Two houses are listed the same week, one in Macon and one in Warner Robins. Both have owned-for-years sellers, and both listings show last year's property tax. In Macon, that figure is a decent preview of what you'll pay. In Warner Robins, the county share of that figure can run low, and the gap grows the longer the seller has owned the house.
The difference comes from two votes taken in February 2025, when local governments across Georgia decided whether to keep the state's new homestead cap.
The Tax Line on a Listing Belongs to the Seller
Every Georgia tax bill is built from the owner's own situation. The Macon-Bibb Tax Commissioner's FAQ explains that assessed value is 40% of fair market value, minus whatever exemptions that owner has qualified for, and that after a move or a deed change the homeowner has to reapply for the homestead exemption. When you buy, the seller's exemptions don't come with the keys. You file your own.
So what matters is how much of the seller's bill comes from the house and how much comes from the seller's history with it. In Bibb County, history counts for very little. In Houston County, it counts for more every year the seller stays.
Macon Chose Not to Use the Cap
Georgia's HB 581 created a statewide floating homestead exemption. As the value of a homestead rises faster than inflation, the exemption grows to cover the difference, so the taxable value climbs more slowly than the assessed value. Under the law, local governments had until March 1, 2025, to opt out. According to 41NBC, Macon-Bibb commissioners voted 8–1 on February 26, 2025, to opt out and keep the county's existing tax structure. A few weeks earlier, the Bibb County School District board voted 8–0 to opt out as well.
"It is my opinion that our vote will protect the taxpayers in Macon-Bibb County not only for this tax year but in the future," Mayor Lester Miller said before the vote, as 41NBC reported. He estimated that opting in could cost the county $8 million to $13 million in revenue over five years. He also noted that Macon-Bibb couldn't use the bill's FLOST sales tax because it already collects a separate one, the OLOST.
That sales tax is the other half of Macon's approach. Instead of capping each homeowner's taxable value, the county lowers the rate for everyone and pays for the difference at the register.
What No Cap Looked Like in 2026
This year was the test. The Macon-Bibb Tax Assessors updated their cost tables, the schedule of land and construction values that state law requires counties to keep current. According to the Macon Telegraph, values rose on about 70,600 Bibb properties, and Chief Tax Appraiser Andrea Crutchfield put the overall increase for 2026 at 12%. With no cap in place, that increase hit long-time owners and recent buyers on the same terms.
The county's millage rate didn't change. Macon-Bibb's 2026 legal notice lays out how the rate is built.
| Macon-Bibb countywide, 2026 tax year | Figure |
|---|---|
| Gross maintenance & operation millage | 22.3016 mills |
| Rolled back by local option sales tax | 12.7266 mills |
| Net millage homeowners pay | 9.575 mills |
| Net digest value | $7,002,222,451, up from $6,239,397,586 in 2025 |
| Net M&O taxes levied | $67,046,342, a 12.23% increase over 2025 |
More than half the gross rate is covered by sales tax. That's the main reason Macon's net county rate is so low. A flat rate on a bigger digest still collects more money, though. To bring in roughly the same revenue as 2025, the county would have needed a rollback rate of 8.762 mills, which is 0.813 mills below the rate it kept, The Macon Newsroom reported. Bibb County Schools also kept its 14.674-mill rate, which was 1.252 mills above rollback. 13WMAZ reported that this works out to about $103.92 more a year on a home with a fair market value of $225,000.
For a buyer, that's the useful part. Every Macon homeowner absorbed the 2026 increase, so a seller who has owned for fifteen years has a bill built on roughly the same assessment rules you'll face. The listing's tax line already reflects current values.
Houston County Took the Cap, and It Stays With the Seller
Houston County went the other way. Its 2025 millage presentation says the Board of Commissioners did not opt out of HB 581. The presentation describes the goal as not letting a homeowner's taxes "rise faster than inflation based on irregularities in the real estate market."
The presentation also gives a worked example of the exemption growing over three years.
| Year | Appraised | Assessed | Floating exemption | Taxable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $250,000 | $100,000 | None | $100,000 |
| 2025 | $260,000 | $104,000 | $4,000 | $100,000 |
| 2026 | $275,000 | $110,000 | $6,880 | $103,120 |
After two years, that owner is taxed on $6,880 less than the home's assessed value, and the gap gets wider each year values rise faster than inflation. When the house sells, that exemption doesn't go with it. The Association County Commissioners of Georgia's HB 581 FAQ says the exemption is "not portable or transferable." For a new owner, the base year resets to the year before they bought the home, using that year's actual value.
So in Warner Robins or Perry, the county portion of a long-time owner's bill reflects a base year you don't get. The gap is limited to the county share. The Houston Home Journal reported in February 2025 that the Houston County Board of Education opted out of HB 581, so school taxes there work more like Bibb's. Still, the longer the seller has owned and the faster the area has appreciated, the further that county line on the listing falls below what you'll owe.
None of this makes Houston County more or less expensive than Macon. It means the listing in Macon gives you a more reliable estimate of your bill.
Where Macon's Preview Gets Less Reliable
There are three situations where a Macon seller's bill tells you less.
Exemptions you may not qualify for. The standard Bibb homestead exemption is $2,000 statewide plus an additional $5,000 from Bibb County, according to the Bibb County Board of Tax Assessors. If the seller has that and you plan to make the home your primary residence, you can apply for the same thing. If the seller has an age-based or other exemption that doesn't fit your situation, their bill will understate yours.
The senior exemptions on the November 3 ballot. In 2026 the General Assembly passed, and the Governor signed, HB 1538 for Macon-Bibb County taxes and HB 1537 for Bibb school taxes. The text of HB 1538 sets the county exemption at $17,000 of assessed value for residents 65 to 74, $32,000 for ages 75 to 84, and the full assessed value at 85 and older. Each act had its own question on the November 3, 2026 ballot. If approved, each applies to tax years beginning January 1, 2027, under the text of both HB 1538 and HB 1537. If those exemptions take effect, an older seller's bill from 2027 on could be much lower than a younger buyer's would be. That's the same kind of gap Houston County's cap creates, only based on the owner's age.
Pending appeals. While an assessment is under appeal, Bibb bills the owner on 85% of the value until the appeal is resolved, the Macon Telegraph reported. About 1,780 appeals were filed this year. A seller whose 2026 appeal is still open may be showing a bill based on a value the county hasn't finalized.
What to Pull Before You Write an Offer
- The seller's actual tax bill. You want the bill itself, so you can see which exemptions are on it.
- The current fair market value from the 2026 assessment notice. According to 41NBC, Bibb's notices went to owners of record as of January 1, 2026. They list current and prior values and exemptions but don't include an estimated tax bill.
- For a Houston County home, how long the seller has owned it. The longer they've owned it, the more the county's floating exemption has grown, and the more the county line will rise once your base year resets.
Quick Answers
Does buying a home in Macon reset my property tax? You start with your own exemptions, not the seller's. Bibb opted out of HB 581, so there's no capped base year to lose.
Does Houston County's cap help me after I buy? Yes. Once you qualify as a homestead, your own floating exemption starts from your new base year and slows how fast your taxable county value can rise.
This post is general information about how these rules work, not tax or legal advice. Before you rely on any of it for a purchase, confirm your own situation with a tax professional or the county tax office.
If you're comparing a Macon listing with one in Warner Robins or Perry, AF Realty Group can pull the seller's tax history on both and walk you through what each county's rules mean for your bill after closing. Start your home search with us, and bring the tax lines you've been trying to compare.
