Fulton County Responds to Concerns about Incorrect Tax Estimates

In response to recent complaints that , Fulton County has released the following statement:

Fulton County’s Board of Assessors says a formula error caused an incorrect estimated total property tax amount to appear on some property tax assessment notices sent to Fulton County property owners last week.

Preliminary analysis suggests that parcels in the city of Atlanta were affected. The Board of Assessors is working to determine if any other properties were impacted by the glitch.  The information on the property tax assessment notices is believed to be correct with the exception of the total tax estimate listed at the bottom of the property tax assessment form.

These property tax assessment notices are not tax bills. Property owners can expect to receive their tax bills this fall as they have in years past.  A new state law passed last year required counties to issue a property tax assessment notice to every homeowner annually. The law also required counties to use last year’s millage rate in their calculations.

Property owners are encouraged to compare the 2011 appraised value of their property to the value listed on last year’s tax bill. If your 2011 appraised value did not change, and your applicable millage rates remained the same, the likelihood is that your 2011 tax bill will not change. If your 2011 appraised value decreased, and your applicable millage rates remained the same, the likelihood is that your 2011 tax bill will decrease as well.

Fulton County is hosting a series of public meetings to educate the public on these assessment notices. The first public meeting will be held Friday, May 13, 2011 at the South Service Center (5600 Stonewall Tell Road, Suite 224, College Park, GA 30349) at 10:00 a.m. For more information on the public meetings, log on to www.fultoncountyga.gov.