Georgia CommonsHB445: HB445 Ad valorem tax; language required to be included in notices of current assessment; revise
Last action May 11, 2026 · Effective Date 2026-07-01
House Bill 445 would let owners of expensive business personal property, like equipment and machinery, appeal their county tax assessment to a hearing officer instead of only a local board of equalization.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law, taxpayers who disagree with a county tax assessor's valuation of certain property can appeal to a hearing officer only in limited situations, mainly for high value real estate and wireless telecommunications equipment. This bill expands that option to owners of other kinds of taxable business personal property, such as equipment, machinery, and inventory, when the total assessed value on the taxpayer's annual notice of assessment (O.C.G.A. Section 48-5-306) exceeds $200,000. The bill also updates who can serve as a hearing officer for these new personal property appeals. It allows current or former county Appraiser IV employees or chief appraisers to apply to the Georgia Real Estate Commission and the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board to be approved as hearing officers, but bars them from hearing appeals in any county where they previously worked as an appraiser. A minor wording update is also made to the legal definition of 'public utility' used elsewhere in the tax code.
What the bill does
- Creates a new right for taxpayers to appeal county valuations of business personal property (other than wireless equipment) to a hearing officer when the aggregate value exceeds $200,000, as shown on the annual assessment notice.
- Keeps the existing $500,000 threshold for hearing officer appeals involving wireless telecommunications property owned by wireless service providers.
- Allows current or former county Appraiser IV employees or chief appraisers to apply and be approved as hearing officers for these personal property disputes.
- Bars a former or current Appraiser IV or chief appraiser from serving as a hearing officer in any county where they previously held that appraiser position, to avoid conflicts of interest.
- Directs the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board to publish an annual list of qualified hearing officers and the counties each is willing to serve.
- Makes a technical revision to the legal definition of 'public utility' used in Georgia's tax code (O.C.G.A. Section 48-1-2).
Who it affects
Businesses and other owners of taxable personal property such as equipment and machinery, county boards of tax assessors and boards of equalization, chief appraisers and Appraiser IV staff who may seek to become hearing officers, and the Georgia Real Estate Commission and Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board, which approve and track hearing officers.
Why it matters
Business owners disputing a county's valuation of costly equipment or other personal property would gain a faster, more specialized appeal path through a hearing officer rather than relying solely on a local citizen board of equalization, potentially changing how quickly and fairly these tax disputes are resolved.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises the definition of 'public utility' in O.C.G.A. Section 48-1-2, a largely technical wording change.
- Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. Section 48-5-311 to add a new appeal option: a hearing officer for taxable tangible personal property (other than wireless property) valued over $200,000 in aggregate on the annual assessment notice.
- Section 2 keeps the existing hearing officer option for wireless property appeals with an aggregate value over $500,000.
- Section 2 lets current or former Appraiser IV employees or chief appraisers apply to the Georgia Real Estate Commission and Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board to become hearing officers for personal property appeals.
- Section 2 prohibits an Appraiser IV or chief appraiser from serving as a hearing officer in any county where they previously served in that appraiser role.
- Section 2 requires the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board to annually publish a list of approved hearing officers and the counties they will serve.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision.
Status timeline
- Effective Date 2026-07-01
- Act 464
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
- House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub As Amended (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
Show full history (26 actions)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Recommitted (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Recommitted (Senate)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Engrossed (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Recommitted (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Charles Martin (R, HD-049)
- Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
Votes
- House voteMarch 6, 2025
167 yea, 0 nay (6 not voting, 7 absent)
- Senate voteApril 2, 2025
31 yea, 24 nay (0 not voting, 1 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 31, 2026
46 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 6 absent)
- House voteApril 2, 2026
171 yea, 1 nay (3 not voting, 1 absent)
- Senate voteApril 2, 2026
52 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)
Topics
- property taxes
- business personal property
- tax appeals
- county tax assessors