Georgia Code
Part 2 - County Boards of Tax Assessors
§ 48-5-311. [Effective Until July 1, 2023. See note.] Creation of County Boards of Equalization; Duties; Review of Assessments; Appeals

(a.1)
Appeal administrator.


(a.2)
Establishment of boards of equalization.

(1.1) The grand jury shall be authorized to conduct a hearing following its receipt of the report of the appeal administrator under paragraph (2) of subsection (a.1) of this Code section and to remove one or more members of the board of equalization for failure to perform the duties required under this Code section.
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(C.1) The operations of the appeal administrator under this Code section shall, for budgeting purposes, constitute a distinct budget unit within the county budget that is separate from the operations of the clerk of the superior court. The appeal administrator budget unit shall contain a separate line item for the compensation of the appeal administrator for the performance of duties required under this Code section as well as separate line items for resources, facilities, and personnel as specified under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this paragraph.
(9.1) The provisions contained in this subsection may be waived at any time by written consent of the taxpayer and the county board of tax assessors.
(A.1) The commissioner shall establish by rule and regulation a uniform appeal form that the taxpayer may use. Such uniform appeal form shall require the initial assertion of a valuation of the property by the taxpayer.
(A.2) A taxpayer’s failure to return real property or whether or not such real property was deemed returned for taxation shall not affect such taxpayer’s right to appeal pursuant to this Code section.
(B.1) The taxpayer or his or her agent or representative may submit in support of his or her appeal an appraisal given, signed, and certified as such by a real property appraiser as classified by the Georgia Real Estate Commission and the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board which was performed not later than nine months prior to the date of assessment. The board of tax assessors shall consider the appraisal upon request. Within 45 days of the receipt of the taxpayer’s appraisal, the board of tax assessors shall notify the taxpayer or his or her agent or representative of acceptance of the appraisal or shall notify the taxpayer or his or her agent or representative of the reasons for rejection.
(B.2) The taxpayer or his or her agent or representative may submit in support of his or her appeal the most current report of the sales ratio study for the county conducted pursuant to Code Section 48-5-274. The board of tax assessors shall consider such sales ratio study upon request of the taxpayer or his or her agent or representative.
(B.3) Any assertion of value by the taxpayer on the uniform appeal form made to the board of tax assessors shall be subject to later amendment or revision by the taxpayer by submission of written evidence to the board of tax assessors.
(B.4) If more than one property of a taxpayer is under appeal, the board of equalization, arbitrator, or hearing officer, as the case may be, shall, upon request of the taxpayer, consolidate all such appeals in one hearing and shall announce separate decisions as to each parcel or item of property. Any appeal from such a consolidated hearing to the superior court as provided in subsection (g) of this Code section shall constitute a single civil action and, unless the taxpayer specifically so indicates in the taxpayer’s notice of appeal, shall apply to all such parcels or items of property.
(B.5) Within ten days of a final determination of value under this Code section and the expiration of the 30 day appeal period provided by subsection (g) of this Code section, or, as otherwise provided by law, with no further option to appeal, the county board of tax assessors shall forward such final determination of value to the tax commissioner.

(e.1)
Appeals to hearing officer.


(g.1)
Valuation.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, there is established in each county of this state a county board of equalization to consist of three members and three alternate members appointed in the manner and for the term set forth in this Code section. In those counties having more than 10,000 parcels of real property, the county governing authority, by appropriate resolution adopted on or before November 1 of each year, may elect to have selected one additional county board of equalization for each 10,000 parcels of real property in the county or for any part of a number of parcels in the county exceeding 10,000 parcels.
(2) Notwithstanding any part of this subsection to the contrary, at any time the governing authority of a county makes a request to the grand jury of the county for additional alternate members of boards of equalization, the grand jury shall appoint the number of alternate members so requested to each board of equalization, such number not to exceed a maximum of 21 alternate members for each of the boards. The alternate members of the boards shall be duly qualified and authorized to serve on any of the boards of equalization of the county. The members of each board of equalization may designate a chairperson and two vice chairpersons of each such board of equalization. The appeal administrator shall have administrative authority in all matters governing the conduct and business of the boards of equalization so as to provide oversight and supervision of such boards and scheduling of appeals. Any combination of members or alternate members of any such board of equalization of the county shall be competent to exercise the power and authority of the board. Any person designated as an alternate member of any such board of equalization of the county shall be competent to serve in such capacity as provided in this Code section upon appointment and taking of oath.
