On Monday, the county’s gross tax digest was authorized by the Habersham County Board of Tax Assessors. This indicates that all properties within the tax jurisdiction have had their entire values determined prior to exemptions. After determining exempt properties and exemptions, the net tax digest—which shows the overall worth of properties—has not yet been finished.
In contrast to last year’s $1.9 billion, Kelly McCormick of McCormick & Associates, who was in charge of the property reassessment process, predicted that the net digest would come to $2.1 billion. This indicates a $223 million increase in exemptions.
“You are chasing your tail and catching your tail if you increase the percentage of your exemptions,” he remarked.
Real growth, not inflationary growth, accounts for about 5% of the net digest. According to McCormick, this implies that the ruling class won’t have to roll back that far, and even if they roll back their millage rates all the way, they will still be able to collect fresh taxes.
Homestead exemptions buffer homeowners from 17% value increase
At a special meeting on Monday, McCormick stated that Habersham property values would rise by 17.33%. The total current values are slightly under $5 billion, an increase of $739 million over the $4.26 billion value from the previous year.
McCormick aimed to reassure locals that because homestead exemptions freeze the value of taxable property, individuals who have them will be mainly protected from the effects of increasing assessments.The gross tax digest figures for 2025 are explained by Kelly McCormick of McCormick & Associates. Mullis, Chaz, and Habersham
“There are situations where one person’s value increased significantly, but they’re paying on the same value because they have the [homestead] exemption,” he said, adding that the average increased by 17%. The worth of another individual did not increase as much, but they are not exempt, thus their tax bill actually goes up while the value of the former person goes down.
Bill Terry, the chairman of the Board of Tax Assessors, reminded the public that the tax office and board are only in charge of using Fair Market Value to determine property valuations. He stated that regardless of your Fair Market Value, your taxes will be determined by your exemptions.
Other property value types see increase
Of the digest classes, agricultural property values changed the most. The properties’ overall value increased by 32.81%, from $133 million to $177 million.
McCormick said that this increase in values was a statewide problem and ascribed it to the absence of field checks. He said that sending people out is difficult because they can only complete so many tasks in a day. He said that the overall worth of agricultural land was undervalued.
Because the two values include comparable property types, conservation use (CUV) and agricultural properties were mentioned together. Although CUV values rose by 20.25%, McCormick pointed out that most of the value would not be charged.
According to him, the Conservation Use Agreement restrictions limit the properties’ growth to 3%.
As a crucial step in the reassessment process, McCormick anticipates receiving requests from property owners to review their property if they believe it is overpriced or undervalued.
According to him, the objective is to ensure that those who enter the office depart with knowledge. I want people to go calmly, but they don’t have to go joyfully.
Background and reassessment efforts
After a state investigation of Habersham County’s tax systems revealed misunderstandings, computation problems, and worries that commercial properties were undervalued, the reassessment effort was launched.
The county responded by hiring McCormick & Associates in 2023 for a three-year, $1.1 million project to revalue commercial, industrial, and residential assets.
According to preliminary data provided last summer, the growth in property values across all categories increased by 12%. Commercial and industrial property revenues were expected to increase from $1.4 million and $3.3 million, respectively, the year before to $3.7 million and $1.4 million.
Tax notices should be delivered to the printing vendor on Wednesday, July 16, according to Chief Appraiser Joan Church. Residents will receive the notices over the course of the next week.
