Cherokee County, Georgia: business personal property tax return, 2027
Businesses in Cherokee County report the equipment, furniture, computers, inventory and other tangible property they owned on January 1, 2027 to the Cherokee County Board of Tax Assessors (Tax Assessors Office) (county board of tax assessors) on PT-50P. The return is due April 1, 2027. 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.
Cherokee County Board of Tax Assessors (Tax Assessors Office) still shows a $7,500 exemption; the state rule for tax year 2027 is $20,000. State rule applied.
Who files
Any business with tangible personal property at a Cherokee County location on January 1.
Furniture and fixtures, kitchen and other machinery, computers and point-of-sale systems, signage, leasehold improvements that are trade fixtures, supplies and inventory are reported at original cost by year acquired; the appraiser depreciates them on the schedule below. The threshold is measured on everything the taxpayer owns in the county combined, not per location.
Deadlines and extensions
- Assessment date
- January 1, 2027
- PT-50P due
- April 1, 2027 — County 2026 Business Personal Property Return pre-printed due date 'April 1, 2026'. Tax Commissioner: 'Individuals, partnerships, corporations, etc. doing business or residing in Cherokee County must file a personal property return each year by April 1.' Statewide rule O.C.G.A. § 48-5-18.
- Extension
- None (statewide; O.C.G.A. § 48-5-18 has no extension provision).
- Notice of value
- June
- Protest deadline
- 45 days from the date of the annual notice of assessment (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311). 2025 notices began mailing the week of June 16, 2025 with a July 31, 2025 appeal deadline (Tax Assessor's Office via Cherokee Tribune, June 6, 2025). Appeals to the Cherokee County Board of Equalization are filed with the Tax Assessors Office (2026 appeal form on the county documents page). (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
- Typically August–October (county tax commissioner); e.g. Fulton mails bills ~August 15, Cherokee in September.. 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).
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.
- Statute
- O.C.G.A. § 48-5-42.1, as amended by Ga. L. 2024, p. 696, § 1 (HB 808; 2024 Ga. Laws 581), ratified by statewide Referendum A on November 5, 2024
- In force
- Tax years 2025–present
- Under the threshold
- The PT-50P is still due by April 1 every year. The board of tax assessors determines the county-wide aggregate FMV from the return; if it does not exceed $20,000 the account is exempt and no bill issues. Gwinnett County: 'Personal property valued at $20,000 or less is automatically exempt from ad valorem taxes' but the property 'must be returned, valued, and entered on the tax digest' and owners under the threshold 'receive no bill' (https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/government/departments/county-administrator/assessor/personal-property). No statutory waiver exists.
- As stated by the county
- $7,500 — The Tax Assessors Office FAQ still cites O.C.G.A. § 48-5-42.1 under its pre-2025 heading 'Personal Property Tax Exemption for Property Valued at $7500.00 or Less' and does not mention the $20,000 threshold in force since tax year 2025. State rule governs.
- Verify by
- 2027-01-15 — the county page shows a different amount than the statute now in force; the statute governs.
Depreciation schedule
Georgia applies one statewide depreciation table (4 classes); Cherokee County Board of Tax Assessors (Tax Assessors Office) uses it.
| Class | Life | Percent good, years 1 → 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Group I — typical economic life 5–7 years (e.g. IRS Pub. 946 class 00.13 data handling equipment) | 7 yr | 87% · 74% · 58% · 43% · 32% · 26% |
| Group II — typical economic life 8–12 years (e.g. IRS Pub. 946 class 00.11 office furniture & fixtures; class 57.0 distributive trades & services) | 11 yr | 92% · 85% · 78% · 70% · 63% · 54% |
| Group III — typical economic life 13 years or more | 16 yr | 95% · 91% · 87% · 82% · 79% · 75% |
| Group IV — typical economic life 4 years or less, and all assets in IRS Pub. 946 Asset Class 00.12 (information systems: computers and peripheral equipment) | 3 yr | 67% · 54% · 31% |
Source: dor.georgia.gov/document/document/appraisal-procedure-manual/download
Statewide composite conversion factors (APM 560-11-10-.08) apply.
How to file
By mail.
