§ 48-5-7. Assessment of
tangible property
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Code section,
taxable tangible property shall be assessed at 40 percent of its fair market
value and shall be taxed on a levy made by each respective tax jurisdiction according
to 40 percent of the property's fair market value.
(b) Tangible real property which is devoted to bona fide agricultural
purposes as defined in this chapter and which otherwise conforms to the
conditions and limitations imposed in this chapter shall be assessed for ad valorem property tax purposes at 75 percent of the value
which other tangible real property is assessed and shall be taxed on a levy
made by each respective tax jurisdiction according to said assessment.
(c) Tangible real property which qualifies as rehabilitated historic
property pursuant to the provisions of Code Section 48-5-7.2 shall be assessed
at 40 percent of its fair market value and shall be taxed on a levy made by
each respective tax jurisdiction according to 40 percent of the property's fair
market value. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "fair market
value" shall mean the fair market value of rehabilitated historic property
pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of Code Section
48-5-2.
(c.1) Tangible real property which qualifies as landmark historic property
pursuant to the provisions of Code Section 48-5-7.3 shall be assessed at 40
percent of its fair market value and shall be taxed on a levy made by each
respective tax jurisdiction according to 40 percent of the property's fair
market value. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "fair market
value" shall mean the fair market value of landmark historic property
pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (D) of paragraph (3) of Code Section
48-5-2.
(c.2) Tangible real property which is devoted to bona fide conservation
uses as defined in this chapter and which otherwise conforms to the conditions
and limitations imposed in this chapter shall be assessed for property tax
purposes at 40 percent of its current use value and shall be taxed on a levy
made by each respective tax jurisdiction according to 40 percent of the
property's current use value.
(c.3) Tangible real property located in a transitional developing area
which is devoted to bona fide residential uses and which otherwise conforms to
the conditions and limitations imposed in this chapter for bona fide
residential transitional property shall be assessed for property tax purposes
at 40 percent of its current use value and shall be taxed on a levy made by
each respective tax jurisdiction according to 40 percent of the property's
current use value.
(c.4) Tangible real property which qualifies as brownfield
property pursuant to the provisions of Code Section 48-5-7.6 shall be assessed
at 40 percent of its fair market value and shall be taxed on a levy made by
each respective tax jurisdiction according to 40 percent of the property's fair
market value. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "fair market
value" shall mean the fair market value of brownfield
property pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (F) of paragraph (3) of
Code Section 48-5-2.
(d) The requirement contained in this Code section that all tax
jurisdictions assess taxable tangible property at 40 percent of fair market
value shall not apply to any tax jurisdiction whose ratio of assessed value to
fair market value exceeded 40 percent for the tax year 1971. No tax
jurisdiction so exempted shall assess at a ratio of less than 40 percent except
as necessary to effect the preferential assessment provided in subsection (b)
of this Code section.
(e) Each notice of ad valorem taxes due sent to
taxpayers of counties and municipalities shall include both the fair market
value of the property of the taxpayer which is subject to taxation and the
assessed value of the property after being reduced as provided by this Code
section.
§ 48-5-7.1. Tangible
real property devoted to agricultural purposes -- Definition; persons entitled
to preferential tax assessment; covenant to maintain agricultural purposes;
penalty for breach of covenant
(a) For purposes of this article, "tangible real
property which is devoted to 'bona fide agricultural purposes'":
(1) Is tangible real property, the primary use of which
is good faith commercial production from or on the land of agricultural products,
including horticultural, floricultural, forestry, dairy, livestock, poultry,
and apiarian products and all other forms of farm products; but
(2) Includes only the value which is $100,000.00 or less
of the fair market value of tangible real property which is devoted to the
storage or processing of agricultural products from or on the property; and
(3) Excludes the entire value of any residence located
on the property.
(b) No property shall qualify for the preferential ad valorem
property tax assessment provided for in subsection (b) of Code Section 48-5-7
unless:
(1) It is owned by one or more natural or naturalized
citizens; or
(2) It is owned by a family-farm corporation, the
controlling interest of which is owned by individuals related to each other
within the fourth degree by civil reckoning, and such corporation derived 80
percent or more of its gross income for the year immediately preceding the year
in which application for preferential assessment is made from bona fide
agricultural pursuits carried out on tangible real property located in this
state, which property is devoted to bona fide agricultural purposes.
(c) No property shall qualify for said preferential assessment if such
assessment would result in any person who has a beneficial interest in such
property, including any interest in the nature of stock ownership, receiving in
any tax year any benefit of preferential assessment as to more than 2,000
acres. If any taxpayer has any beneficial interest in more than 2,000 acres of
tangible real property which is devoted to bona fide agricultural purposes,
such taxpayer shall apply for preferential assessment only as to 2,000 acres of
such land.
(d) No property shall qualify for preferential assessment unless and until
the owner of such property agrees by covenant with the appropriate taxing
authority to maintain the eligible property in bona fide agricultural purposes
for a period of at least ten years beginning on the first day of January of the
year in which such property qualifies for preferential assessment and ending on
the last day of December of the tenth year of the covenant period. After the
expiration of any ten-year covenant period, the property shall not qualify for
further preferential assessment until and unless the owner of the property
enters into a renewal covenant for an additional period of ten years.
