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Our Methodology: How We Estimate Your Savings
No black box. Here is exactly how we read your county assessment, estimate what your home is really worth, and decide whether you have an appeal worth filing — including the cases where the honest answer is "leave it alone."
The method, in five lines
- We pull the county's fair market value (FMV) for your parcel. In Georgia, your assessed value is 40% of FMV.
- We estimate your home's real market value from recent comparable sales near you — and your purchase price, if you bought recently.
- Potential savings ≈ (county FMV − our estimated FMV) × 40% × your local millage rate.
- If the county's number is fair, we tell you — free. We only take cases we believe we can win.
- If you have a case, we build the evidence, file under OCGA § 48-5-311, and represent you at the Board of Equalization.
Most "estimate your savings" tools are a black box: type your address, watch a big number appear, and trust it. We think that's backwards. Your tax assessment is public record and the math behind an appeal is knowable — so we show our work. This page walks through every step of how we get from your address to an honest read on your case.
Step 1 — We read the county's assessment
Everything starts with the county's own number. When you enter your address, we pull your parcel's fair market value (FMV) from Fulton County's public assessment records — the same value the Fulton County Board of Assessors used to set your bill.
In Georgia, the FMV isn't the number you're taxed on directly. By state law, your assessed value is 40% of FMV. So a home the county values at $600,000 has an assessed value of $240,000, and your taxes are calculated against that $240,000 after any exemptions. When we talk about an appeal, we're arguing the FMV down — and the 40% assessed value (and your bill) follow it down automatically.
Georgia assesses residential property at 40% of fair market value statewide (the "assessment ratio," set in O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7). It's the same fraction for every home in the county, so the lever that actually changes your bill is the FMV — which is exactly the number an appeal challenges.
Step 2 — We estimate what your home is really worth
The county sets values with mass appraisal: statistical models applied across hundreds of thousands of parcels at once. That approach is built to be roughly right across a whole county — but it can drift on any one individual house, because no model has stood in your driveway. Our job is to estimate the value of the single home in front of us, not the county average.
To do that, we look at the same evidence a Board of Equalization will weigh:
Recent comparable sales (comps)
The backbone of the estimate. We look for recent, nearby sales of homes genuinely similar to yours — same area, comparable size, age, and condition — that closed in an ordinary, arm's-length sale. Closed sales carry real weight; active listings carry very little. We lean on the most recent and closest sales and we want comps that bracket your home (some a little bigger, some a little smaller) rather than a cherry-picked handful on one side.
Your recent purchase price
If you bought the home recently in a normal sale, the price you paid is some of the strongest evidence of market value there is — an open-market transaction is, almost by definition, what the home is worth. If the county's FMV sits well above what you just paid, that gap is the heart of your case. (More in our guide for new homeowners.)
Property record errors
We check the county's record card for your home against reality — square footage, bed/bath count, a "finished" basement that isn't, lot size, condition. A factual error inflates the FMV and is one of the cleanest things to correct, because it isn't a matter of opinion. (See record errors that lower your bill.)
Sometimes there simply aren't enough clean, comparable sales near a home to estimate its value with confidence — unusual properties, thin sales activity, or homes that comps can't bracket. When the evidence isn't there, we say the data is insufficient rather than manufacture a number. An honest "we can't tell yet" beats a confident guess.
Step 3 — We calculate your potential savings
This is the part people most want to see, so here it is in the open. Once we have the county's FMV and our own estimate of your home's FMV, your potential annual savings is the gap between them, run through the same two numbers that build your bill — the 40% assessed ratio and your local millage rate:
Potential annual savings
(County FMV − our estimated FMV)
× 40% assessed ratio × your millage rate
"Millage" is the local tax rate, expressed in mills — dollars of tax per $1,000 of assessed value. Fulton County publishes the millage rates for the county, your city, and your school district each year; your total rate is the sum of those that apply to your parcel.
A worked example, with round numbers so the mechanics are clear (your real figures depend entirely on your parcel and your current millage rate):
| County's fair market value | $600,000 |
| Our estimated fair market value (from comps) | $520,000 |
| Over-assessment we'd argue | $80,000 |
| × 40% assessed ratio | $32,000 |
| × example total millage (~33 mills) | × 0.033 |
| Estimated annual savings | ≈ $1,056 |
Two honest caveats we won't bury. First, this is an estimate — a Board of Equalization decides the final value, and it may land above or below our number. Second, we use your actual local millage, not a flattering one; a higher county number doesn't help you unless your home is genuinely worth less than the county thinks.
Step 4 — We decide whether you even have a case
Here's where we part ways with most of the industry. Not every assessment is worth appealing, and we'd rather lose your business than waste your summer. If our estimate of your home's value is in line with the county's FMV, an appeal is unlikely to move the number — and we'll tell you that.
You probably do have a case when:
- The county's FMV is meaningfully above what comparable homes near you are actually selling for.
