Georgia just passed a cap on property tax increases. Here's what it actually does.
The legislative session ended last night and a property tax bill barely made it through. The original version actually failed, but lawmakers stuck the provisions into a different bill and passed it right before midnight. It's on Governor Kemp's desk now.
What it does: caps how much your local government can raise property tax collections each year. The limit is 3% or inflation, whichever is higher. Right now there's no limit at all, so when home values across your county go up 20%, your tax bill can go up 20% too. This would put a ceiling on that.
It's a smaller deal than what was originally proposed though. The first plan would have gotten rid of property taxes on primary homes entirely by 2032, but what actually passed is just the cap. Speaker Burns called it "robust" but also admitted it wasn't "strong enough."
What it doesn't do: change anything about your 2026 assessment. Your notices are still coming (Cobb around May 10, Gwinnett May 23, Fulton mid-June) and you still have 45 days to file an appeal. That process is the same.