“I, , agree to serve as a member of the board of equalization of the County of and will decide any issue put before me without favor or affection to any party and without prejudice for or against any party. I will follow and apply the laws of this state. I also agree not to discuss any case or any issue with any person other than members of the board of equalization except at any appeal hearing. I shall faithfully and impartially discharge my duties in accordance with the Constitution and laws of this state, to the best of my skill and knowledge. So help me God. Signature of member or alternate member” In addition to the oath of office prescribed in this paragraph, the presiding or chief judge of the superior court or the appeal administrator shall charge each member and alternate member of the county board of equalization with the law and duties relating to such office.
(II) For the purposes of this Code section, any final value that causes a reduction in taxes and creates a refund that is owed to the taxpayer shall be paid by the tax commissioner to the taxpayer, entity, or transferee who paid the taxes with interest, as provided in subsection (m) of this Code section.
(III) For the purposes of this Code section, any final value that causes an increase in taxes and creates an additional billing shall be paid to the tax commissioner as any other tax due along with interest, as provided in subsection (m) of this Code section.
(B) (i) As used in this subparagraph, the term “wireless property” means tangible personal property or equipment used directly for the provision of wireless services by a provider of wireless services which is attached to or is located underneath a wireless cell tower or at a network data center location but which is not permanently affixed to such tower or data center so as to constitute a fixture.
(ii) For any dispute involving the values or uniformity of one or more account numbers of wireless property as defined in this subparagraph with an aggregate fair market value in excess of $500,000.00 as shown on the taxpayer’s annual notice of current assessment under Code Section 48-5-306, at the option of the taxpayer, an appeal may be submitted to a hearing officer in accordance with this subsection.
(B) If the appeal administrator, after a diligent search, cannot find a qualified hearing officer who is willing to serve, the appeal administrator shall transfer the certification of the appeal to the county or regional board of equalization and notify the taxpayer and the taxpayer’s attorney in compliance with subsection (o) of this Code section and the county board of tax assessors of the transmittal of such appeal.
(II) If the final determination of value on appeal causes a reduction in taxes and creates a refund that is owed to the taxpayer, it shall be paid by the tax commissioner to the taxpayer, entity, or transferee who paid the taxes with interest, as provided in subsection (m) of this Code section.
(III) If the taxpayer appeals to the superior court pursuant to this subsection and the final determination of value on appeal is 85 percent or less of the valuation set by the county board of equalization, hearing officer, or arbitrator as to any real property, the taxpayer, in addition to the interest provided for in subsection (m) of this Code section, shall recover costs of litigation and reasonable attorney’s fees incurred in the action. Any appeal of an award of attorney’s fees by the county shall be specifically approved by the governing authority of the county.
(IV) If the board of assessors appeals to the superior court pursuant to this subsection and the final determination of value on appeal is 85 percent or less of the valuation set by the board of assessors as to any real property, the taxpayer, in addition to the interest provided for in subsection (m) of this Code section, shall recover costs of litigation and reasonable attorney’s fees incurred in the action. Any appeal of an award of attorney’s fees by the county shall be specifically approved by the governing authority of the county.
