Atlanta, Georgia
Fulton County commercial property tax appeals
Appeals start with the Fulton County Board of Assessors and go to the Fulton County Board of Equalization (owners may instead elect a hearing officer or arbitration). Here is how commercial evidence is built, filed and heard in Fulton County.
- Assessor
- Fulton County Board of Assessors
- First-level board
- Fulton County Board of Equalization (owners may instead elect a hearing officer or arbitration)
- Filing deadline
- 45 days from the date the annual notice of assessment is mailed (O.C.G.A. §48-5-311(e)(2)(A)); the last day to appeal is printed on the notice
- Commercial assessment level
- 40% of fair market value (O.C.G.A. §48-5-7)
- Value standard
- Fair market value (O.C.G.A. §48-1-2)
- Valuation date
- January 1 of the tax year
- Assessment cycle
- Annual: every parcel valued at fair market value as of January 1
- Notices mailed
- Annual notices of assessment are generally mailed in June; the 2026 notices went out in mid-June with a July 31, 2026 appeal deadline unless another date is printed on the notice
How Fulton County assesses commercial property
Fulton County, which holds most of the City of Atlanta, values every parcel annually at fair market value as of January 1, and Georgia assesses property at 40% of that value. The Board of Assessors mails annual notices of assessment, generally in June, and owners have 45 days from the mailing date to appeal; most 2026 notices carried a July 31, 2026 deadline. Following Senate Bill 566, notices now show an estimated tax savings figure in place of the estimated rollback rate.
Georgia asks the owner to choose a forum at filing. Every appeal goes first to the Board of Assessors, which has 180 days to change the value or confirm it; if it does not answer in time, the owner's asserted value becomes the value for the year. Unresolved appeals go to the forum elected on Form PT-311A: the Board of Equalization, a citizen panel appointed by the grand jury; a hearing officer, available for nonhomestead real property valued over $500,000; or arbitration on value alone, which requires a certified appraisal. In every forum the Board of Assessors must prove its value by a preponderance of the evidence.
A win lasts. A value reduced or left unchanged on appeal is frozen for the next two years under O.C.G.A. §48-5-299(c), so a well-supported appeal in a high-value year protects three tax bills. Decisions can be taken to Fulton County Superior Court within 30 days for a de novo trial, and an owner who beats the board value by 15% or more there may recover fees.
Major commercial submarkets
- Downtown Atlanta
- Midtown
- Buckhead
- Central Perimeter and Sandy Springs
- North Fulton and Alpharetta (GA 400 corridor)
- South Fulton industrial (Fulton Industrial Boulevard and the airport area)
Uniformity authority
Ga. Const. art. VII, §I, Para. III (uniformity of taxation); O.C.G.A. §48-5-311(e)(1)(A) (appeals on uniformity of assessment)
Appeal statute
O.C.G.A. §48-5-311 (appeals to the board of assessors, board of equalization, hearing officer, arbitration and superior court)
After the board
Fulton County Superior Court: notice of appeal filed within 30 days of the decision of the Board of Equalization, hearing officer or arbitrator (O.C.G.A. §48-5-311(g)); the appeal is de novo, preceded by a settlement conference on request, with a $25 filing fee
Official forms ATALI ELECTRIC fills for Fulton County
| Form | Filed with | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Form PT-311A, Appeal of Assessment | Fulton County Board of Assessors | Uniform appeal form prescribed by the Georgia Department of Revenue. It records the owner's asserted value and the forum elected: Board of Equalization, hearing officer or arbitration. |
| Written designation of agent or representative | Fulton County Board of Equalization | The name of any agent or representative appearing for the owner must be submitted to the Board of Equalization in writing before the hearing. |
| Certified appraisal for arbitration | Fulton County Board of Assessors | Required for an arbitration appeal within 45 days of the Board's acknowledgment of the appeal; the Board may accept it or send the case to an arbitrator. |
Filing system: Online appeal at fultonassessor.org, or by mail or in person at a Board of Assessors office
Hearings and evidence
Board of Equalization panels are made up of property-owning citizens appointed by the grand jury and managed by the Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts; hearings are held at the Fulton County Government Center, 141 Pryor Street. The Board must set a hearing within 15 days of receiving the appeal and hold it no sooner than 20 and no later than 30 days after the hearing notice. Nonhomestead parcels valued over $500,000 can go to a hearing officer who is a state-certified appraiser, and value-only disputes can go to an arbitrator who is a certified appraiser.
