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Fulton County Property Taxes - 🎯 2025 Ultimate Guide & What You Need to Know [rates, lookup, payments, dates]
Feel a bit overwhelmed trying to understand how property taxes work in Fulton County? You aren’t alone; property taxes are definitely a confusing subject! However, it’s important to understand tax rates by county, city, and school district before buying a house because it plays a major role in the Atlanta cost of living.
This Fulton County property tax guide covers everything you want to know, from the property tax laws, to the property tax rate in Fulton County, GA to calculating school, county, and city property taxes. Additionally, we'll dive into Atlanta property tax, as it is the biggest city in the Fulton County area.
To understand property taxes in Fulton County, GA, it helps to first understand how property taxes work in Georgia as well as the property tax laws.
Under Georgia law, all real property is taxable unless it is exempted. Property taxes are charged on January 1, with property tax returns filed between January 1 and April 1. Property taxes are due by October 15 (August 15 in Atlanta). Unlike some states, Georgia does not provide a refund for partial-year residents. If you owned the property on January 1, you are responsible for the entire year’s property taxes, even if the property is sold the next day.
If taxes are not collected, a tax levy can be placed on the property. It can eventually be sold if the tax remains unpaid.
Georgia property is assessed at 40% of its fair market value, or the amount a buyer would pay and a seller would accept for the property. All real estate is assessed at the county level by the county’s Board of Tax Assessors. There are special assessment programs and exemptions that can reduce a property’s assessed value. The Georgia State Revenue Commissioner has the duty of reviewing each county’s digests to make sure property is assessed fairly.
Georgia law requires all property to be returned and assessed at its fair market value each year.
When you receive your tax bill, you will see a fair market value for your home and the property’s assessed value. If you do not agree with your assessed value, you have the right to file an appeal.
There are two departments involved in property taxes in Fulton County, GA:
Here is a more in-depth look at the roles of each department.
Fulton County Board of Assessors
The Board of Assessors is responsible for:
Appraising property
Processing tax exemption applications and appeals
Maintaining property tax maps and ownership records
Preparing the annual property tax digest
Fulton County Tax Commissioner
The Fulton County Tax Commissioner is Dr. Arthur E. Ferdinand who has been elected to the position for more than 20 years. Ferdinand earns about $490,000 in his role, up from a $70,000 salary he earned in 1997. His county salary is $161,000 but he has agreements with four cities and pending contracts with two other cities, according to an AJC investigation. County tax commissioners in Georgia can legally contract with cities to collect their taxes for them and charge a fee for the service.
The Tax Commissioner is the property tax collector for Fulton County. His role includes:
Calculating and preparing tax bills
Collecting property taxes
Processing vehicle tag applications
Distributing tax funds to Fulton County, county school boards, the City of Atlanta, and other municipalities in the county.
After collecting property taxes, the commissioner uses them to support city and county services and school districts. The Fulton County General Fund, or the portion that goes to the county, supports county-wide services like behavioral health, arts, senior services, libraries, elections, and the county justice system.
You can view property tax records, property assessments, and more online. This is useful for checking or paying your property tax bill or even checking tax history before buying a house.
Advanced search (search by criteria like acreage or sales price)
The property tax search can show you information like:
Subdivision
Neighborhood code
Acreage
Tax district
Appraised value
Assessed value
Appraisal and assessment history
Appeals and appeals history
Owner and address
Parcel number
Tax exemptions
Sales history
City and county tax bills
City and county tax credits
Tax penalties and interest
Fulton County Property Tax Rate
How much are property taxes in Fulton County? How do they compare to the state and the rest of the U.S.? The county has one of the highest effective property tax rates in Georgia and the entire country. Most counties in the state fall below this tax rate.
The Fulton County effective property tax rate is 1.16%. By comparison, homeowners in Cobb County cities pay a property tax rate of 0.86%. Cherokee County has an 0.87% effective tax rate. Forsythe County, just outside Atlanta, has an effective tax rate of 0.83%, the lowest in Metro Atlanta.
The Georgia average property tax rate is 0.87%. The average Georgia resident pays $1,771 in annual property taxes.
The national average property tax bill is $2,471.
How Are Property Taxes Calculated?
There is a simple formula to calculate property taxes in Fulton County. Here is how to calculate Fulton County property taxes for your county, school, and city tax bill.
(Property Value x Assessed Rate) – Exemptions) x Property Tax Rate = Property Tax Bill
If a home has a fair market value of $100,000, its assessed value is $40,000 based on the 40% assessed rate. This assessed value is used to calculate county property taxes.
