Forsyth County homestead exemption for 2027: the dates, the amounts and a worked example

If you own and live in a home in Forsyth County, Georgia, on Jan. 1, 2027, the homestead exemption lowers that year’s property tax. It is not automatic the first time: you apply once, and then it renews. This is how it works, from the Board of Assessors’ page and the county’s tax pages as we checked them on Oct. 19, 2026.

Who qualifies for 2027?

You may qualify if you own the home, live in it and are a legal resident of Forsyth County, all as of Jan. 1 of the tax year. The county defines legal resident as being registered to vote and/or registering your vehicles in Forsyth County, per the Board of Assessors.

Jan. 1 also sets each year’s property value, homestead eligibility and owner of record, the county’s key-deadlines page says. So if you close after Jan. 1, 2027, you would not own the home on that date, and your first homestead year would be 2028.

When and how do I file?

Applications are accepted year-round, but you must apply by April 1 (or during your 45-day assessment appeal window) to get the exemption for that tax year. The online portal is open from December to April 1, and the county says it opens Dec. 21, 2026 for 2027 applications. Regular and age-65 applications can be filed online, by mail with a notarized form, or in person. Other exemptions must be filed in person at 426 Canton Hwy.

For a standard application, bring a Georgia driver’s license or state ID showing the property address and the last four digits of your Social Security number. Income-based exemptions need extra income records. Once granted, the exemption renews automatically unless ownership or eligibility changes. If your license still shows an old address, update it at DDS first.

What is the regular exemption worth?

The regular homestead exemption, code S1, takes $8,000 off the assessed value for the County M&O and Fire Operations millage. The school and state portions get the state’s $2,000 homestead exemption.

Assessed value is not market value. Georgia law assesses property at 40% of fair market value unless another law says otherwise, per the Georgia Department of Revenue, and each county’s Board of Tax Assessors sets the values.

What is the L7 floating freeze?

Every Forsyth homestead includes the L7 floating exemption. It locks your taxable value for County M&O and Fire Operations at a base-year value. The county’s own example: if you apply for tax year 2026, the base year is set at the 2025 value. School taxes still use the current year’s value, so the L7 freeze does not cover them.

Is there a cap on school taxes?

Yes, a separate one. Under House Bill 717, a local law approved by referendum, the taxable value of a homestead for school taxes cannot rise more than 4% a year from its base year until the home is sold, per Forsyth County Schools. It took effect Jan. 1, 2025 and expires in 2035. The county’s homestead page lists it as a local school exemption through the 2035 tax year.

What if I am 62 or 65?

Homeowners who are 65 on or before Jan. 1 can get a full exemption from the school general and school bond taxes, code L1. Only one owner who holds title and lives in the home needs to be 65.

Income-based senior exemptions include school tax exemptions for owners 62 and older (S3/L3) and a double $16,000 homestead for owners 65 and older whose household gross income is $40,000 or less (S4/L4). The county accepts these only from Jan. 2 through April 1, or during the 45-day appeal window.

What does it look like on a real number?

The county publishes its formula: (fair market value x 0.40, minus exemptions) x combined millage, on its About Property Taxes page. It also gives an example: at 2025 rates, a $500,000 home with no exemptions would owe $4,904.40 a year in county and school property tax. Here is that same home with the regular exemption, at the 2025 adopted rates from the county’s 2025 millage notice.

• Assessed value: $500,000 x 0.40 = $200,000.
• County M&O (4.791 mills) plus Fire (2.805) is 7.596 mills. With the $8,000 S1 exemption: $192,000 x 0.007596 = $1,458.43.
• County bond, 0.300 mills. The county describes S1 as applying to M&O and Fire, so no exemption is taken here: $200,000 x 0.000300 = $60.00.
• School M&O, 15.208 mills. With the state’s $2,000 exemption: $198,000 x 0.015208 = $3,011.18.
• School bond, 1.418 mills. As with the county bond, no exemption is taken here: $200,000 x 0.001418 = $283.60.
• Total: $4,813.22, which is $91.18 less than the county’s no-exemption figure.

Read that as a first-year sketch, not a bill. It ignores the L7 floating freeze and the HB 717 school cap, which matter in later years if values rise. It also ignores any City of Cumming taxes for homes inside the city; we have not checked the city’s rate. For an owner who gets the age-65 school exemption, the school line would drop out. Based on 2025 rates, about $68 of every $100 in property tax goes to the school system, so that line is the biggest one.

What about the 2026 rates?

On Aug. 6, 2026 the Board of Commissioners adopted a County M&O rate of 4.727 mills (the rollback rate, down 0.064), kept Fire at 2.805 mills and Bond at 0.300, for 7.832 mills combined, per the county. The school board held its M&O rate at 15.208 mills and said its debt service rate did not increase, per the district, but it did not publish the 2026 debt service number. So we do not give a combined 2026 total.

2026 bills are due Nov. 15, 2026. Because that date is a Sunday, payments received Monday, Nov. 16 are accepted without interest, the county says.

Who do I ask?

The Forsyth County Board of Assessors, 426 Canton Hwy, Cumming, GA 30040, phone (770) 781-2106. Walk-in and mail applications are accepted 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Annual assessment notices for homes usually go out near the end of May, and you have 45 days from the mailing date to appeal.

Try the property tax estimator with your own value. The property tax page has the full rate table, and the move-in checklist shows where the homestead fits after your license and tag.

• Homestead applications are accepted year-round, but you must apply by April 1 (or during your 45-day assessment appeal window) to get the exemption for that tax year. Once granted, it renews automatically unless ownership or eligibility changes. Forsyth County Board of Assessors: Homestead & Other Exemptions
• The regular homestead exemption (S1) takes $8,000 off the assessed value for the County M&O and Fire Operations millage. The school and state portions get the state's $2,000 homestead exemption. Forsyth County Board of Assessors: Homestead & Other Exemptions (Types of Exemptions)
• Every Forsyth homestead includes the L7 floating exemption, which locks your taxable value for County M&O and Fire Operations at a base-year value. If you apply for tax year 2026, the base year is set at the 2025 value. School taxes still use the current year's value. Forsyth County Board of Assessors: Homestead & Other Exemptions (L7 Floating Homestead)
• Under House Bill 717, a local law approved by referendum, the taxable value of a homestead for school taxes cannot rise more than 4% a year from its base year until the home is sold. It took effect Jan. 1, 2025 and expires in 2035. Forsyth County Schools: FCS Property Tax Relief (HB717 vs. HB581)

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Written by the Forsyth County Living Editorial Team. AI tools help us draft; people check every fact before it publishes.

Dates, rules and hours can change. The organizers have the final word: Forsyth County Government