- 01The Board of Assessors carries the burden of proving its value by a preponderance of the evidence before the Board of Equalization, hearing officer, arbitrator and superior court, although its findings on factual characteristics are prima facie correct before the Board of Equalization.
- 02Either side may ask for the other's list of witnesses and documents at least 10 days before the hearing; the list is due at least 7 days before, and noncompliance can lead to a continuance or exclusion of the evidence (O.C.G.A. §48-5-311(e)(6)(A)).
- 03An owner may submit an appraisal made within nine months before the assessment date, and the county's most recent sales ratio study, as evidence of value.
- 04Arbitration requires a certified appraisal delivered within 45 days of the Board of Assessors' acknowledgment of the appeal, or the arbitration appeal ends unless the owner elects to forward it to the Board of Equalization.
- 05Agents and representatives must be named in writing to the Board of Equalization before the hearing, and reschedule requests need at least 48 hours' notice.
Income evidence
The Board of Assessors values Atlanta office, multifamily, retail and industrial property with income, sales and cost approaches, and income evidence carries the most weight in front of a hearing officer or arbitrator, both of whom are certified appraisers. Arbitration is decided on value alone and starts with a certified appraisal, so the income approach has to be built into that report. The asserted value on Form PT-311A matters beyond the hearing: if the Board of Assessors does not respond within 180 days, that value becomes the fair market value for the year, so it should come from a capitalized, normalized NOI rather than a round number.
Practitioner notes
- A value reduced or left unchanged on appeal, or set by signed agreement, cannot be raised by the Board of Assessors for the next two years (O.C.G.A. §48-5-299(c)), unless the owner skipped the hearing, files a return at a different value, appeals again, or the property changes materially.
- The hearing officer route is available only for nonhomestead real property whose fair market value on the notice exceeds $500,000, which covers most institutional commercial assets in Fulton County.
- If the final value on a superior court appeal is 85% or less of the value set by the Board of Equalization, hearing officer or arbitrator, the owner may recover litigation costs and attorney's fees.
- Arbitration fees follow the result: the county pays if the owner's value is closer to the arbitrator's finding, and the owner pays if the Board of Assessors' value is closer.
Fulton County appeal questions
Last verified October 2026 against the assessor, board and statute.
What share of value is taxed in Fulton County?
Georgia assesses property at 40% of fair market value. A Midtown office building with a $50 million fair market value carries a $20 million assessed value, before exemptions, to which each jurisdiction's millage rate applies.
Can a commercial owner use a hearing officer instead of the Board of Equalization?
Yes, for disputes over value or uniformity of nonhomestead real property whose fair market value on the notice exceeds $500,000. Hearing officers are state-certified appraisers, which suits income-driven commercial cases.
Does a reduction carry into future years?
Generally yes. A value reduced or unchanged on appeal cannot be raised by the Board of Assessors for the next two years, unless the owner did not appear or submit evidence, files a different return, appeals again, or the property changes substantially.
What happens if the Board of Assessors never responds to my appeal?
If the Board does not notify the owner of a change or of no change within 180 days of receiving the appeal, the owner's asserted value becomes the fair market value for that tax year.
Nearby jurisdictions
Build your Fulton County evidence packet in minutes.
The Fulton County Board of Equalization (owners may instead elect a hearing officer or arbitration) forms, deadlines and exhibit formats are preconfigured. Upload a notice to start.