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notice within 30 days. This second appeal made the property owner or any initial appeal which is not amended by the
board of assessors is automatically forwarded to the Board of Equalization. A hearing is scheduled and conducted
and the Board of Equalization renders its decision at the conclusion of the hearing. If the taxpayer is still dissatisfied,
an appeal to Superior Court may be made.
Appeal to a Hearing Officer: The taxpayer may appeal to a Hearing Officer, who is a state certified general real
property or state certified residential real property appraiser and is approved as a hearing officer by the Georgia Real
Estate Commission and the Georgia Real Estate Appraiser Board, when the issue of the appeal is the value or
uniformity of value of non-homestead real property, but only when the value is equal to or greater than $1,000,000. If
the taxpayer is still dissatisfied with the decision of the hearing officer, an appeal to Superior Court may be made.
Appeal to an Arbitrator: An appeal of value may be filed to Arbitration by filing your appeal specifying Arbitration
with the board of assessors within 45 days of the date of the notice. The Board of Assessors must notify the taxpayer
of the receipt of the arbitration appeal within 10 days. The taxpayer must submit a certified appraisal of the subject
property within 45 days of the filing of the notice of appeal which the board of assessors may accept or reject. If the
taxpayer’s appraisal is rejected the board of assessors must certify the appeal to the county clerk of superior court for
arbitration. The arbitration is authorized by the judge and a hearing is scheduled within 30 days. The arbitration will
issue a decision at the conclusion of the hearing, which is a final and which may not be appealed further. If the
taxpayer’s value is determined by the arbitrator to be the value, the county is responsible for the clerk of the superior
court’s fees, if any, and the fees and costs the arbitrator. If the board of assessors’ value is determined by the
arbitrator to be the value, the taxpayer is responsible for the clerk of the superior court’s fees, if any, and the fees and
costs the arbitrator.
The Department of Revenue may not over-ride the board of assessors, board of equalization, hearing officer,
arbitrator or Superior Court regarding individual appraisals and assessments. The Local Government Services
Division of the Georgia Department of Revenue is charged with general supervision of ad valorem tax administration
across the state including; annual approval of tax digests; the training and certification of tax officials; and regularly
scheduled audits of each of the 159 county boards of assessors.
In order to facilitate the mass appraisal process, the Revenue Commissioner has adopted specific procedures
through the Appraisal Procedures Manual and other Rules and Regulations regarding tax administration. These
procedures are designed to arrive at a basic appraisal value of real and personal property and to provide guidance for
the local tax assessors to provide fair market value under normal circumstances. When unusual circumstances are
affecting value, they should be considered. In all instances, the appraisal staff will apply Georgia law and generally
accepted appraisal practices to the basic appraisal values required by this manual and make any further valuation
adjustments necessary to arrive at the fair market values.
For additional information about the appeals procedure in the county, you should contact the board of tax assessors.
Appeals to the Superior Court
Written notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days to the county board of tax assessors
Once a decision has been made by the county board of equalization or a hearing officer, the taxpayer may
appeal their decision to the superior court of the county by mailing or filing with the county board of tax
assessors a written notice of appeal. The written notice of appeal should be mailed or filed within 30 days
from which the decision of the county board of equalization was mailed.
Ad valorem taxes must be paid
Before the superior court can hear an appeal, the ad valorem taxes must be paid in an amount equal to the
last year in which taxes were determined to be due. (O.C.G.A. 48-5-29)