How Do Property Taxes Work in Cobb County?

How do property taxes work in Cobb County, Georgia? Each year the Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors sets a fair market value for your home, Georgia law taxes 40% of that value, your exemptions come off, and what remains is multiplied by the tax rates for your address: the county, the school district, and a city if the home sits inside one. For a buyer, the figure that matters is the bill you will pay once the home is yours, and our team helps buyers look for it before they write an offer.

The tax figure on a listing is a record of someone else's January. It reflects the seller's exemptions, the seller's age, and the value the county held while they owned the home. Read it as history, and build your own number beside it.

This guide is from Andrew and Jassey Nguyen. NRG Nguyen Realty Group is a real estate team with Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road helping buyers in Cobb County, Georgia understand the full cost of owning a home before they make an offer.

Who sets the value, and who sends the bill?

The Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors determines your home's fair market value each year. The Georgia Department of Revenue says counties are required to set a value as of January 1 of every year, and it explains that counties review the values on their digest against sales data and update the ones that have drifted too high or too low. The assessors send an annual assessment notice, and that notice is where your right to appeal begins.

The Cobb County Tax Commissioner's office bills and collects the tax and handles homestead exemptions. Cobb mails property tax bills by August 15 each year, and payment is due October 15. When a mortgage company tells Cobb it pays from escrow, Cobb sends the bill to both of you, and you must still make sure the taxes are paid in full and on time.

The rates are set each year by the Board of Commissioners for the county, the county Board of Education for county schools, and city authorities for city taxes.

How is the bill figured?

Cobb's Tax Commissioner publishes the formula behind every bill:

(Fair Market Value × 0.40) × (Millage Rate ÷ 1,000) = Property Tax

A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. Exemptions come off the assessed value in the categories they cover.

Here is how that plays out in the district Cobb's 2026 rate sheet labels County (9), outside the cities: 8.46 mills for county general, 2.97 for county fire, and 18.70 for county school general, a total of 30.13 mills. Rates change every year.

1. Start with a fair market value. We will use $622,000, the median close price for detached homes in the four East Cobb ZIP codes (30062, 30066, 30067 and 30068) in September 2026, according to FMLS.
2. Take 40%. The assessed value is $248,800.
3. Subtract the basic homestead exemption where it applies. Cobb's $10,000 basic exemption covers the county general and county school general categories, so those two are figured on $238,800. The fire category stays at $248,800.
4. Apply the rates. County general comes to about $2,020, school general about $4,466, and fire about $739.
5. Add them. The total is about $7,225 for the year. Without the homestead exemption, the same home would be about $7,496.

That $271.60 difference matches the savings Cobb's 2026 rate sheet lists for the basic exemption on county and school taxes. This is an illustration of the formula, not an estimate for any home. A real bill can carry other exemptions or credits, and a city adds its own bill.

Does it matter whether the home is inside a city?

It can change the bill a great deal. Cobb's Tax Commissioner lists seven cities: Acworth, Austell, Kennesaw, Mableton, Marietta, Smyrna and Powder Springs. A home inside one of them receives two bills, one from Cobb County and one from the city.

Marietta is its own case. On Cobb's 2026 rate sheet, homes inside Marietta pay no county school rate and instead pay a Marietta independent school rate of 17.97 mills, along with city general and city bond rates. A street address that sounds like Marietta does not settle which district applies. The tax district printed on the bill, such as "Unincorporated Cobb," is the record to read.

City residents apply for city exemptions with the city tax office, according to Cobb's Tax Commissioner.

What changes when you buy a home?

Georgia ties property tax to January 1. The Department of Revenue says taxes are charged against the owner of the property on January 1, and that a homestead exemption requires that the home was owned by the homeowner and was their legal residence as of January 1 of the taxable year. Four things follow for a buyer.

