Tax appeals pileup: county staff says 1,300 appeals remain; House Bill 581 limits county tax base to 2024 values

Jeff Dewberry, a member of the public, asked the Haralson County Board of Commissioners for clarity about the millage rate, appraisal appeals and next steps for taxpayers.

Zach, an appeals staff member, told the board the county is “roughly less than 3% of value in dispute” and estimated that equates to about 1,300 outstanding appeals. He said the county has reduced the percentage of value in dispute from roughly 39% to under 3% as staff process appeals. “Those 1,300 appeals we are still either processing right now… our appeals manager is processing through those as quickly as he can,” Zach said.

Zach explained that tax bills may be issued even while appeals remain pending and that the state tax commissioner has, in some cases, worked with taxpayers on payment plans. “If you have a question about your appeal, please do call us,” he said, and noted the appeals manager’s typical turnaround time may be about a week.

On the effect of recent state law, a commissioner explained that under House Bill 581 the county’s tax calculation for county purposes will be based on 2024 values. “For this year's tax purposes... your millage rate is going to be based off of your 2024 value,” the commissioner said, adding that updated values may still affect school taxes because some school boards did not opt into the same provisions.

The county encouraged taxpayers with questions to contact the appeals manager or the tax commissioner's office. No changes to tax policy were made at the meeting; staff described ongoing processing and outreach to property owners and confirmed some appeals have been resolved in recent days.