- By mail
- Cherokee County Tax Assessors Office, 2782 Marietta Highway, Suite 200, Canton, GA 30114
- Form
- PT-50P — Tangible Personal Property Tax Return and Supporting Schedules (Business Personal Property Tax Return) (rev. PT-50P (revised 1/18/2017))
No online business personal property return filing was found on the Tax Assessors Office site (documents page lists the 2026 Business Personal Property Return, Freeport Application, Aircraft and Marine returns as downloads only: cherokeega.com/Tax-Assessors-Office/documents.php).
Return address, phone 678-493-6152 (personal property) and revision 'PT-50P (revised 1/18/2017)' are printed on the county's 2026 return. Office main phone (678) 493-6120; Chief Appraiser Steve Swindell. Tax Commissioner page (www.cherokeecountytax.com/property.html): 'A 10% penalty is assessed for failure to file and late filing'; returns go to the Personal Property section of the Tax Assessors' Office.
Penalties
- Late or missing return: 10% of the total tax imposed on the property for the year.
- Unreturned property assessed by the board: 10% added to the taxable value.
- Property omitted from a return: 10% of the tax on the omitted property.
Penalty is 10% of the assessment of items not previously returned, per O.C.G.A. § 48-5-299(b) (the county FAQ cites § 48-5-299 'penalty for unreturned property').
Estimated tax
For a typical in-city location, about 1.1% of market value.
Cherokee County Tax Commissioner, tax year 2026, unincorporated total 26.949 mills = County M&O 5.712 + School M&O 16.450 + School Bond 1.500 + Fire 3.023 + Park Bond 0.264 (State 0.000). Incorporated (county-billed) total 23.926 — businesses in Canton, Woodstock, Holly Springs etc. also pay a city levy billed by the city and not shown on the county page. 2025 totals: unincorporated 26.251, incorporated 23.363.
Unincorporated used as the typical location. County bills are mailed in September and due November 15. Estimate only. Georgia assesses personal property at 40% of fair market value before the rate is applied.
Questions
PT-50P is due to Cherokee County Board of Tax Assessors (Tax Assessors Office) by April 1, 2027. 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.
By mail. Mailing address: Cherokee County Tax Assessors Office, 2782 Marietta Highway, Suite 200, Canton, GA 30114.
Late or missing return: 10% of the total tax imposed on the property for the year. Unreturned property assessed by the board: 10% added to the taxable value. Property omitted from a return: 10% of the tax on the omitted property.
For a typical in-city location the combined 2025 rate of overlapping taxing units is $2.69 per $100 of assessed value, so about 1.1% of market value after Georgia's 40% assessment ratio. Your exact rate depends on the city, school district and special districts at the address.
Sources
Every figure above is taken from one of these documents; the date is when Rendition last read it.
- 01Cherokee County Board of Tax Assessors (Tax Assessors Office) — business personal property filing pagecherokeega.com/Tax-Assessors-Office/_resources/documents/2026%20BUSINESS%20PERSONAL%20PROPERTY%20RETURN.pdfread 2026-11-02
- 02PT-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
- 03Exemption rule — 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
- 04Cherokee County Board of Tax Assessors (Tax Assessors Office) — exemption as stated by the countycherokeega.com/Tax-Assessors-Office/faqread 2026-11-02
- 05Georgia statewide depreciation tabledor.georgia.gov/document/document/appraisal-procedure-manual/downloadread 2026-11-02
- 06Adopted tax rates used for the estimatecherokeecountytax.com/property.htmlread 2026-11-02
- 07Penalty statutelaw.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-48/chapter-5/article-5/part-2/section-48-5-299/read 2026-11-02
- 08Notice of value and protest deadlinetribuneledgernews.com/local_news/cherokee-county-assessment-notices-expected-to-be-mailed-soon/article_90e1992e-3224-4416-a7ea-ee68f5a8424c.html
- 09Georgia notice and appeal rulesdor.georgia.gov/filing-property-tax-appeal
- 10Tax bill due datedor.georgia.gov/property-tax-returns-and-paymentread 2026-11-02
- 11Cherokee County Board of Tax Assessors (Tax Assessors Office) websitecherokeega.com/tax-assessors-office
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