History. Ga. L. 1913, p. 123, § 6; Ga. L. 1918, p. 230, § 1; Ga. L. 1931, p. 7, § 85; Code 1933, § 92-6912; Ga. L. 1958, p. 387, § 1; Ga. L. 1972, p. 1094, §§ 1-9; Ga. L. 1973, p. 709, § 1; Ga. L. 1974, p. 609, §§ 2-4; Ga. L. 1975, p. 1090, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1976, p. 276, § 1; Ga. L. 1976, p. 366, § 1; Ga. L. 1976, p. 1744, § 1; Ga. L. 1977, p. 588, § 1; Ga. L. 1977, p. 903, § 1; Ga. L. 1977, p. 1009, § 1; Code 1933, § 91A-1449, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 309, § 2; Ga. L. 1979, p. 519, § 2; Ga. L. 1980, p. 1722, § 1; Ga. L. 1981, p. 1554, § 5; Ga. L. 1983, p. 576, § 2; Ga. L. 1983, p. 1158, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 48; Ga. L. 1984, p. 352, § 3; Ga. L. 1986, p. 419, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 220, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1988, p. 487, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1122, § 4; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1361, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 664, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1110, § 2; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1678, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2352, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 435, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1777, § 3; Ga. L. 1994, p. 318, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1994, p. 787, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1051, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1088, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1823, § 2; Ga. L. 1995, p. 10, § 48; Ga. L. 1999, p. 1043, § 3; Ga. L. 2000, p. 136, § 48; Ga. L. 2000, p. 873, §§ 2, 3; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 3; Ga. L. 2001, p. 495, § 1; Ga. L. 2004, p. 455, § 3; Ga. L. 2006, p. 769, § 1/SB 597; Ga. L. 2008, p. 1149, §§ 4, 5, 6/HB 1081; Ga. L. 2009, p. 216, §§ 1, 2/SB 240; Ga. L. 2010, p. 1104, §§ 2-1, 4-3, 6-1/SB 346; Ga. L. 2013, p. 655, § 5/HB 197; Ga. L. 2014, p. 672, § 4/HB 755; Ga. L. 2015, p. 1219, §§ 15, 16/HB 202; Ga. L. 2016, p. 166, § 5/SB 258; Ga. L. 2016, p. 864, § 48/HB 737; Ga. L. 2017, p. 774, § 48/HB 323; Ga. L. 2018, p. 162, § 2/HB 374; Ga. L. 2019, p. 656, § 2/HB 183; Ga. L. 2019, p. 1056, § 48/SB 52; Ga. L. 2020, p. 254, § 1/SB 410; Ga. L. 2021, p. 377, § 1/HB 292; Ga. L. 2021, p. 922, § 48/HB 497.
Delayed effective date.
Code Section 48-5-311 is set out twice in this Code. This version is effective until July 1, 2023. For version effective July 1, 2023, see the following version of this Code section.
The 2015 amendment added subsections (a) and (a.1); redesignated former subsection (a) as subsection (a.2); in subsection (a.2), added “of boards of equalization.” to the subsection catchline, substituted “this state” for “the state” near the beginning of paragraph (1), added paragraph (1.1), substituted “The members of each board of equalization” for “The grand jury of any such county” at the beginning of the third sentence of paragraph (2), substituted “The appeal administrator shall have administrative authority in all matters governing the conduct and business of the boards of equalization so as to provide oversight and supervision of such boards and scheduling of appeals” for “The chairperson and vice chairpersons shall be vested with full administrative authority in calling and conducting the business of the board” in the middle of paragraph (2), and, in paragraph (4), substituted “counties, shall specify which appeal administrator” for “counties and shall specify which clerk of the superior court” and added “, and shall provide for funding from each participating county for the operations of the appeal administrator as required by subparagraph (d)(4)(C.1) of this Code section”; rewrote subsection (b); in subsection (c), added “of board of equalization members.” to the subsection catchline, substituted “cause such appointees to appear before the clerk of the superior court for the purpose of taking and executing in writing the oath of office. The clerk of the superior court may utilize any means necessary for such purpose, including, but not limited to, telephonic or other communication, regular first-class mail, or issuance of and delivery” for “issue and deliver” in paragraph (4), and, in paragraph (5), inserted “presiding or” and substituted “the appeal administrator” for “his or her designee” in the last sentence; in subsection (d), added “of board of equalization members” to the subsection catchline, added commas to the introductory phrase of the first sentence of paragraph (2), substituted “(e)(1)(D)” for “(e)(5)(B)” in paragraph (3), and rewrote paragraph (4); rewrote subsections (e) and (e.1); repealed former subsections (f) and (g) and reenacted the present provisions of subsections (f) and (g) in their place; added subsection (g.1); rewrote subsections (h) and (i); in subsection (k), added “of board of equalization members” to the subsection catchline, designated the previously existing provisions as paragraph (1), added paragraph (2), and, in paragraph (1), substituted “paragraph” for “subsection” and added “or attending approved appraisal courses” in the last sentence; in subsection (m), substituted “reduction” for “deduction” near the beginning of the first sentence, in the second sentence, deleted “on the amount of the deduction” following “include interest” near the beginning, substituted “the due date” for “November 15” near the middle, deleted “the final installment was due or was” following “or the date” near the middle, and substituted “the final determination of value was made” for “the refund is paid or 60 days from the date of the final determination, whichever is earlier”, and rewrote paragraph (2); in subsection (n), deleted “and showing in the subject line of the email message the words ‘STATUTORY ELECTRONIC SERVICE’ in capital letters” at the end of the first sentence, and substituted “annual notice of current assessment under Code Section 48-5-306” for “notice of current assessment” in the second sentence; and rewrote subsection (o). See Editor’s notes for effective date and applicability.
