Cobb County, Georgia: business personal property tax return, 2027

Businesses in Cobb County report the equipment, furniture, computers, inventory and other tangible property they owned on January 1, 2027 to the Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors (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.

Due

April 1, 2027

no weekend roll

Extension

None

not available

Exemption

$20,000

threshold, per county

Est. tax rate

1.2%

of market value, typical in-city

Files via

Online

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)

Depreciation

4 classes

statewide table

Notice of value

May

typical mailing

Who files

Any business with tangible personal property at a Cobb 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 — DOR County Property Tax Facts — Cobb: 'Property tax returns must be filed with the county tax office between January 1 and April 1 of each year.' Cobb's own notice (AJC, Feb 1, 2021) says business owners can 'file their Personal Property Tax Return online to 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: May
Protest deadline: 45 days from the date of the annual notice of assessment (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311); the deadline is printed on the notice. Cobb mails residential notices 'the week of May 10th' (county notice); appeals may be filed electronically via cobbassessor.org/appeals/. Heard by the Cobb County Board of Equalization. (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.

Depreciation schedule

Georgia applies one statewide depreciation table (4 classes); Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors 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

Online through 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), or by mail.

Online: 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)
By mail: Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors, P.O. Box 649, Marietta, GA 30061-0649 (street: 736 Whitlock Avenue, Suite 200, Marietta, GA 30064)
Form: PT-50P — Tangible Personal Property Tax Return and Supporting Schedules (Business Personal Property Tax Return) (rev. PT-50P (revised 1/18/2017))

County notice (cobbcounty.org): 'All business owners are reminded that you can file your Personal Property Tax Return online. Please use the PIN on your preprinted form and this link: cobbassessor.org/e-file-business-personal-property-returns/'.

The assessor site now resolves at assessor.cobbcounty.gov (same path, /e-file-business-personal-property-returns/); those pages and the Personal Property FAQ (assessor.cobbcounty.gov/personal-property/frequently-asked-questions/) returned errors to our fetcher on 2026-11-02 and were not read. Filers without the PIN must file a paper return (AJC, 2021).

Mailing address and phone (770) 528-3100 from cobbcounty.org/node/3210; questions by email to cobbtaxassessor@cobbcounty.org (not a return-filing channel; the Board does not accept appeals by email or fax).

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). County FAQ not readable on 2026-11-02; no county-specific penalty text recorded.

Estimated tax

For a typical in-city location, about 1.2% of market value.

Cobb County Tax Commissioner '2026 Millage Rates' sheet. City of Marietta total 31.122 mills = County General 8.46 + Marietta City Schools 17.97 + City General 2.867 + City Bond 1.825 (Marietta has no county fire levy). Other 2026 totals: Unincorporated Cobb 30.13 (8.46 county + 2.97 fire + 18.70 Cobb County Schools); Smyrna 36.15; Kennesaw 39.28; Acworth 39.08.

Marietta (county seat) used as the typical in-city location. Estimate only. Georgia assesses personal property at 40% of fair market value before the rate is applied.

Questions

PT-50P is due to Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors by April 1, 2027. No extension is available.

Online through 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), or by mail. Portal: https://cobbassessor.org/e-file-business-personal-property-returns/. Mailing address: Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors, P.O. Box 649, Marietta, GA 30061-0649 (street: 736 Whitlock Avenue, Suite 200, Marietta, GA 30064).

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 $3.11 per $100 of assessed value, so about 1.2% 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.

01Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors — business personal property filing pagecobbcounty.org/node/7784read 2026-11-02
02Filing deadlinedor.georgia.gov/node/22826read 2026-11-02
03E-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)cobbassessor.org/e-file-business-personal-property-returns/
04PT-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
05Exemption 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
06Georgia statewide depreciation tabledor.georgia.gov/document/document/appraisal-procedure-manual/downloadread 2026-11-02
07Adopted tax rates used for the estimatecms9files.revize.com/cobbcounty/Property/Millage%20Rates/2026%20MILLAGE%20RATES.pdfread 2026-11-02
08Penalty statutelaw.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-48/chapter-5/article-5/part-2/section-48-5-299/read 2026-11-02
09Notice of value and protest deadlinecobbcounty.org/node/8671
10Georgia notice and appeal rulesdor.georgia.gov/filing-property-tax-appeal
11Tax bill due datedor.georgia.gov/property-tax-returns-and-paymentread 2026-11-02
12Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors websitecobbassessor.org

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