Watson-Stephens-Petrea-Franklin Tax Relief Act; enact

School tax relief for Bryan County homeowners

The law creates a Bryan County homestead tax break for tax years beginning January 1, 2026. It takes effect only with approval from more than half of votes cast in the November 4, 2025 referendum. If voters reject it or the election is not held, the exemption never starts and the act is repealed after one year. Eligible homeowners get an exemption for assessed home value above an adjusted base value. This reduces school district taxes for education, but not bond debt or interest taxes. State, county, municipal, and independent school district taxes remain unchanged. The home must qualify for Georgia’s homestead exemption; coverage includes up to five contiguous acres. The starting base for 2026 is the home’s 2025 assessed value; later base years use the preceding year’s assessed value. Annual adjustments use the smaller of the assessed-value increase and the prior adjusted base multiplied by the inflation rate. The tax commissioner determines and publishes that rate using a standard method that can reflect inflation or deflation. Substantial additions or removals also adjust the base, without counting the same improvement twice. Final values after assessment appeals govern these calculations. Most homeowners must apply to the Bryan County tax commissioner. Eligible homeowners with a 2025 exemption for the same property receive this exemption automatically in 2026. It renews while the homeowner occupies the homestead, and homeowners must report when they become ineligible. An unremarried surviving spouse who keeps living there retains the exemption; a new owner cannot inherit it. It adds to other homestead exemptions, except another Bryan County school district base-year exemption: the commissioner applies the more beneficial one.