Tax Commissioner General Information FAQs

Yes. There are several exemptions and special assessment programs available that may apply to your property. The most common are the homestead exemption for real estate. Contact the Rabun County Tax Assessor's Office for details of the available special assessment programs and homestead exemptions.

Taxpayers may challenge an assessment by the County Board of Tax Assessors by appealing to the County Board of Equalization or to an arbitrator(s) within 45 days from the date of the assessment notice. Once the county board of equalization or the arbitrator(s) has rendered a decision, the taxpayer may continue their appeal to the superior court by mailing or filing with the County Board of Tax Assessors a written notice wishing to continue the appeal.

Property tax is an ad valorem tax, which means according to value. Ad valorem tax, the tax collected by the tax commissioner, is based on the value of the taxable property in the county.

All real estate and personal property are taxable unless the law has exempted the property. (O.C.G.A. 48-5-3) Real property is land and generally anything that is erected, growing, or affixed to the land; personal property is everything that can be owned that is not real estate. Personal property typically consists of inventory and fixtures used in conducting business, boats, aircraft, farm machinery, motor vehicles, and mobile homes. Your household property is not normally taxable.

The Board of Assessors has the responsibility of determining the value of property in Rabun County. Each year between January 1 and April 1, every property owner has the ability to declare a proposed value for their property. (O.C.G.A. 48-5-9) These values are declared in the manner of 'filing a return.' Returns for real estate are filed in the Tax Assessor's office, and returns for personal property are filed with the Board of Assessors. The Board of Assessors will review your proposed value, and if they disagree, an assessment notice with the Boards' value will be mailed to you.

When taxes remain unpaid for more than 90 days after their due date, the taxes are subject to a tax FIFA (lien) being recorded in the Office of the Clerk of Superior Court. These records are public, so credit bureaus may access them and may use them to adversely affect your credit. The tax office does not deal with these credit bureaus, and so has no control of how they use the information or how often they update their records.