Do you have a homestead exemption?

First, a correction. Nobody called me out on it, but in last week’s column I said the FLOST vote was in March. It’s actually May 19, along with votes for governor and the rest of the ballot. We even vote for our solicitor.

Which brings me to an aside. I obviously worked closely with that office when I was district attorney. It’s a shame so many people have “No Solicitors” signs on their doors. He’s actually a good guy.

Second, my FLOST column generated a lot of feedback. I still haven’t decided how I’ll vote. But my takeaway is that FLOST creates an opportunity for government tax expansion. Many people say the obvious: they’ll never vote for a new tax on themselves. But since government can always raise taxes to feed an ever-expanding appetite, I’m willing to concede that maybe taxation itself isn’t the real problem. Maybe spending is.

My friend, Rep. Shaw Blackmon, pointed out something important: Georgia law now caps increases in assessed home values at the rate of inflation—not whatever Zillow says—unless a county opts out. Houston County did not opt out. That means your property’s baseline value is its 2024 value, and the wild spikes we’ve seen recently won’t keep happening.

For homesteads.

This protection does not apply to apartments, commercial property, or non-primary residences. It applies only to your primary residence—the one where your homestead exemption is claimed. That matters, and I’ll come back to it.

This is genuinely good news for retired people, people with disabilities, people on fixed or limited incomes—anyone who watched their home value skyrocket on paper and their property taxes follow. This law helps protect your home from runaway tax increases driven by artificial valuation jumps.

So, do you know whether you have a homestead exemption? You know I’m going to tell you how to find out.

Go to the Houston County Tax Assessor’s website (https://www.qpublic.net/ga/houston/). Look up your primary residence. Scroll about ten lines down the summary page. It will tell you whether a homestead exemption is applied. If it is, you’re fine.

If not—brace yourself—they don’t make it easy.

You can only apply in person, at the Tax Assessor’s Office in Perry, at the courthouse, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Not exactly customer-focused, but that’s the policy.

Heck, maybe if the office was a little less “rooted in tradition” and a little more “driven by innovation” (as the county motto says), we could at least mail it in. Not exactly cutting-edge, but better than hitching up a wagon and heading to the courthouse.

If you live in Bibb, Peach, Twiggs, Bleckley, Macon, Pulaski, or Dooly—every county that borders Houston—you can mail in your homestead application.

But not Houston.

Innovation? Not exactly.

Kelly Burke was born in Knoxville where he spent his younger years, followed by high school years in Atlanta where he graduated from Georgia Tech, and Mercer Law School. He has been in private practice, a magistrate judge, and an elected district attorney. He writes about the law, politics, music, and Ireland. He and his wife enjoy gardening, playing with their Lagotto Ramanolo named George Harrison, and spending time with their grandchildren. To see this column or Kelly’s archives, visit www.kellyrburke.com. You can email Kelly at dakellyburke@gmail.com.