- You recently bought the home for less than the county's FMV in an ordinary sale.
- There's a factual error in your property record that inflates the value.
- Your assessment is noticeably out of line with near-identical neighbors' for no clear reason.
You probably don't have a strong case when the county's FMV is roughly what your home would honestly sell for today. That's not a failure — it means the county got it about right.
If your number looks fair, we say so — plainly, and at no cost. We work on contingency, so a weak appeal costs us, not you. Telling you the truth up front is the most valuable thing we can do, and it's the whole reason we built the tool this way.
Want this run on your actual address?
Enter your address and we'll pull your real Fulton County FMV, estimate your home's value from comps, and give you an honest read — strong case, weak case, or no case.
Check my assessment — freeWe'll tell you if you even have a case.
Step 5 — We build, file, and represent your appeal
If the numbers say you have a case and you want us to take it, the work moves from estimate to evidence. We assemble the comp set, document any record errors, and put together a tight, defensible package — the kind a board can act on.
We then file your appeal with the Fulton County Board of Assessors, in writing, before your 45-day deadline (the clock runs from the date printed on your Notice of Assessment). Your right to appeal is set out in O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311, which also lets you choose how an unresolved appeal is heard — most commonly the Board of Equalization (BOE), a panel of trained citizens, with no filing fee.
If the Assessors don't resolve it on paper, we represent you at the BOE hearing — presenting your comps, your purchase price, and any corrected record details while the county presents its own. Under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311(e)(6)(A), a non-attorney may represent a taxpayer before the BOE, so in most cases you never have to appear yourself. (We walk through the room in our BOE hearing guide.)
Step 6 — The three-year payoff (the 299(c) freeze)
A win usually isn't a one-year discount. Under Georgia's 299(c) value freeze (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-299(c)), after a successful appeal the county generally cannot raise your assessed value for the appeal year plus the next two years — a three-year freeze, barring substantial new construction or additions. One fight, up to three years of a lower bill.
We factor that into how we think about a case: a modest annual saving still compounds over the freeze window, which is part of why a borderline-but-real over-assessment can be worth filing. We go deeper in our guide to the Georgia 3-year property tax freeze.
What this method is — and isn't
In the spirit of showing our work, here's the honest boundary around what we do:
- It's an estimate, not a verdict. Our number is a well-evidenced opinion of value. The Board of Equalization sets the final value, and it can differ from ours.
- It's not a guarantee. We never promise a specific reduction or outcome. We promise an honest read and that we only file cases we believe we can win.
- It's not legal or tax advice. We're a property-tax representation service, not a law firm. If a case needs Superior Court, we refer you to a licensed attorney.
- It's built on public, checkable facts. Assessments are public record, the 40% ratio and 299(c) freeze are state law, and your millage rate is published. You can verify every input we use.
Sources & citation
Tax Appeal HQ, "Our Methodology — How We Estimate Your Property Tax Savings" (June 2026). taxappealhq.com/methodology
Sources
County values from the Fulton County Board of Assessors tax digest (public record). Market estimate from an independent automated valuation model and recent qualifying comparable sales, time-relevant to the assessment year. Georgia's 40% assessment ratio (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7); appeal rights under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311; the three-year freeze under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-299(c).
What this measures
Whether a home is over-assessed relative to recent comparable sales, at a point in time. It is not a prediction of how a Board of Equalization will rule, and not a home-value estimate for buying, selling, or refinancing.
Questions
Methodology questions or data corrections: [email protected]. Every input we use is public and checkable.
Methodology FAQ
How do you calculate my potential savings?
We take the gap between the county's fair market value and our own estimate of your home's value, multiply by Georgia's 40% assessed ratio, then multiply by your local millage rate. The result is your estimated annual savings. It's an estimate — the Board of Equalization sets the final value — but it's built from public, checkable inputs.
Where does your estimate of my home's value come from?
Mainly recent, nearby comparable sales of homes similar to yours, plus your purchase price if you bought recently, and any corrections to factual errors in the county's record. We favor closed sales that bracket your home over a cherry-picked few. When there aren't enough clean comps to be confident, we say the data is insufficient rather than guess.
What if your method says I don't have a case?
Then we tell you, free, and we don't file. We work on contingency, so a weak appeal costs us, not you — we have every reason to be straight with you. A fair assessment isn't a failure; it means the county got your number about right.
Is the savings number guaranteed?
No. It's an evidence-based estimate, not a promise. The Board of Equalization decides the final value, and it can land above or below our figure. We never guarantee a specific reduction — we guarantee an honest read and that we only take cases we believe we can win.
Can I check your inputs myself?
Yes — that's the point of showing our work. Your assessment is public record at the Fulton County Board of Assessors, the 40% assessed ratio and the 299(c) freeze are Georgia state law, and Fulton County publishes the millage rates each year. Every input we use is something you can verify.