number of appeals certified to the Board of Equalization, includes those that were withdrawn after being certified but before the hearing itself. The county makes it very easy to withdraw your appeal. We believe that of those the county expects to show up to the hearing (i.e. excluding those which are withdrawn), the failure to appear rate is closer to 25-30% in Georgia in 2020.
The county is definitely hoping that you do not show up to the hearing, making it an easy “win” for them. The county understands that it is very easy to fire off an appeal form (especially in counties allowing for online submission) but it is much more difficult for homeowners to show up, sit across the table from the county, and argue their case effectively. In our experience, the bulk of the decrease in your property tax assessment that can be achieved happens at the Board of Equalization hearing and not showing up can be fatal to your appeal.
If Dissatisfied, You Can Continue Your Appeal to the Georgia Superior Court - And Many Do
Overall, 3.5% of appeals that made it to the hearing stage (BOE, Hearing Officer, or Arbitration) were further appealed to the Georgia Superior Court in 2020. Those appeals with more value at stake are more likely to continue to the Georgia Superior Court. The average value of appeals that continued to the Georgia Superior Court was $3.1M.
Metro Atlanta appellants continued 3.6% of appeals to the Georgia Superior Court
Other Georgia appellants continued 3.5% of appeals to the Georgia Superior Court
If you got an unfair or unfavorable result at your Board of Equalization (BOE) hearing, contact us today to discuss your options regarding appealing that decision to the Georgia Superior Court (note, you have 30 days to act from the hearing date). We’re happy to help.
Notes: We used data from the Georgia Department of Revenue to put together these property tax appeal statistics. This data was submitted to the Georgia Department of Revenue by tax assessors from all 159 Georgia counties. Metro Atlanta is defined (by Hallock Law LLC) as 15 counties: Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, Forsyth, Cherokee, Fayette, Clayton, Henry, Bartow, Hall, Paulding, Douglas, Rockdale, and Coweta. While this definition seems expansive, it is actually much smaller than the Atlanta metropolitan statistical area (MSA) definition provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, which includes 29 counties. Did you know that Georgia has the second most number of counties (159) of any state? Texas is first with 254.
About the Author
Bryan Hallock, founding partner, escaped his data analytics job of 15 years at Fidelity Investments to pursue a new career as a small business owner. He earned his J.D. and M.B.A. from Georgia State University but will always be a Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech.
Bryan Hallock, Founding Partner | Property Tax Attorney. Photo by Katie Weeks Photo LLC