They can be a bit complicated. They can be a bit confusing. Some homeowners do not even know about them, much less understand them. But they also can be a nice – and steadying – hedge against rises in property taxes.
“They” are Putnam County’s two basic homestead exemptions approved in a relatively quiet referendum nearly two decades ago. Gone are the days of a standard $2,000 homestead exemption in most Georgia counties, and replacements vary from county to county.
The state Department of Revenue’s leaflet sent out to new homebuyers by a county tax commissioner’s office represents all sorts of exemptions (e.g., agriculture, conservation, 100-percent disabled veterans, etc.). However, it lists only those approved by the state legislature – not those tweaked through local referenda.
“It can get very confusing,” said Chuck Anglin, Putnam County’s chief appraiser.
Putnam’s two homestead exemptions are loosely organized around a “freeze” and a “cap.” Both require an application, and the annual deadline is coming up soon, on April 1.
One type is usually handled easily enough during a sale or transfer, but age is also a factor, and sometimes may be neglected as it comes into play only as an owner gets older.
Putnam’s first type is referred to as the “frozen senior exemption,” Anglin explained.
It is aimed at homeowners 70 years or older and freezes the valuation of the owner’s house and land for the rest of their lives, or until the property is sold. It also takes $10,000 off the assessed value of the land and house (equivalent to $25,000 off their fair market value. The 40-percent assessed values are what the tax appraiser’s office uses to build the county/schools/ city’s annual tax digests).
In 2022, Putnam’s frozen senior exemptions totaled 1,367 homeowners. There are limitations and requirements, however. The applicant must be at least 70 years old on January 1 of the year the application is filed, and the home must be his/her primary residence.
Furthermore, the maximum acreage is five acres and the exemption does not include outbuildings such as barns, workshops, or even driveways. Any later changes, such as an add-on bedroom, will be valued at their full costs.
Putnam’s second type of homestead exemption – termed a “floating” exemption – is similar, except it can apply to any homeowner and does not freeze the valuation. Its controlling principle rests on a maximum annual increase (or decrease) of 3 percent in valuations – which certainly will have an impact in the inflationary environment of the past two years.
In 2022, these “regular,” or “floating,” exemptions here involved 3,868 properties. Thus, Putnam’s two homestead exemptions together came to 5,235 properties. However, these exemptions accounted for little more than a third of the county’s 14,089 housing units.
Vacancies may account for about 10 percent of the difference. Rentals and second homes are not eligible for the exemption and would appear to make up a large part of the difference.
Another significant portion of the difference may also lie simply in long-time residents relying on the assumption that their long-ago, one-time, $2,000 homestead exemption covered their options.
Both Anglin and staff specialist Theresa Pitocchelli say they welcome questions from Putnam County homeowners about the two exemptions. Send an email to putnamtax@bellsouth.net.