Cobb County Tax Assessor's Office Info
230,000 Cobb property owners to receive assessment notices
(Marietta, GA -- May 4, 2011)Cobb County's Board of Tax Assessors today approved approximately
230,000 Annual Assessment Notices to be mailed on Friday notifying Cobb County residential property
owners of their 2011 property values. Approximately 14,000 Commercial notices were mailed in April.
According to Cobb County's Chief Appraiser Phil Hogsed, a law passed by the Georgia
Legislature in 2010, requires all assessors’ offices around the state to mail Annual Assessment
Notices to all owners of real property every year beginning in 2011 whether or not the value is
changed. This notice will look different than those mailed in previous years as the format is now
mandated to be the same in all 159 counties in Georgia. The biggest change is that the notice must
now include a tax estimate for all applicable taxing authorities. This is only an estimate and will
not include any of Cobb’s city homestead related exemptions or the Marietta’s school tax
exemption.
If property owners have questions about the tax estimate, please do not contact the Tax Assessors’
office. It is only an estimate! The Tax Assessors’ office will not be able to recalculate or verify
this estimate or provide the prior year tax amounts for comparison. Property owners may check the
tax estimate against their prior year tax bill while remembering that the estimate does not include
any city exemptions. For those living inside Cobb’s cities, the tax estimate will not be the same
as the prior year tax bills. Hogsed apologized for any confusion saying “We simply do not have
the data from the cities or more importantly, the programming necessary to include these
exemptions in the estimate.”
None of the notices will include increases in value except for those properties which showed new
construction or other improvements. A state mandated three-year moratorium on value increases
due to inflation includes the 2011 tax digest. Approximately 90,000 of the residential notices
mailed includes a reduction in value due to the market conditions and the application of new
requirements of state law.
It is important to note that if the value is not changed from the prior year, it is likely the tax bill
received later this year will remain the same, unless there is a change in the tax rates or exemption
status. Or, if the value has been reduced from last year, the tax bill will likely be reduced as well.
The Tax Assessors’ website www.cobbassessor.org has extensive information for property owners
including duplicate assessment notices, the Appeals Process, property data and value history, Cobb
County taxes, the new state mandated appeals form, etc. Also available to help in explaining these
changes, property owners should view the related video at www.cobbassessor.org or by inserting
the following link in their web browser.
http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewIndexSessionSLMQ.aspx?indexPointSKU=7dfolkw0zm6Rg6UU
nf7NMA%3d%3d
Hogsed suggests if property owners have serious concerns about their values, the Tax Assessors'
Office is prepared to help. "Our employees are always willing to assist the taxpayers with their
questions. We really strive to provide the best in customer service,” Hogsed said. He suggests for
those who receive a notice and have serious concerns about their values, they should call the office
and talk with a staff appraiser before writing a letter of appeal. However, appeals may be filed by
submitting a written letter of appeal to the Board of Tax Assessors within 45 days from the date of
the notice, being sure to follow the instructions printed on the notice. Appeals should be based
upon the value placed on the property, not on the tax estimate. A new state mandated appeal
form is available on the Tax Assessors’ website. The Tax Assessors office does not have the
authority to accept appeals after the specified deadline.
The tax digest is finalized by July 1 and millage rates are set later that month. Cobb County tax
bills are generally mailed in August
(Marietta, GA -- May 4, 2011)Cobb County's Board of Tax Assessors today approved approximately
230,000 Annual Assessment Notices to be mailed on Friday notifying Cobb County residential property
owners of their 2011 property values. Approximately 14,000 Commercial notices were mailed in April.
According to Cobb County's Chief Appraiser Phil Hogsed, a law passed by the Georgia
Legislature in 2010, requires all assessors’ offices around the state to mail Annual Assessment
Notices to all owners of real property every year beginning in 2011 whether or not the value is
changed. This notice will look different than those mailed in previous years as the format is now
mandated to be the same in all 159 counties in Georgia. The biggest change is that the notice must
now include a tax estimate for all applicable taxing authorities. This is only an estimate and will
not include any of Cobb’s city homestead related exemptions or the Marietta’s school tax
exemption.
If property owners have questions about the tax estimate, please do not contact the Tax Assessors’
office. It is only an estimate! The Tax Assessors’ office will not be able to recalculate or verify
this estimate or provide the prior year tax amounts for comparison. Property owners may check the
tax estimate against their prior year tax bill while remembering that the estimate does not include
any city exemptions. For those living inside Cobb’s cities, the tax estimate will not be the same
as the prior year tax bills. Hogsed apologized for any confusion saying “We simply do not have
the data from the cities or more importantly, the programming necessary to include these
exemptions in the estimate.”
None of the notices will include increases in value except for those properties which showed new
construction or other improvements. A state mandated three-year moratorium on value increases
due to inflation includes the 2011 tax digest. Approximately 90,000 of the residential notices
mailed includes a reduction in value due to the market conditions and the application of new
requirements of state law.
It is important to note that if the value is not changed from the prior year, it is likely the tax bill
received later this year will remain the same, unless there is a change in the tax rates or exemption
status. Or, if the value has been reduced from last year, the tax bill will likely be reduced as well.
The Tax Assessors’ website www.cobbassessor.org has extensive information for property owners
including duplicate assessment notices, the Appeals Process, property data and value history, Cobb
County taxes, the new state mandated appeals form, etc. Also available to help in explaining these
changes, property owners should view the related video at www.cobbassessor.org or by inserting
the following link in their web browser.
http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewIndexSessionSLMQ.aspx?indexPointSKU=7dfolkw0zm6Rg6UU
nf7NMA%3d%3d
Hogsed suggests if property owners have serious concerns about their values, the Tax Assessors'
Office is prepared to help. "Our employees are always willing to assist the taxpayers with their
questions. We really strive to provide the best in customer service,” Hogsed said. He suggests for
those who receive a notice and have serious concerns about their values, they should call the office
and talk with a staff appraiser before writing a letter of appeal. However, appeals may be filed by
submitting a written letter of appeal to the Board of Tax Assessors within 45 days from the date of
the notice, being sure to follow the instructions printed on the notice. Appeals should be based
upon the value placed on the property, not on the tax estimate. A new state mandated appeal
form is available on the Tax Assessors’ website. The Tax Assessors office does not have the
authority to accept appeals after the specified deadline.
The tax digest is finalized by July 1 and millage rates are set later that month. Cobb County tax
bills are generally mailed in August