--- title: HB 1102. Ad valorem tax; prohibit levy and sale of properties owned by certain senior citizens for failure to pay ad valorem taxes collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb1102 cite_as: HB 1102, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1102 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1102.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1102/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72618 date: 2026-02-03 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1101.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1103.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1102.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 1102 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-01-29 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - David Clark - Gerald Greene - Matt Reeves - Josh Bonner - Scott Hilton - Noelle Kahaian text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1102/2025 upstream_id: 2102306 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - property taxes - senior citizens - tax liens - local government taxation --- # HB 1102. Ad valorem tax; prohibit levy and sale of properties owned by certain senior citizens for failure to pay ad valorem taxes ## Text House Bill 1102 By: Representatives Clark of the 100th, Greene of the 154th, Reeves of the 99th, Bonner of the 73rd, Hilton of the 48th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 7 of Chapter 5 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to miscellaneous local administrative provisions regarding ad valorem taxation of property, so as to prohibit the levy and sale of properties owned by certain senior citizens for failure to pay ad valorem taxes; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Article 7 of Chapter 5 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to miscellaneous local administrative provisions regarding ad valorem taxation of property, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows: "48-5-382. Properties owned by individuals 60 years of age or older that become subject to liens for failure to pay ad valorem taxes shall not be subject to levy and sale by virtue of any process under the laws of this state until the title to any such property transfers out of such individual's name by sale, gift, condemnation, distribution to one or more heirs, or by any other means." SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House bill would stop counties from seizing and selling the homes of property owners age 60 and older over unpaid property taxes, as long as the owner still holds title. ### Plain-language summary Under current Georgia law, if a property owner falls behind on property taxes (ad valorem taxes), the county can place a lien on the property and eventually force a levy and sale to collect the debt. This bill would add a new protection for older property owners. It adds a new section to Georgia's tax code (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-382) saying that property owned by someone 60 or older cannot be seized and sold through this tax collection process, even if the owner owes back taxes and a lien has been placed on the property. That protection lasts only as long as the property stays in that person's name. If the property is sold, given away, taken through condemnation, passed to heirs, or transferred any other way, the protection ends and the new owner would not be shielded by this rule. ### What it does - Adds a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-382) barring the levy and sale of property owned by someone 60 or older to collect unpaid property taxes. - Keeps this protection in place only while the property remains titled in the qualifying owner's name. - Ends the protection automatically once the property changes hands through sale, gift, condemnation, inheritance by heirs, or any other transfer. - Leaves the underlying tax lien itself in place, meaning the debt is not forgiven, only the forced sale process is blocked. ### Who it affects Property owners age 60 and older in Georgia who fall behind on property taxes, county tax commissioners and sheriffs who carry out tax liens and levy sales, and heirs or buyers who later receive or purchase such property once the owner's title transfers. ### Why it matters Older Georgians who fall behind on property taxes would keep their homes rather than lose them to a forced tax sale, even though the tax debt and lien would still exist. Counties would lose one enforcement tool for collecting overdue property taxes from this group of owners. ### Key provisions - Section 1 adds new Code section 48-5-382 to Article 7 of Chapter 5 of Title 48, the part of Georgia law governing local property tax administration. - The new section applies to individuals 60 years of age or older whose property becomes subject to a lien for unpaid ad valorem (property) taxes. - It blocks levy and sale of that property 'by virtue of any process under the laws of this state' while the property remains in the qualifying owner's name. - The protection ends once title transfers by sale, gift, condemnation, distribution to heirs, or any other means. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws but does not specify an effective date in the text provided. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-01-29) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-03) - Sponsors: David Clark, Gerald Greene, Matt Reeves, Josh Bonner, Scott Hilton, Noelle Kahaian - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72618 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1102.md?full=1