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Georgia Statewide Homestead Property Tax Exemption Increase Measure (2024)
| Georgia Statewide Homestead Property Tax Exemption Increase Measure | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Taxes and Property | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin State legislature |
The Georgia Statewide Homestead Property Tax Exemption Increase Measure was not on the ballot in Georgia as a legislatively referred state statute on November 5, 2024.
The measure would have increased the statewide homestead property tax exemption from $2,000 to $4,000. The property tax exemption exempts properties occupied by owners as a primary residence and homestead from taxation for state, county, and school purposes. Taxes may still be levied by municipalities for school purposes to pay interest on and to retire bonded indebtedness.[1]
The full text of the proposed amendment as passed by the state legislature and the ballot language for the amendment reference included different amounts of the proposed exemption amount. The bill was ultimately vetoed by the governor due to the discrepancy.
Text of the measure
- Note: The full text of the proposed amendment as passed by the state legislature and the ballot language for the amendment reference included different amounts of the proposed exemption amount. The bill was ultimately vetoed by the governor due to the discrepancy.
Ballot title
The ballot title for the amendment as provided in HB 1019 is displayed below:
| “ | Shall the Act be approved which increases from $2,000.00 to $10,000.00 a statewide homestead exemption from ad valorem taxes for state, county, and school purposes, other than municipal school purposes and other than to pay interest on and retire bonded indebtedness, for a homestead occupied by its owner?[2] | ” |
Full text
The amendment would have amend Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. The following underlined text would have been added and struck-through text would have been deleted:[3]
| “ |
The homestead of each resident of this state actually occupied by the owner as a residence and homestead shall be exempted from all ad valorem taxation for state, county, and school purposes, except taxes levied by municipalities for school purposes and except to pay interest on and to retire bonded indebtedness, for as long as the residence and homestead is actually occupied by the owner primarily as a residence and homestead. The exemption shall not exceed |
” |
Support
Supporters
Officials
- State Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R)
- State Rep. Jan Jones (R)
- State Rep. David Knight (R)
- State Rep. Matt Reeves (R)
- State Rep. Deborah Silcox (R)
Arguments
You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Opposition
Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.
Arguments
You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Background
Homestead property tax exemptions in Georgia
A homestead property tax exemption reduces the amount of property taxes that a homeowner owes on their residence.
The Georgia State Legislature referred a constitutional amendment to the 2024 ballot that was designed to amend the state constitution to provide for a local option homestead property tax exemption and allow a county, municipality, or school system to opt out of the exemption.
The following conditions must be met to qualify for a homestead exemption in Georgia:[4]
- ownership of the property must be established as of January 1;
- the property must be designated as the individual's legal residence for all purposes;
- the individual must physically occupy the home; and
- the individual can not be currently claiming a homestead exemption for another property, whether within Georgia or in any other state.
Georgia offers the following state and county homestead exemptions:[5]
- The Standard Homestead Exemption, which provides a $2,000 deduction from the assessed value of the primary residence for county and school taxes, with certain exceptions.
- Individuals aged 65 and older may claim a $4,000 exemption from all county ad valorem taxes if their income is below $10,000 per year, with exclusions for social security income.
- Individuals aged 62 and older may claim an additional exemption for taxes with educational purposes (including to retire school bond debt), if the individual's income is below $10,000.
- The Floating Inflation-Proof Exemption is available for individuals aged 62 and older, allowing for an exemption based on natural increases in the home's value and that is available if the home has increased in appraised value by $10,000 or more;
- Disabled veterans or their surviving spouses are eligible for exemptions as well as surviving spouses of U.S. service members or peace officers/firefighters killed in the line of duty are granted exemptions from ad valorem taxes, with specific amounts determined by law.
County local homestead exemptions
The Georgia Constitution allows counties to enact local homestead exemptions. The following 36 counties have enacted an exemption that freezes the valuation of the property at the base year valuation as long as the homeowner continues to live at the residence:
Property tax exemptions in Georgia
The following are exempt from property taxes in Georgia:[6]
- items of personal property used in the home if not held for sale, rental, or other commercial use;
- all tools and implements of trade of manual laborers worth up to $2,500 in actual value;
- domestic animals with an actual value less than $300;
- tangible personal property that does not exceed $7,500 in value excluding motor vehicles, trailers, and mobile homes;
- computer software when it is installed on computer hardware as an operating system;
- certain farm products and equipment.
