---
title: HB 1595. Clarke County; school district ad valorem tax; revise how income cap is calculated
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1595
cite_as: HB 1595, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1595
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1595.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1595/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74327
date: 2026-05-12
status: passed
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 887
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1595.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1595
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-12
last_action: Effective Date 2026-05-12
sponsors:
  - Spencer Frye
  - Trey Rhodes
  - Houston Gaines
  - Eric Gisler
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1595/2025
upstream_id: 2136813
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - property taxes
  - homestead exemption
  - Athens-Clarke County
  - Clarke County schools
  - local tax law
---

# HB 1595. Clarke County; school district ad valorem tax; revise how income cap is calculated

## Text

House Bill 1595 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representatives Frye of the 122nd, Rhodes of the 124th, Gaines of the 120th, and Gisler
of the 121st
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend an Act to grant to residents of Clarke County and the Clarke County School
District, upon their homesteads, an exemption of $10,000.00 from certain ad valorem taxes
levied by the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, and levied by, for, or
on behalf of the Clarke County School District, approved April 13, 1992 (Ga. L. 1992,
p. 6241), as amended, particularly by an Act approved April 18, 2022 (Ga. L. 2022, p. 5504),
so as to revise how the income cap is calculated related to the low-income base year assessed
value homestead exemption from certain ad valorem taxes levied by the Unified Government
of Athens-Clarke County for unified government purposes; to provide for related matters;
to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
An Act to grant to residents of Clarke County and the Clarke County School District, upon
their homesteads, an exemption of $10,000.00 from certain ad valorem taxes levied by the
Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, and levied by, for, or on behalf of
the Clarke County School District, approved April 13, 1992 (Ga. L. 1992, p. 6241), as
amended, particularly by an Act approved April 18, 2022 (Ga. L. 2022, p. 5504), is amended
in Section 2 by revising paragraph (2) of subsection (b) as follows:
"(2) Each resident of Athens-Clarke County is granted an exemption on that person's
homestead from ad valorem taxes for unified government purposes in an amount equal
to the amount by which the current year assessed value of that homestead exceeds the
base year assessed value of that homestead. This exemption shall not apply to taxes
assessed on improvements to the homestead or additional land that is added to the
homestead after January 1 of the base year. If any real property is removed from the
homestead, the base year assessed value, including any final determination of value on
appeal pursuant to Code Section 48-5-311 of the O.C.G.A., as amended, shall be adjusted
to reflect such removal and the exemption shall be recalculated accordingly. The value
of that property in excess of such exempted amount shall remain subject to taxation. The
exemption under this subsection shall only be granted if that person's household income
for the immediately preceding year does not exceed 200 percent of the income level
corresponding to the household size of such person published by the United States
Department of Health and Human Services for the corresponding year's United States
Federal Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia."
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.

House Bill 1595 changes how income is measured for a low-income property tax break available to Athens-Clarke County homeowners, tying the cap to federal poverty guidelines instead of a fixed dollar figure.

### Plain-language summary

Clarke County and the Clarke County School District currently offer homeowners a homestead exemption (a break on property taxes for a primary home) that freezes the taxable value of a home at its 'base year' assessed value, so rising property values don't automatically raise the tax bill. A separate, income-limited version of this exemption applies to unified government taxes for Athens-Clarke County.

This bill rewrites how that income limit is calculated. Instead of the prior method, eligibility is now tied to 200 percent of the household income level published each year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the Federal Poverty Guidelines for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, adjusted for household size. The bill also keeps existing rules that the exemption doesn't cover new improvements or added land, and that removing property from a homestead requires recalculating the base year value. The bill repeals conflicting laws and does not state a delayed effective date beyond the standard process.

### What it does

- Rewrites the income cap formula for the low-income base year homestead exemption from Athens-Clarke County unified government property taxes.
- Sets the new income limit at 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline for the person's household size, using U.S. Department of Health and Human Services figures.
- Keeps in place the existing rule that the exemption does not apply to new improvements or land added to the homestead after January 1 of the base year.
- Preserves the requirement that removing real property from a homestead triggers a recalculation of the base year assessed value and exemption amount.

### Who it affects

Homeowners in Athens-Clarke County (Clarke County) who qualify for the low-income base year homestead exemption on unified government property taxes, as well as the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County, which administers and collects the affected property taxes.

### Why it matters

Because the income cap now follows the annually updated federal poverty guidelines rather than a static figure, more or fewer households may qualify for this property tax break each year as federal poverty levels change, directly affecting who keeps this protection against rising home valuations.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 amends the 1992 Act (as amended in 2022) by revising paragraph (2) of subsection (b) governing the low-income base year homestead exemption.
- The new income test caps eligibility at 200 percent of the household size income level in the U.S. Federal Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia.
- The exemption continues to exclude taxes on improvements or added land after January 1 of the base year.
- If property is removed from the homestead, the base year assessed value, including any final appeal determination under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311, must be adjusted and the exemption recalculated.
- Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the Act.

## Status

- Status: Passed (2026-05-12)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-05-12 (2026-05-12)
- Sponsors: Spencer Frye, Trey Rhodes, Houston Gaines, Eric Gisler
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74327

> The history, votes, and amendments (887 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1595.md?full=1