The 2016 amendments.
The first 2016 amendment, effective April 26, 2016, added paragraph (e)(9). The second 2016 amendment, effective May 3, 2016, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, revised punctuation in division (b)(2)(B)(i) and paragraph (h)(3) and, near the beginning of subparagraph (h)(1)(A), substituted “employee who” for “employee, that”.
The 2017 amendment, effective May 9, 2017, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, deleted the boldface catchline in subparagraph (e)(2)(A), which read: “Appeal to board of equalization.”, substituted “to whom” for “who” in subparagraphs (e)(2)(B), (e)(2)(C), and (e)(6)(A); and substituted “This paragraph” for “This subsection” at the beginning of the last sentence of paragraph (e)(9).
The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, rewrote subsections (e) and (e.1); in subparagraph (f)(3)(A), substituted “documentation” for “papers” near the middle; in division (f)(3)(C)(iii), substituted “21 days” for “ten days” in the second sentence, substituted the present provisions of the third sentence for the former provisions, which read: “Such written notice shall advise each party that documents or other written evidence to be presented at the hearing by a party must be provided to the other party not less than seven days prior to the time of the hearing and that any failure to comply with this requirement, unless waived by mutual written agreement of such parties, shall be grounds for a continuance or for exclusion of such documents or other written evidence.”; and, in paragraph (g)(2), substituted “during normal business hours” for “but in no event later than 30 days from the date of the notice” at the end of the seventh sentence, and substituted “reach an agreement” for “agree on a fair market value” and substituted “20 days” for “ten days” in the twelfth sentence.
The 2019 amendments.
The first 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, added subparagraph (e)(1)(A.2). The second 2019 amendment, effective May 12, 2019, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, revised punctuation in subdivision (e)(6)(D)(iii)(I) and in paragraph (e)(8), and substituted “as agreed upon by the parties” for “as agreed on by the parties” at the end of the third sentence in paragraph (e.1)(10).
The 2020 amendment, effective July 22, 2020, in subparagraph (e)(6)(A), substituted “email” for “e-mail” in the third sentence and added the next to the last sentence; inserted “taxpayer appeals to the superior court pursuant to this subsection and the” in the first sentence in subdivision (g)(4)(B)(ii)(III); and added subdivision (g)(4)(B)(ii)(IV). See Editor’s notes for applicability.
The 2021 amendments.
The first 2021 amendment, effective May 4, 2021, deleted former division (b)(2)(B)(ii), which read: “On or after January 1, 2016, following the completion of each term of office, a member shall, within the first year of appointment to the subsequent term of office, complete satisfactorily not less than 20 hours of instruction in appraisal and equalization processes and procedures, as prepared and required by the commissioner for newly appointed members.”; deleted former division (b)(2)(B)(iii), which read: “No person shall be eligible to hear an appeal as a member of a board of equalization unless, prior to hearing such appeal, such person shall satisfactorily complete the 20 hours of instruction in appraisal and equalization processes and procedures required under the applicable provisions of division (i) or (ii) of this subparagraph.”; redesignated former division (b)(2)(B)(iv) as present division (b)(2)(B)(ii); and deleted “or (ii)” following “division (i)” in the middle of present division (b)(2)(B)(ii). The second 2021 amendment, effective May 10, 2021, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted “emailing” for “e-mailing” near the beginning of the first sentence of subparagraph (e)(2)(A), in the middle of the fourth sentence of subparagraph (e)(2)(C), near the beginning of the first sentence of paragraph (e.1)(4), in the middle of the first sentence of subparagraph (f)(3)(A), and in the middle of the first sentence of paragraph (g)(2); and substituted “email” for “e-mail” twice in the first sentence of subsection (n) and at the end of the second sentence of subsection (o).
History of Section.