Property tax exemption measures in Georgia
The measure required a two-thirds vote in the Georgia State Legislature since it was designed to create a property tax exemption. Under Section 2 of Article VII of the state constitution, property tax exemption bills require a two-thirds supermajority vote (rather than a simple majority vote) in the state legislature and must be approved by a majority of statewide voters. From 2000 through 2022, 22 property tax exemption measures appeared on the statewide ballot, of which, 19 were approved and three were defeated.[3]
2022: Two property tax exemption measures were on the 2022 ballot and both were approved. Referendum A exempted timber equipment from property taxes and the other expanded agricultural equipment exemptions.
2020: One property tax exemption measure was on the 2020 ballot. The measure, which was approved by a vote of 73% to 27%, exempted from property taxes property owned by a 501(c)(3) public charity (such as Habitat for Humanity) if the property is owned exclusively for the purpose of building or repairing single-family homes and the charity provides interest-free financing to the individual(s) purchasing the home.
2018: Two property tax exemption measures— Referendum A and Referendum B— were on the statewide ballot in 2018. Both were approved; Referendum A by a vote of 57% to 43% and Referendum B by a vote of 77% to 23%. Referendum A provided for a homestead property tax exemption in certain municipalities equal to the difference between the home's assessed value for the current year and the adjusted base year value of the home. Referendum B provided that an existing tax exemption for nonprofit housing for the mentally disabled could be applied to housing constructed or renovated through financing from businesses.
2014: Referendum 1, which was approved by voters in 2014, extended a public property ad valorem tax exemption to privately held and operated student dormitories and parking decks that are obliged by contract to serve universities within the University of Georgia system. It was approved by a vote of 74% to 26%.[7]
2010: Referendum A, approved by voters in 2010, provided that inventory of businesses is exempt from state property tax. It was approved by a vote of 54% to 46%.[8][9]
2006: Six measures were approved in 2006 that expanded homestead tax exemptions and property tax exemptions for agricultural products and farming equipment, veterans organizations, and charitable organizations.
2002: Five property tax exemption measures were on the ballot in 2002, of which three were approved. The three measures that were approved increased the tax exemption on personal property, changed the income limit for school tax homestead exemptions for individuals 62 years of age and older, and extended certain ad valorem tax exemptions to surviving spouses of military personnel killed in armed conflict.
2000: Four property tax exemption measures were on the ballot in 2000, of which three were approved. The three measures that were approved exempted certain farm equipment of family-owned farms from ad valorem taxes, increased the ad valorem tax exemption for tools and trade implements of manual laborers, and provided for homestead exemptions for un-remarried surviving spouses of military personnel killed in conflict equal to the amount a disabled veteran is entitled.
Path to the ballot
Per Article VII, Section II, Paragraph II(a) of the Georgia Constitution, legislation for property tax exemptions requires a two-thirds vote of each chamber of the Georgia State Legislature and voter approval.
The ballot measure was introduced into the state Legislature as House Bill 1019 (HB 1019). On February 8, 2024, the Georgia House of Representatives voted 162-0, with 16 members not voting or absent, to approve the bill. The Senate approved an amended version of the bill on March 29 in a vote of 54-0. The House passed the bill in a vote of 145-0 on March 29.[10]
The full text of the proposed amendment as passed by the state legislature and the ballot language for the amendment reference included different amounts of the proposed exemption amount. The bill was ultimately vetoed by the governor due to the discrepancy.
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Georgia General Assembly, "HB 1019," accessed February 13, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedText - ↑ Georgia.gov, "Apply for a homestead exemption," accessed April 11, 2024
- ↑ Georgia Department of Revenue, "Property Tax Homestead Exemptions," accessed April 11, 2024
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedglynn - ↑ Georgia Legislature, "HB 788," accessed March 19, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Proposed Constitutional Amendments and State-wide Referendum Question General Election November 2, 2010," accessed November 5, 2015
- ↑ Georgia General Assembly, "HB 482 full text," accessed September 24, 2010
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbill
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State of Georgia Atlanta (capital) |
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