DeKalb Tax Assessments To Be Mailed Friday

DECATUR, GA -- Statements letting DeKalb County property owners know their property value, and how much tax to expect to pay on it, are set to go out Friday.

In a blog post, Decatur Revenue and Technology director Russ Madison advised property owners to pay close attention to the figures and deadlines on the notice.

"The 2016 value will be the basis of your DeKalb County property tax bill in the fall and, for Decatur property owners, your 2nd installment tax bill for 2016," he wrote.

In the post, Madison offered tips on reading assessment notices.

Assuming the county formats the notice as it has in years past, a property's 100 percent value will be toward the center of the notice.

"If the value doesn’t seem right to you, think about whether you could sell your property for that amount," Madison wrote. "If you conclude that the assessment does not accurately reflect market value, you may consider appealing."

The appeal deadline will appear toward the top of the notice, and will be 45 days from when the notice was sent. It likely will be July 18.

If you don’t receive a paper notice for each of your properties, Madison said, you should be able to access notices on DeKalb’s property appraisal website.

The notice also will have names and phone number of DeKalb County staff you may contact if you have questions about your assessment or the appeal process.

The City of Decatur is unable to address tax valuations, which come from the county.

At the bottom of the notice, homeowners will see estimates for their property taxes for the year. However, those estimates are based on last year's millage rates, because this year's have not been approved yet.

City exemptions, like several in Decatur for senior citizens and others, will not be reflected on the notice.

To get a more accurate projection, Madison advises pulling out your Decatur tax bill from the second installment of 2015. Look at the amount of tax savings due to homestead exemptions. Take that amount and subtract it from the city estimate on the assessment notice for 2016.

If you have homestead exemptions with the City of Decatur, your actual bill in the fall of 2016 will be lower than what DeKalb estimates for your city taxes.

Last month, the Decatur City Commission lowered its tax millage rate -- from 11.08 mills to 10.68 mills. But commissioners warned that many taxpayers' bill still will be higher, because of rising property values within the city.

The net effect, the city said in a news release, will be an average property-tax increase of 2.91 percent for city property owners.