Georgia business personal property tax, 2027
PT-50P — Tangible Personal Property Tax Return and Supporting Schedules (Business Personal Property Tax Return) — is due April 1, 2027 in every Georgia county; no extension is available. No tax is owed when the total market value of business personal property per county is at or under $20,000; above that, the full value is taxable (a cliff, not a deduction). A PT-50P is still filed every year.
Georgia counties
Due dates roll to the next business day. Rates are our estimate for a typical in-city location.
| County | Appraiser | PT-50P due | Est. total rate | Files via |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatham County | Chatham County Board of Assessors | April 1, 2027 | 1.6% | |
| Cherokee County | Cherokee County Board of Tax Assessors (Tax Assessors Office) | April 1, 2027 | 1.1% | |
| Clayton County | Clayton County Board of Tax Assessors (Tax Assessor's Office) | April 1, 2027 | 1.4% | |
| Cobb County | Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors | April 1, 2027 | 1.2% | E-File Business Personal Property Returns (Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors, Tyler SmartFile; requires the PIN printed on the pre-printed return mailed in January) |
| DeKalb County | DeKalb County Board of Assessors (Property Appraisal Department) | April 1, 2027 | 1.8% | DeKalb County SmartFile (Tyler Technologies) — Business Personal Property Return |
| Forsyth County | Forsyth County Board of Assessors (Forsyth County Tax Assessors) | April 1, 2027 | 1% | |
| Fulton County | Fulton County Board of Assessors | April 1, 2027 | 1.6% | SmartFile (Fulton County Board of Assessors online filing — Business, Aircraft & Marine Property Returns) |
| Gwinnett County | Gwinnett County Board of Assessors (Assessors' Office) | April 1, 2027 | 1.4% | E-File Personal Property/Business (Gwinnett County qPublic — Schneider Geospatial) |
| Hall County | Hall County Board of Tax Assessors | April 1, 2027 | not on file | qPublic Hall County GA (Schneider Geospatial) — Personal Property tab online filing (business, manufacturer, boats, aircraft; Freeport returns may also be filed online) |
| Henry County | Henry County Board of Tax Assessors (Henry County Tax Assessors Office) | April 1, 2027 | not on file |
Exemption
No tax is owed when the total market value of business personal property per county is at or under $20,000; above that, the full value is taxable (a cliff, not a deduction). A PT-50P is still filed every year.
| Tax years | Amount | Type | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–2024 | $7,500 | threshold (all-or-nothing) | O.C.G.A. § 48-5-42.1 |
| 2025–present | $20,000 | threshold (all-or-nothing) | O.C.G.A. § 48-5-42.1 |
Statute text (2025 Code, § 48-5-42.1(b)): 'All tangible personal property of a taxpayer, except motor vehicles, trailers, and mobile homes, shall be exempt from all ad valorem taxation if the actual fair market value of the total amount of taxable tangible personal property owned by the taxpayer within the county, as determined by the board of tax assessors, does not exceed $20,000.00.' Subsection (a) states the intent: to exempt property 'on which the tax due does not exceed the reasonable cost of administering and collecting the tax.' CLIFF reading: the exemption applies only IF the aggregate does not exceed $20,000; nothing in the text exempts the first $20,000 when the aggregate is higher, so an account at $20,001 is fully taxable.
Penalties
- Failure to file: 10% penalty.
- Property omitted from a return: 10% of the tax on the omitted property.
Georgia has a single flat penalty: when unreturned personal property is assessed by the county board of tax assessors after the April 1 return deadline, 10 percent is added to the assessment and becomes part of taxable value for the year (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-299(b), 2025 Code, last amended Ga. L. 2024, p. 20 / HB 581 eff. 1/1/2025). There is no per-month accrual and no cap beyond the 10%.
The PT-50P itself states: 'To avoid a 10% penalty on items not previously returned, file not later than the due date listed above.' Property previously returned is covered by the automatic-return rule (O.C.G.A.
