Georgia real estate: property tax, closing costs & insurance
Georgia assesses residential property at 40% of fair market value before applying millage, which keeps the effective tax rate near the national average even though the nominal millage numbers look high on paper.
Property tax in Georgia
The effective rate runs about 0.92% of assessed value. Residential property is assessed at 40% of market value before that rate applies, so the millage number quoted locally is not applied to the full price. Assessed at 40% of FMV; millage applied to 40%. A homestead exemption of $2,000 reduces the taxable basis for a primary residence.
Transfer tax & closing costs
$1 per $1,000 seller. Intangibles tax on mortgage $1.50/$500 (buyer). Recording runs a flat $50. Title insurance is customarily paid by the buyer, with a minimum owner’s premium of $250.
Insurance & capital gains
Coastal counties add wind deductible 2%. Flat 5.39% (2024), phasing down.
Worked example: a $350,000 ARV flip in Georgia
Six-month hold, $45,000 rehab, 15% target profit margin, all-cash. This is the same reverse waterfall the calculator runs — see it live for your actual property.
- After-repair value$350,000
- Rehab budget−$45,000
- Closing costs — acquisition−$5,875
- Closing costs — disposition−$18,750
- Holding costs, 6 months−$2,881
- Target profit, 15%−$52,500
- Maximum Allowable Offer$224,994
If you’re investing
When you see a Georgia millage rate quoted, remember it applies to 40% of value, not the full price — multiplying a big-looking millage number straight against the purchase price will overstate the tax bill by roughly 2.5x.
If this is your home
Georgia’s intangibles tax on a new mortgage ($1.50 per $500 of loan amount) is a buyer closing cost that’s easy to forget when budgeting cash to close — add it to your loan estimate line by line rather than assuming it’s bundled into "closing costs."
Best suited for: Investors who want a lower absolute price point with property tax that behaves close to a national-average effective rate.
Georgia FAQ
What is the Georgia property tax assessment ratio?+
Residential property in Georgia is assessed at 40% of fair market value; the county millage rate is then applied to that 40% figure, not to the full sale price.
Who pays Georgia real estate transfer tax?+
The seller customarily pays Georgia’s transfer tax of $1 per $1,000 of sale price; the buyer separately pays an intangibles tax of $1.50 per $500 on any new mortgage recorded.
See the exact number for your Georgia property
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Other state guides
Sources: state and county assessor publications, state department of revenue transfer-tax schedules, and title-rate manuals filed with each state’s insurance regulator, effective 2025-01-01. Figures are estimates for planning purposes, not tax or legal advice — confirm with a licensed professional before closing. How the calculator works