The bill for the year you close is figured on January 1. If the seller held a homestead exemption, a senior exemption or a frozen value on that date, the bill for your closing year can be built on their status. Your own exemption starts with the first January 1 you own and live in the home.

The year's taxes are split at closing. Cobb's Tax Commissioner does not prorate taxes between a buyer and seller. Its guidance says liability is established during the closing, that generally the purchaser assumes it, and that your closing paperwork shows who is responsible for paying the bill. Your closing attorney sets out that split on your settlement paperwork, so review it there. Our article on whether you need an attorney to close in Georgia explains the attorney's role.

The value can move. A sale puts an arm's-length price on record, and Georgia law defines fair market value by exactly that kind of sale between a knowledgeable buyer and a willing seller. Since the Department of Revenue says counties review values against sales data each year, the value on your first notice may move closer to what you paid, up or down.

Your escrow begins. If your loan has an escrow account, part of each monthly payment goes into it, and your servicer pays property taxes and insurance from it. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau notes that if your taxes go up or down, your payment goes up or down with them. On the 2026 Georgia purchase contract, the buyer also pays the transfer tax and deed preparation by default. Our guide to what closing costs a buyer pays in Georgia walks through each line.

Which exemptions can a Cobb County homeowner file for?

Each exemption below is for the home you own and occupy as your legal residence. A seller's exemption never becomes yours.

The basic homestead exemption is $10,000 off the assessed value in the county general and county school general categories, according to Cobb's Tax Commissioner. You can claim one per household, every applicant's name must be on the deed, and you upload proof of residency, such as a Georgia driver's license with the property address.

The school tax exemption for owners 62 and older removes all taxes in the school general and school bond categories. To qualify, you must be 62 on or before January 1 of the tax year, and you provide proof of age when you apply.

Cobb's page also lists exemptions for owners 65 and older within an income limit, for certain disabled homeowners within an income limit, for qualifying disabled veterans, for qualifying surviving spouses of service members, and for surviving spouses of peace officers or firefighters killed in the line of duty. Each has its own proof and rules.

The Georgia Department of Revenue also lists Cobb among the counties with a local exemption that holds a home's value at a base-year figure for as long as the owner lives there. Cobb's 2026 rate sheet refers to a floating exemption as well. Ask the Tax Commissioner's office how either one applies to your address and which taxes it covers.

When do you file for homestead?

To receive the exemption for a tax year, you must have owned and occupied the home on January 1 of that year. Cobb's Tax Commissioner says you may submit your application for the current tax year before the appeal deadline listed on your Notice of Assessment, and that a late application waives the exemption for that year. The Department of Revenue says taxpayers may now apply past the historic April 1 deadline, up to the end of their 45-day appeal window.

So a buyer who closes during 2026 and lives in the home on January 1, 2027 files for the 2027 tax year. Our article on Georgia's homestead exemption covers the basics.

Once approved, georgia.gov says most homestead exemptions renew automatically each year as long as you continue to occupy the home under the same ownership. A name change through marriage or divorce, or a change of ownership, means applying again, according to Cobb's Tax Commissioner.

Can I appeal my value?

Yes. The Georgia Department of Revenue says you may appeal within 45 days of the date the assessment notice was mailed, and the appeal can rest on taxability, value, uniformity or the denial of an exemption. You file in writing with the Board of Tax Assessors and choose one of three routes: the county Board of Equalization, a hearing officer, or an arbitrator.

An appeal concerns the assessment, never the millage rate. If your notice shows a value well above what you paid in a recent, ordinary sale, that is worth a look, because your price is a record of what a willing buyer paid. Recent sales of similar homes nearby help too. Our article on what an East Cobb home is worth right now explains how recent sales point to value.

While an appeal is open, Cobb's bill shows a normal amount and a lower appeal amount, based on 85% of the assessed value or 100% of the prior uncontested value. You must pay at least the appeal amount by October 15, and Cobb charges a 5% penalty and monthly interest on late payments.

What should a buyer do, step by step?