Notices, protests and bills
- Notice of value
- May–July, varies by county (2025–2026 observed: Cobb and Clayton May; Gwinnett late May; Fulton and Cherokee June; Forsyth late June; Hall early July). Georgia counties mail one annual notice of assessment (PT-306) covering real and personal property; the board must send a notice whenever it disagrees with the taxpayer's personal property return.
- Protest deadline
- 45 days from the date of mailing of the annual notice of assessment (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311(e)(2)(A): notice of appeal 'within 45 days from the date of mailing the notice pursuant to Code Section 48-5-306'); filed with the county board of tax assessors by mail, in person, or by email only where the board has adopted a written e-service policy
- Appeal body
- County Board of Equalization (matters of taxability, uniformity and value); alternatively a hearing officer for tangible personal property with aggregate FMV above $200,000 (§ 48-5-311(e)(1)(A)(v)) or binding arbitration (value only). Further appeal to superior court within 30 days of the decision (§ 48-5-311(g)(2)). A written objection to a personal property assessment giving the account number counts as a notice of appeal. Uniform appeal form PT-311A (https://dor.georgia.gov/pt-311a-appeal-assessment-form).
- Bills mailed
- Typically August–October (county tax commissioner); e.g. Fulton mails bills ~August 15, Cherokee in September.
- Bills due
- December 20 unless the local governing authority sets an earlier date or installments (DOR: 'Unless otherwise specifically stated in the law, property taxes are due by December 20'; some counties use Nov 15, Oct 15, Sept 30 or two installments). Taxpayers have 60 days from the postmark of the bill before interest accrues (DOR County Property Tax Facts).
Notes
Georgia business personal property is returned to the county board of tax assessors (in a few counties to the tax commissioner) on form PT-50P between January 1 and April 1 for property owned on January 1 (O.C.G.A. §§ 48-5-10, 48-5-18). Assessed value is 40% of fair market value (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7; DOR FAQ dor.georgia.gov/property-tax-real-and-personal-property-faq).
Valuation of furniture, fixtures, machinery and equipment uses the statewide composite conversion factors in APM Rule 560-11-10-.08 (basic cost approach); the taxpayer reports original cost by year acquired and group, and the county applies the factors. Inventory is taxable unless Freeport applies. The $20,000 aggregate-per-county exemption (TY2025+) is all-or-nothing and still requires the return.
Several county pages (e.g. Cherokee FAQ) still show the old '$7,500' heading of § 48-5-42.1 — county files record this in exemption.countyStatedAmount/verifyBy.
Questions
PT-50P is due April 1, 2027 in every county. No extension is available.
No tax is owed when the total market value of business personal property per county is at or under $20,000; above that, the full value is taxable (a cliff, not a deduction). A PT-50P is still filed every year.
Yes. Georgia taxes business inventory as personal property.
Failure to file: 10% penalty. Property omitted from a return: 10% of the tax on the omitted property.
Sources
Every figure above is taken from one of these documents; the date is when Rendition last read it.
- 01PT-50P — Tangible Personal Property Tax Return and Supporting Schedules (Business Personal Property Tax Return)dor.georgia.gov/document/form/pt-50p-tangible-personal-property-tax-return-and-schedules/downloadread 2026-11-02
- 02Statutory filing deadlinedor.georgia.gov/property-tax-returns-and-paymentread 2026-11-02
- 03Exemption — O.C.G.A. § 48-5-42.1law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2006/48/48-5-42.1.htmlread 2026-11-02
- 04Exemption — O.C.G.A. § 48-5-42.1law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-48/chapter-5/article-2/part-1/section-48-5-42-1read 2026-11-02
- 05Penalty statutelaw.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-48/chapter-5/article-5/part-2/section-48-5-299/read 2026-11-02
- 06Assessment ratiodor.georgia.gov/property-tax-real-and-personal-property-faqread 2026-11-02
- 07Inventory treatmentlaw.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-48/chapter-5/article-2/part-1/section-48-5-48-2read 2026-11-02
- 08Notice and appeal rulesdor.georgia.gov/filing-property-tax-appeal
- 09Georgia statewide depreciation tabledor.georgia.gov/document/document/appraisal-procedure-manual/downloadread 2026-11-02
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