Definitions

Certified tax digest means the total taxable net assessed value on the annual tax digest that has been or will be certified by the tax receiver or tax commissioner to the Department of Revenue after the total of all appeals that have been or could be filed or arbitrations demanded have been reduced below the maximum amount authorized under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-304.

Exemptions: When determining the millage rate, certain classes of property are exempted from the tax digest. Those properties include motor vehicles and the real property of senior citizens who have applied for the homestead exemption.

Expected Net Tax Levy: The amount of tax dollars that is expected to be generated by applying the "Proposed Millage Rate" to the "Net Tax Digest."

Gross Tax Digest: The total value of all property within a levying or recommending authority's limits. This figure includes real and personal property, motor vehicles and motor homes.

Levying authority means a county, a municipality, or a consolidated city-county governing authority or other governing authority of a political subdivision of this state that exercises the power to levy property taxes to carry out the governing authority's purposes.

Mill means one one-thousandth of a United States dollar.

Millage rate means the net ad valorem tax levy, in mills, that is established by the recommending or levying authority to be applied to the net assessed value of taxable property within such authority's taxing jurisdiction for purposes of financing, in whole or in part, the recommending or levying authority's maintenance and operation expenses, the expenses of a special district, and to pay interest on and retire bonded indebtedness for the fiscal year.

The millage rate is a number, computed by dividing the "budgeted tax revenue needed" by the "net tax digest," which is applied to the fair market value of individual properties to determine the property owner's tax liability. A "mill" is equal to one dollar for every thousand dollars of value. Therefore, with a millage rate of 5.2, you pay $5.20 for every thousand dollars of taxable value.

Millage equivalent means the number of mills that would result when the total net assessed value added by reassessments of existing real property from the prior tax year's assessed value is divided by the certified tax digest for the current tax year and the result is multiplied by the prior tax year's millage rate.

M&O Budget: "Maintenance & Operations," also known as the "Operating Budget," "Operations," etc. A millage may also be assessed to retire debt (bonds).

Net assessed value means the taxable assessed value of property after all exemptions have been deducted.

Net Tax Digest: The total amount of taxable property with a levying or recommending authority's limits, after all exemptions.

Property tax means a tax imposed by applying a millage rate that has been established by a recommending or levying authority to the net assessed value of real property subject to ad valorem taxation within a taxing jurisdiction.

Recommending authority means a county, independent, or area school board of education that exercises the power to cause the levying authority to levy property taxes to carry out the purposes of such board of education.

Rollback rate means the previous year's millage rate minus the millage equivalent of the total net assessed value added by reassessments of existing real property; provided, however, that if the taxing jurisdiction has created a redevelopment area under the provisions of Chapter 44 of Title 36 and the rollback rate that would otherwise result is lower than the minimum millage permissible under such chapter, the rollback rate shall mean such minimum millage.

Special district means a district created pursuant to Paragraph VI, Section II, Article IX of the Constitution within which an ad valorem tax is levied to pay wholly or partially the cost of providing services therein and to construct and maintain facilities therefor.

Taxable amount: Property taxes are assessed on 40% of the total value of a property. Thus, if the "assessed value" of a property is $100,000, tax will be charged on $40,000 (or 40%) of the "assessed value."

Taxing jurisdiction means all the real property within a county, municipality or special district, subject to the levy of a specific levying authority or the recommended levy of a specific recommending authority.

Terms and regulations associated with the millage rate rollback

Sources include the Georgia Department of Revenue