Georgia state House Republicans propose eliminating local homestead property tax by 2032 – WABE

Georgia state House Republican lawmakers introduced a proposal Wednesday to eventually eliminate homestead property taxes by 2032, a plan led by Republican House Speaker Jon Burns.

This means homeowners would no longer pay property taxes on their primary residence by 2032. Burns is also proposing increasing the state homestead exemption every year until then. Other exemptions would remain in place.

If the tax cut passes, local counties and cities would need to make up more than $2 billion in revenue and school districts would need to make up more than $3 billion, for a total of at least $5 billion, according to estimates by the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, the powerful organization that advocates on behalf of county officials in the state. ACCG has not taken a position on the legislation.

The proposal offers a few options for local governments and schools to make up the difference in local tax revenue. Counties and cities can levy a sales tax up to 3%, and school systems can levy a sales tax up to 2%. They can also repurpose their current local sales taxes.

Local governments and school systems can also levy assessments, or one-time fees collected for capital projects or services like fire rescue, stormwater management and trash collection.

Burns and House Republicans introduced the plan at a press conference Wednesday.

“This historic tax relief would be delivering on our commitment to making life more affordable for our neighbors across this entire state of Georgia, starting where it matters most — at home,” Burns said.

The plan requires a constitutional amendment that voters would need to approve this November. To pass House Resolution 1114, which provides for the ballot measure, both the House and Senate need a two-thirds vote.

Burns said he believes the plan will receive “overwhelming support.”

“I believe this proposition will resonate with all Georgians. Protecting your homeplace, your homestead is not partisan. That resonates with both Democrats and Republicans,” he said.

The language on the ballot reads, “Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to provide complete property tax relief for homeowners, exempting homestead properties from ad valorem taxation by counties, schools, consolidated governments, municipalities, and local school systems for all tax years following the first year in which a homestead exemption is granted, by revising finance procedures for local governments and school systems?”

The enabling legislation for the proposal, titled the Georgia Home Ownership and Market Equalization Act or HOME Act, is expected to be filed Thursday.

The proposal would also cap revenue growth on taxes for properties that are not covered by the full homestead exemption.

“We were very conscious of trying to make sure we protect non-homesteaders,” Republican state Rep. Shaw Blackmon, the lead sponsor of the resolution, told reporters after the conference. “So if you’re not a homeowner, we do put a cap on revenue year over year, and so that would hold that down for our renters.”

Georgia voters approved a statewide homestead tax exemption on the November 2024 ballot via House Bill 581, which caps the annual increase on property taxes by freezing property taxes based on a yearly assessment of consumer price index. 

Many school districts and local governments across the state opted out of the exemption due to concerns about a reduction in tax revenue. Around two-thirds of school districts, a third of counties and a quarter of cities opted out, according to a report by the Georgia State University Center for State and Local Finance. Then, Kemp signed legislation in April 2025 to allow local bodies to rescind their decision to opt out.

This bill is coming as Senate Republicans consider another significant tax cut in a proposed plan to eliminate the state personal income tax by 2032. 

WABE’s Rahul Bali contributed reporting to this story.