Over the last dozen years, I have been forced to live, learn, study, and research the property tax appeal process from multiple perspectives with information sources & reports coming in from several counties throughout Georgia. I am informed by my own lived experiences, assisting others in their tax appeals, personal research, interviews, Georgia statute readings, […]
Up to now, the public has never been shown or taught what happens when a Georgia property tax appeal advances to the Appeal to Superior Court. For decades, it has been clouded in mystery hidden from public view. Tax Assessor Offices (TAO) won’t teach this to you. Lawyers won’t teach this to you. The steps […]
In an effort to simplify the education and understanding of the entire Georgia Tax Appeal process, I produced this Arrow Chart to illustrate the sequence of events and milestones you may go through with your own Georgia property tax appeal. This is a simplified chart of the major milestones. The chart is for educational purposes […]
It’s simple to preserve your property tax appeal rights in Georgia. You want to fill out the basic PT-311-A form which only takes 8 minutes and send it in within 45-days of the assessment notice date. This is your first step in securing your 3-year property tax freeze (299c). It is worth doing and you […]
What started as a small idea to educate property owners about flawed assessments, Georgia property tax appeal process, and the 299(c) freeze, has grown into a mission and movement. Awakened property owners are discovering the immense flaws of the mass appraisal system and the tax assessment system. They are upset and outraged. The want to […]
Watch this video to better understand how you can freeze your property taxes in Georgia. You go through the Georgia property tax appeal process to make sure you secure your property tax freeze. This is something you can learn to do without hiring anyone! This video was updated for the 2025 Georgia property tax appeal […]
One of the most common questions asked every Spring & Summer by property owners with jacked up property taxes is “How do I appeal a property tax assessment?” I’ve got good news. I made a new video in time for the 2025 GA tax appeal that answers that question. The Short Answer? Fill out GA’s […]
I’ve prepared an updated Georgia Property Tax Appeal Chart which maps out the major steps and milestones to help you navigate your own path to your 3-year property tax freeze. This flow chart outlines the steps for most residential properties and smaller commercial properties. Disclaimer: Please note that is chart is for informational and educational […]
In the last couple of years, I’ve gotten more questions on how to file a tax appeal for commercial properties. In the world of Georgia tax appeals, any building with over 3-units is considered a commercial tax appeal. That means appealing a triplex would be considered a residential appeal but appealing a quadraplex would cross […]
When I prepare and file a tax appeal for a property, there are 5 major components of a tax appeal that are on my mind. The absolutely, positively, most critical piece of any Georgia tax appeal is the filling out, signing, and delivering the required tax appeal form within 45-days of the print date of […]
Having filed or consulted on well over 200 tax appeals across six Georgia counties and produced tax appeal videos with several thousand views, I’ve been able to collection information and get insights most people can’t. People privately email and call me to tell me about their properties and their stories about different tax assessor offices […]
I’ve owned real estate for well over 20 years. Unfortunately, no one taught me how to control my property tax expense or what property tax appeals were. I didn’t even know what a homestead exemption was for many years. I became desperate in 2010 during the Great Recession years to control my mortgage payment expenses […]
A common question I’m frequently asked is, “Is it really worth it to file a property tax appeal?” In my view, it is always worth filing a property tax appeal in Georgia. But not for the reasons you think. There are two obvious reasons to filing a property tax appeal which many people know about: […]
A prominent Georgia-based real estate expert recently emailed me. In our email exchange, I was confused by a couple of his remarks because he made reference of having to deal with “tax commissioners” although the topic we were discussing were property tax appeals. I didn’t think much of it at the time of the original […]
A settlement conference is a mandatory but beneficial step if you decide to “Appeal to Superior Court”. The general public doesn’t know this but most appeals never make it to a courtroom. Most appeals that are appealed to Superior Court is actually resolved during the settlement conference or a short period thereafter. Watch this short […]