Note: taxes are calculated using your Fulton County, school, and city tax or millage rate.
Next, subtract your exemptions. The basic Fulton County homestead exemption of $30,000 is available if you own your home.
The $40,000 assessed value minus the exemption gives you a taxable value of $10,000 in this example. This is then multiplied by the Fulton County millage rate (9.2724) and then divided by 1,000 to give you your county property tax bill. That would give you a county property tax bill of $93.30 on the $10,000 property tax assessed value.
Some Fulton County cities like Atlanta and Sandy Springs have property taxes billed alongside Fulton County taxes. Other incorporated cities like Roswell and Alpharetta collect their own city taxes.
Property owners in Atlanta can expect to pay taxes to the Atlanta Public School System, the City of Atlanta, and either Dekalb or Fulton County. In 2022, the breakdown of these taxes was as follows:
Atlanta Public Schools: 51%
City of Atlanta: 25%
Fulton or Dekalb County: 24%
Fulton County Property Tax Payments
Georgia property taxes are due by December 20, although some counties have earlier deadlines and some require two installments.
Fulton County property tax due dates are:
October 15 for Fulton County property taxes
August 15 for City of Atlanta property taxes
If your payment is not received by the due date, you may be subject to tax penalties and interest. The late fee is 5% of the outstanding amount every 120 days after the due date, up to 20% of the original tax due. Interest is also added at a monthly rate of 1/12 percent of the bank prime loan rate plus 3%.
Pay Fulton County Property Taxes Online
You can pay online at FultonCountyTaxes.org. Select a property type and either the parcel ID, account number, or street address. You will then have the option to pay with a credit card or e-check. There is a convenience fee to pay by card but no online fee for e-check payments.
Where to Pay in Person
You can pay your property tax bill at the Fulton County Tax Commissioner’s office using a credit or debit card. The following offices accept property tax payments:
Here is additional information about property taxes in Fulton County, GA, including how to appeal your property assessment and office locations.
You can appeal your property tax assessment within 45 days of the postmark date on your annual assessment notice. Your property tax appeal will be reviewed by the Board of the Assessors. If the board decides not to change your assessment, your appeal will be sent to the Board of Equalization. This is a citizen panel of property owners appointed by the Grand Jury of Fulton County to hear appeals on value, taxability, special assessments, and homestead exemptions.
A hearing will be scheduled before the Board of Equalization. You will receive notice for the scheduled hearing, which is held at 141 Pryor Street, Suite 5001, at the Fulton County Government Building. You may appear before the board, authorize a representative in your absence, or appear with your representative. During the hearing, you can submit documentationto support your appeal, including appraisals, photos of the interior or exterior of your home, documentation of the purchase price or sales price, and comparable property sales.
The decision the Board of Equalization reaches can be appealed by the property owner or the County Board of Tax Assessors. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days from the postmark date on the mailed decision. Your appeal will be submitted to the Superior Court and must be filed with the Board of Tax Assessors.
Fulton County Board of the Assessors Office Locations
The following is property tax office contact information for the Board of Assessors. You can reach the BOE by phone at (404) 612-6440.
Fulton County homeowners may qualify for a homestead exemption that acts as tax relief. After the assessed value of your home is determined, your county, city, and school homestead exemptions are deducted from the assessed value. Taxes are then calculated based on the millage rate.
There are several homestead exemptions:
Basic homestead exemption
Senior homestead exemption
Exemption for low income homeowners
Exemption for disabled homeowners
Exemption for surviving spouses of public safety officers and military members killed in the line of duty
Disability exemption for disabled veterans and surviving spouses
Once you are granted a homestead exemption, it will renew automatically every year as long as you occupy your home. The only exception is the Low Income exemption which must be renewed every two years.
You may be eligible for different exemptions for city, school, and Fulton County taxes.
The following are examples of homestead exemptions:
Basic homestead exemption for Fulton County: $30,000
Atlanta Schools basic homestead exemption: $50,000 (after the first $10,000 in assessed value)
Fulton County property taxes may be high, but you’ll enjoy a great quality of life, excellent amenities, and great schools in exchange. Are you buying a house in the Atlanta area? Count on Wirks Moving & Storage for an easy moving day! Call our friendly Atlanta movers today at (404) 635-6683 for your free estimate.
Eric Wirks
Eric Wirks started out in the moving industry over 16 years ago and after gaining in depth expertise in all industry related areas, went on to found Wirks Moving & Storage in 2009. Under Eric’s expert tutelage Wirks Moving & Storage has since serviced over 10,000 moves and kept their customers very happy, proven by a 98% customer referral rate.
