Social Circle, City of; ad valorem tax; provide homestead exemption

City tax relief for Social Circle homeowners

Beginning January 1, 2026, eligible Social Circle homeowners get a city property tax exemption for value above an adjusted base. The law requires majority voter approval in the November 4, 2025, local election. The starting base is the home's 2024 assessed value for exemptions first granted in 2026, including final appeal results. For later first-time claims, the base is the previous year's assessed value. Annual increases in the base are capped at the prior year's inflation rate plus 0.25 percentage points. The base also accounts for value added or removed through substantial property changes, without counting improvements twice. Georgia's revenue commissioner sets a standard inflation measure using a federal index. You must own and occupy a qualifying homestead and apply through the city or its designee, which provides forms. Eligible homeowners who received a homestead exemption for the same home in 2025 receive this exemption automatically in 2026. It renews without annual applications while you remain eligible; you must notify the city when eligibility ends. A surviving spouse can keep it while occupying the homestead, but it does not transfer to a new owner. It excludes city bond-debt taxes and does not reduce state, county, or school taxes. It generally adds to other homestead exemptions, but only the larger exemption applies when another city exemption also uses a base-year value.