Chatham County Board of Assessors produced an animated video to explain the property discovery process. It applies to all Georgia counties. The video is simplistic but it’s worth watching at least once especially if you are new to property tax appeals. I wrote a book “TAX FREEZE: How to File & Win Property Taxes in Georgia” (available […]
The Chatham County Board of Assessors produced this animated video to explain the role of property assessors. It is a bit idealistic but generally describes what the property assessors do. In reality, the sausage-making process call the tax appeal process is somewhat messier & not always as nice as this video sounds. Few will admit […]
In order to file a tax appeal, the Georgia Department of Revenue website instructs taxpayers to use the uniform PT-311A – Appeal of Assessment Form. Nearly every Georgia county tax assessors office website I visit, they provide a link to a tax appeal form. Here is the kicker. Many counties I follow has a different […]
Gather a list of all the addresses and properties you own in Georgia. I make this suggestion especially to real estate investors who own several properties. Real estate investors potentially have a mix of properties including: single-family homes, plexes (duplex, triplex, quadraplex), multi-family units, commercial property, or land. The purpose of gathering this information is […]
When I began filing my own property tax appeals over a decade ago, I never knew one of the benefits of filing property tax appeals in Georgia is that property owners are able to get a 3-year property tax freeze. How this is allowed is buried in the Georgia statutes. Specifically, OCGA § 48-5-299(c). § […]
I have a YouTube channel, “MattCommand”. On this YouTube channel, I occasionally make videos to teach and inform people how the Georgia Property Tax Appeals work. You may want to check it out if you need some additional tips and help getting through your property tax appeal especially now after the crazy last two years […]
Having filed or consulted over 200 Georgia tax appeals across 6 counties for myself, my friends, and business associates and discussing tax appeals with property owners, this is where I see people seem get stuck and need help on. I wrote a book “TAX FREEZE: How to File & Win Property Taxes in Georgia” (available […]
For many years, I have heard of Board of Equalization hearings (often referred to as BOE hearings). I understood conceptually what they did but it was esoteric and a mystery for me what really happens at these hearings. A few years ago, I decided I wanted to find out for myself once and for all […]
Cobb County Chief Appraiser explains the 2023 Assessment Notices and what you can do to appeal your property. I wrote a book “TAX FREEZE: How to File & Win Property Taxes in Georgia” (available on Amazon) which will help you through your GA property tax appeals. I launched a new YouTube channel called TAX FREEZE Command. You should subscribe to […]
In the first video, Cobb County Chief Appraiser explains Assessment Notices and how property values are determined. In the second video, Cobb County Chief Appraiser explains tax appeal process and what he recommends you do. I wrote a book “TAX FREEZE: How to File & Win Property Taxes in Georgia” (available on Amazon) which will help you […]
I have created a Georgia Tax Appeal Process Infographic to help property owners understand the “big picture” the entire process. I have used the Board of Equalization (BOE) path in this example. The path and procedure is different with the Hearing Officer and Arbitration paths. But they all end with the Superior Court being the […]
Fulton County produced a short (1-minute) video that simply explains the Board of Equalization and its process. It is worth watching. However, what is peculiar about this video is that it appears to abruptly cut off at the end. I wrote a book “TAX FREEZE: How to File & Win Property Taxes in Georgia” (available on Amazon) […]
In addition to having good sales comparables to support your tax appeal, I cannot stress enough how important taking the right photos are. You need photos to support your claims, statements, valuation, and to visually show both the tax assessors office and, if necessary, at your Board of Equalization (BOE) hearing. The BOE will not […]
The Cobb County Tax Assessor Office produced a short video (1.5 minutes) explaining the new online property search features on their website. For Cobb County property owners that want to look up values of neighboring properties and compare them, this is a very nice feature that most Georgia counties do not offer. It is worth […]
Dekalb County Board of Assessors produced a short 1.5 minute informational video that explains what the appraisal discovery process is and how it relates to you, the property owner. Although the video was produced by Dekalb County, the basic appraisal discovery process is essentially the same throughout Georgia. I wrote a book “TAX FREEZE: How to […]