This Code section is partially derived from the decisions in Vestel v. Edwards, 143 Ga. 368 , 85 S.E. 187 (1915); Ogletree v. Woodward, 150 Ga. 691 , 105 S.E. 243 (1920); Turner v. Wade, 254 U.S. 64, 41 S. Ct. 27 , 65 L. Ed. 134 (1920).
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1987, a semicolon was deleted following “minutes of the board” in the second sentence of paragraph (d)(3), “prima-facie” was substituted for “prima facie” in the first sentence of paragraph (e)(4).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2010, “the” was inserted preceding “superior court” in the fifth sentence of paragraph (e.1)(10); and “an arbitration” was substituted for “a arbitration” in the first sentence of subparagraph (f)(3)(A).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2015, “separate line items” was substituted for “separate lines items” near the end of subparagraph (d)(4)(C.1).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2018, “Valuation” heading was added to subsection (g.1.).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2018, “Notice to representative” heading was added to subsection (o).
Editor’s notes.
For application of this statute in 2020 and 2021, see Executive Orders 05.28.20.02, 06.11.20.01, 06.29.20.02, 07.15.20.01, 07.31.20.02, 08.15.20.01, 08.31.20.02, 09.15.20.01, 09.30.20.02, 10.15.20.01, 10.30.20.02, 11.13.20.01, 11.30.20.02, 12.08.20.01, 12.30.20.02, 01.15.21.01, 01.29.21.02, 02.15.21.01, 02.26.21.02, 03.12.21.01, 03.31.21.03, 04.30.21.01, 05.28.21.02, 06.30.21.02, 07.22.21.02, 08.19.21.02, and 09.20.21.02.
A listing of Executive Orders issued in 2020 and 2021 can be found at https://gov.georgia.gov/executive-action/executive-orders.
Ga. L. 1999, p. 1043, § 4, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment to this Code section is applicable to all assessments and proceedings commenced on or after January 1, 2000.
Ga. L. 2006, p. 769, § 2/SB 597, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the 2006 amendment of this Code section shall apply with respect to all tax appeals filed with the county boards of tax assessors on or after that date.
Ga. L. 2009, p. 216, § 3/SB 240, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendments to this Code section shall be applicable to all property tax appeals submitted to arbitration or appealed to the superior court on or after April 29, 2009.
Ga. L. 2015, p. 1219, § 27/HB 202, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that Sections 13 and 15 of this Act shall become effective on July 1, 2015, and that Sections 9, 12, and 15 of this Act shall be applicable to all appeals filed on or after January 1, 2016. Ga. L. 2015, p. 1219, § 15/HB 202, purported, in part, to amend subsections (a) through (e) but actually amended subsections (a) through (e.1).
Ga. L. 2020, p. 254, § 3/SB 410, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that this Act shall be applicable to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2021.
Law reviews.
For article surveying developments in Georgia local government law from mid-1980 through mid-1981, see 33 Mercer L. Rev. 187 (1981).
For annual survey of state and local taxation, see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 337 (1986).
For article, “Procedure and Problems in Georgia Ad Valorem Tax Appeals,” see 26 Ga. St. B.J. 98 (1990).
For annual survey of state and local taxation, see 42 Mercer L. Rev. 421 (1990).
For note on the 1992 amendment of this Code section, see 9 Ga. St. U. L. 329 (1992).
For survey article on real property law for the period from June 1, 2002 to May 31, 2003, see 55 Mercer L. Rev. 397 (2003).
For survey article on administrative law, see 60 Mercer L. Rev. 1 (2008).
For survey article on real property law, see 60 Mercer L. Rev. 345 (2008).
For annual survey on real property law, see 61 Mercer L. Rev. 301 (2009).
For article, “Administrative Law,” see 63 Mercer L. Rev. 47 (2011).
For survey article on local government law, see 67 Mercer L. Rev. 147 (2015).
For survey article on real property law, see 67 Mercer L. Rev. 193 (2015).
For article, “A Taxing Exception: Southern LNG, Inc. v. MacGinnitie’s Narrow Interpretation of the Mandamus Exception,” see 66 Mercer L. Rev. 855 (2015).
For annual survey on local government law, see 70 Mercer L. Rev. 177 (2018).
For annual survey on local government, see 73 Mercer L. Rev. 193 (2021).

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