This is the order our team suggests.

1. Before you tour, ask your lender to estimate taxes at your price range using only the exemptions you expect to hold yourself.
2. Before you make an offer, find the tax district on the home's current bill and note whether a city line or Marietta's school district applies.
3. Use the Tax Commissioner's estimator for new home purchasers. You enter the fair market value, choose the tax district and select your exemptions. Cobb says it covers county taxes only and uses the most recently adopted millage rates, and that the official bill is final, so add any city tax separately.
4. At closing, review the tax split and the escrow deposit with your closing attorney.
5. After you move in, apply for homestead and any other exemption you qualify for, once you have owned and lived in the home on January 1.
6. When your first assessment notice arrives, compare the value with what you paid and mark the 45-day appeal window on your calendar.

What mistakes cost buyers money?

The first is budgeting from the listing's tax figure. A seller who is 62 or older and holds Cobb's school tax exemption pays no school general or school bond taxes, and at 18.70 mills, school general is the largest single rate on Cobb's 2026 county bills outside Marietta.

The second is assuming the exemption arrives with the deed. Nobody files it for you, and a late application waives it for that year.

The third is reading an area name as a tax district. A city line adds a second bill, and Marietta's own school district changes the school line.

The fourth is overlooking the escrow review. Federal rules require your loan servicer to analyze the account and send an annual escrow statement, and to tell you if there is a shortage. When your first full bill differs from the one your escrow was built on, your payment adjusts. Set money aside in your first year and the change is one you planned for.

What could this look like in practice?

This is an example, not a real client.

Picture a couple moving from Intown Atlanta to a home in unincorporated Cobb. The listing shows a modest yearly tax figure, and they begin budgeting around it.

Before they write, our team asks a few questions. How long has the seller owned the home? What exemptions appear on the current bill? What tax district is printed on it? The bill shows a school exemption for an owner 62 or older, so the school lines show no tax at all.

Their lender reruns the payment with their price and only the basic homestead exemption. The monthly figure rises. It still fits. They keep their offer where it was, set money aside for an escrow adjustment, and put two dates on their calendar: early January to file for homestead, and a reminder to watch for the assessment notice and its 45-day window.

Frequently asked questions

When are Cobb County property taxes due? Cobb mails bills by August 15 each year, and payment is due October 15. With escrow, your lender pays from that account.

Will my taxes match what the seller paid? Not necessarily. The seller's exemptions belong to the seller, your own begin with the first January 1 you own and live in the home, and the county's value may move after a sale.

Do I have to apply for homestead every year? Georgia.gov says most homestead exemptions renew automatically while you continue to occupy the home under the same ownership. A change of ownership or a name change means applying again.

Is there a school tax exemption for older homeowners in Cobb County? Yes. Homeowners who are 62 on or before January 1 can apply for an exemption from all school general and school bond taxes on their primary residence, with proof of age.

Can our team estimate the taxes on a home we are considering? Our team can help you find the current bill, its tax district and exemptions. Your lender provides the payment estimate.

Your number, before the offer

A tax bill is one of the quieter costs of a home, and one of the few that arrives every year you own it. Knowing it before the offer lets the price, the payment and the plan agree with each other.

NRG Nguyen Realty Group is a real estate team with Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road helping buyers in Cobb County, Georgia understand the full cost of owning a home before they make an offer. For the wider monthly picture, our article on what homes cost in East Cobb goes further.

Send us a message: nrgmovesyou.com/contact

Or book a 15-minute discovery call with our team: schedule a call

Andrew and Jassey Nguyen

NRG Nguyen Realty Group

Real Estate Agents in Atlanta, GA

678-743-1586

nrgmovesyou.com

This article is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Rates, exemptions and deadlines change every year, so confirm your own figures with the Cobb County Tax Commissioner and Board of Tax Assessors, and talk with your lender, closing attorney or a tax professional about your situation.