(e) No property shall maintain its eligibility for preferential assessment
unless a valid covenant remains in effect and unless the property is
continuously devoted to bona fide agricultural purposes during the entire
period of the covenant.
(f) If any change in ownership of such qualified property occurs during
the covenant period, all qualification requirements must be met again before
the property shall be eligible to be continued for preferential assessment. If
ownership of the property is acquired during a covenant period by a person
qualified to enter into an original covenant, by a newly formed corporation the
stock in which is owned by the original covenantor or
others related to the original covenantor within the
fourth degree by civil reckoning, or by the personal representative of an owner
who was a party to the covenant, then the original covenant may be continued by
such acquiring party for the remainder of the term, in which event no breach of
the covenant shall be deemed to have occurred.
(g) A penalty shall be imposed under this subsection if during the period
of the covenant entered into by a taxpayer the covenant is breached. The
penalty shall be computed by multiplying the amount by which the preferential
assessment has reduced taxes otherwise due for the year in which the breach
occurs times:
(1) A factor of five if the breach occurs in the first
or second year of the covenant period;
(2) A factor of four if the breach occurs during the
third or fourth year of the covenant period;
(3) A factor of three if the breach occurs during the
fifth or sixth year of the covenant period; or
(4) A factor of two if the breach occurs in the seventh,
eighth, ninth, or tenth year of the covenant period.
(h) A penalty imposed under subsection (g) of this Code section shall bear
interest at the rate specified in Code Section 48-2-40 from the date the
covenant is breached.
(i) Penalties and interest imposed under this
Code section shall constitute a lien against the property and shall be
collected as other unpaid ad valorem taxes are
collected. Such penalties and interest shall be distributed pro rata to each
taxing jurisdiction wherein the preferential assessment has been granted based
upon the total amount by which such preferential assessment has reduced taxes
for each such taxing jurisdiction on the property in question as provided in
this Code section.
(j) The penalty imposed by subsection (g) of this Code section shall not
apply in any case where a covenant is breached solely as a result of:
(1) The acquisition of part or all of the property under
the power of eminent domain;
(2) The sale of part or all of the property to a public
or private entity which would have had the authority to acquire the property
under the power of eminent domain; or
(3) The death of an owner who was a party to the
covenant.
(k) All applications for preferential assessment, including the covenant
agreement required under this Code section, shall be filed on or before the
last day for filing ad valorem tax returns in the
county for the tax year for which such preferential assessment shall be first
applicable. An application for continuation of preferential assessment upon a
change in ownership of the qualified property shall be filed on or before the
last date for filing tax returns in the year following the year in which the
change in ownership occurred. Applications for preferential assessment shall be
filed with the county board of tax assessors who shall approve or deny the
application. If the application is approved on or after
(l) The commissioner shall by regulation provide uniform application and
covenant forms to be used in making application for preferential assessment.
Such application shall include an oath or affirmation by the taxpayer that he
has not at any time received, or made a pending application for, preferential
assessment in the same or another county with respect to any property which
taken together with property for which application is then being made exceeds
2,000 acres.
(m) The commissioner shall annually submit a report to the Governor and
members of the General Assembly which shall show the fiscal impact of the
preferential assessment provided for in this Code section. The report shall
include the amount of assessed value eliminated from each county's digest as a
result of the preferential assessment; approximate tax dollar losses, by county,
to all local governments affected by such preferential assessment; and any
recommendations regarding state and local administration of this Code section,
with emphasis upon enforcement problems, if any, attendant with this Code
section. The report shall also include any other data or facts which the
commissioner deems relevant.
(n)(1) The transfer prior to July 1, 1988, of a part of
the property subject to a covenant shall not constitute a breach of a covenant
entered into before or after July 1, 1984, if:
(A) The part of the property so
transferred is used for single-family residential purposes and the residence is
occupied by a person who is related within the fourth degree of civil reckoning
to an owner of the property subject to the covenant; and
(B) The part of the property so
transferred, taken together with any other part of the property so transferred
during the covenant period, does not exceed a total of three acres.
(2) The transfer on or after July 1, 1988, of a part of
the property subject to a covenant shall not constitute a breach of a covenant
entered into before or after July 1, 1988, if:
(A) The part of the property so
transferred is transferred to a person who is related within the fourth degree
of civil reckoning to an owner of the property subject to the covenant; and
(B) The part of the property so
transferred, taken together with any other part of the property transferred to
the same relative during the covenant period, does not exceed a total of five acres.
(o) The following shall not constitute a breach of a covenant entered into
before or after July 1, 1984:
(1) Mineral exploration of the property subject to the
covenant or the leasing of the property subject to the covenant for purposes of
mineral exploration if the primary use of the property continues to be the good
faith commercial production from or on the land of agricultural products; or
(2) Allowing all or part of the property subject to the
covenant to lie fallow or idle for purposes of any land conservation program,
for purposes of any federal agricultural assistance program, or for other
agricultural management purposes.
