Does winning a Georgia property tax appeal freeze my value for three years?

Georgia's three-year freeze is one of the most valuable reasons to appeal even in a year you only break even. It is codified in O.C.G.A. § 48-5-299(c).

What the statute does. When a real-property value is reduced or left unchanged from the value on the annual notice as the result of an appeal decision, the board of tax assessors may not increase that valuation during the next two successive years — i.e., the appeal year plus the following two years, a three-year window — unless both parties agree in writing otherwise.

Only the assessed value is frozen, not your tax bill. Millage (tax) rates are set every year by your county, schools, and city, so your dollar bill can still move even while the value holds. The freeze caps the assessor's value, which is the lever you control through appeal.

Events that break the freeze early:

• A sale or change of ownership of the property.
• Substantial additions or improvements — new construction, an addition, or a major renovation re-opens the value to that extent.
• You voluntarily file a new appeal or a return at a different value — refiling waives the existing freeze.
• A countywide revaluation generally does not override the freeze for the protected years, but new physical changes do.

Why this matters strategically. Because the freeze applies whether your value is reduced or merely held unchanged after a formal appeal decision, simply taking an appeal to a Board of Equalization decision or written settlement can lock your value for three years — protecting you from sharp annual reassessment increases. In a fast-appreciating Georgia market, that protection can be worth more than a single-year reduction.

To secure it, file a timely appeal within 45 days and carry it to a written settlement or a Board of Equalization decision rather than abandoning it after the assessor's first response.