(p) Property which is subject to preferential assessment shall be
separately classified from all other property on the tax digest; and such
separate classification shall be such as will enable any person examining the
tax digest to readily ascertain that the property is subject to preferential
assessment. Covenants shall be public records and shall be indexed and maintained
in such manner as will allow members of the public to readily locate the
covenant affecting any particular property subject to preferential assessment.
(q)(1) In any case in which a covenant is breached
solely as a result of the foreclosure of a deed to secure debt, or the property
is conveyed to the lienholder without compensation
and in lieu of foreclosure, the penalty specified by paragraph (2) of this
subsection shall apply and the penalty specified by subsection (g) of this Code
section shall not apply if:
(A) The deed to secure debt was
executed as a part of a bona fide commercial loan transaction in which the
grantor of the deed to secure debt received consideration equal in value to the
principal amount of the debt secured by the deed to secure debt;
(B) The loan was made by a person or
financial institution who or which is regularly engaged in the business of
making loans; and
(C) The deed to secure debt was
intended by the parties as security for the loan and was not intended for the
purpose of carrying out a transfer which would otherwise be subject to the
penalty specified by subsection (g) of this Code section.
(2) When a breach occurs solely as a result of a
foreclosure which meets the qualifications of paragraph (1) of this subsection,
the penalty imposed shall be the amount by which preferential assessment has
reduced taxes otherwise due for the year in which the covenant is breached.
(3) A penalty imposed under this subsection shall bear
interest at the rate specified in Code Section 48-2-40 from the date the
covenant is breached.
(r)(1) In any case in which a covenant is breached
solely as a result of a medically demonstrable illness or disability which
renders the owner of the real property physically unable to continue the
property in agricultural use, the penalty specified by paragraph (2) of this
subsection shall apply and the penalty specified by subsection (g) of this Code
section shall not apply. The penalty specified by paragraph (2) of this subsection
shall likewise be substituted for the penalty specified by subsection (g) of
this Code section in any case in which a covenant is breached solely as a
result of a medically demonstrable illness or disability which renders the
operator of the real property physically unable to continue the property in
agricultural use, provided that the alternative penalty shall apply in this
case only if the operator of the real property is a member of the family owning
a family-farm corporation which owns the real property.
(2) When a breach occurs which meets the qualifications
of paragraph (1) of this subsection, the penalty imposed shall be the amount by
which preferential assessment has reduced taxes otherwise due for the year
during which the covenant is breached.
(3) A penalty imposed under this subsection shall bear
interest at the rate specified in Code Section 48-2-40 from the date the
covenant is breached.
(4) Prior to the imposition of the alternative penalty
authorized by this subsection in lieu of the penalty specified by subsection
(g) of this Code section, the board of tax assessors shall require satisfactory
evidence which clearly demonstrates that the breach is the result of a
medically demonstrable illness or disability which meets the qualifications of
paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(r.1) In any case in which a covenant is breached solely as a result of an
owner electing to discontinue the property in its qualifying use, provided such
owner has renewed without an intervening lapse at least once the covenant under
this Code section, has reached the age of 65 or older, and has kept the
property in a qualifying use under the renewal covenant for at least three
years the penalty specified by subsection (g) of this Code section shall not apply
and the penalty imposed shall be the amount by which preferential assessment
has reduced taxes otherwise due for the year in which the covenant is breached.
Such penalty shall bear interest at the rate specified in Code Section 48-2-40
from the date of the breach. Such election shall be in writing and shall not
become effective until filed with the county board of tax assessors.
(s) Property which is subject to preferential assessment and which is
subject to a covenant under this Code section may be changed from such covenant
and placed in a covenant for bona fide conservation use under Code Section
48-5-7.4 if such property meets all of the requirements and conditions
specified in Code Section 48-5-7.4. Any such change shall terminate the
covenant under this Code section, shall not constitute a breach of the covenant
under this Code section, and shall require the establishment of a new covenant
period under Code Section 48-5-7.4. No property may be changed under this
subsection more than once.
(t) At such time as the property ceases to be eligible for preferential
assessment or when any ten-year covenant period expires and the property does
not qualify for further preferential assessment, the owner of the property
shall file an application for release of preferential treatment with the county
board of tax assessors who shall approve the release upon verification that all
taxes and penalties with respect to the property have been satisfied. After the
application for release has been approved by the board of tax assessors, the
board shall file the release in the office of the clerk of the superior court
in the county in which the original covenant was filed. The clerk of the
superior court shall file and index such release in the real property records
maintained in the clerk's office. No fee shall be paid to the clerk of the
superior court for recording such release. The commissioner shall by regulation
provide uniform release forms.
HISTORY: Code 1981, § 48-5-7.1,
enacted by Ga. L. 1983, p. 1850, § 3; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 48; Ga. L. 1984, p.
686, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 48; Ga. L. 1986, p. 820, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p.
286, §§ 1-3; Ga. L. 1988, p. 895, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 292, § 1; Ga. L. 1991,
p. 668, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1903, § 5; Ga. L. 1998, p. 553, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L.
1999, p. 589, § 1; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1031, § 1.