Sandy Springs' 2026 Tax Bills Went Out Before the Rates Were Set. What That Means If You're Selling or Just Bought

Most Sandy Springs homeowners paid their 2026 property tax bill by October 15. Fulton County mailed those bills on August 15, before the school district or the city had voted on this year's rates. Two of the three main rates on that bill have now been set at the same level as last year. The third, the school rate, is higher. That matters most to people in the middle of a sale. Sellers and buyers usually treat a paid bill as settled, and this year's bill is not quite settled. Even once it is, the seller's bill says little about what the buyer will pay.

Why the bill went out early

Every year the Fulton County Board of Assessors builds a tax digest, which is the full list of property values. The Georgia Department of Revenue must certify that digest before any taxing body can set its millage rate. In 2026 the digest was going to reach the state late. So Fulton County asked the Superior Court of Fulton County for a Temporary Collection Order, and the court granted it on August 4, 2026. The order allowed bills to go out on time, based on the preliminary 2026 digest values and each jurisdiction's 2025 millage rate.

The Tax Commissioner's August 14 announcement said that once rates were set, final calculations would follow, and "a refund or revised tax bill will be issued only as needed." For Fulton County and the other non-Atlanta jurisdictions, the temporary bills were due October 15, 2026.

So each 2026 bill paired this year's property values with last year's rates.

What the three taxing bodies decided this fall

A Sandy Springs bill carries three main property tax rates, set by Fulton County, Fulton County Schools and the City of Sandy Springs. All three voted between early October and early November.

The county kept its rate flat for the fifth year in a row. In its October 8 release, the county said that because the rate did not change, no additional county bills will be issued.

The city also stayed put. It has levied 4.731 mills since it was founded, and the city charter caps the rate there unless voters approve a higher limit. Sandy Springs Today reported that the council voted unanimously on November 3, after the third required public hearing. Even so, the city had to advertise the rate as a tax increase, because 4.731 mills is above the rollback rate. Rollback is the rate that would offset rising assessments. Rough Draft Atlanta reported that the gap was 0.26% and that city taxes make up about 14% of the total local bill. The county was in the same position, with 8.87 mills sitting 0.54% above its 8.82-mill rollback rate, according to Rough Draft Atlanta.

The school rate is the one that moved. In August the superintendent recommended raising it by one full mill, from 17.08 to 18.08. The Sandy Springs Record noted that this came after seven years in which the district's rate held steady or went down. The district's calculated rollback rate was 17.539 mills. At its October 22 meeting, the Fulton County Board of Education approved 17.95 mills. The district's board bulletin calls this its FY2027 millage rate.

What 0.87 mills means on a Sandy Springs home

Georgia generally assesses property at 40% of fair market value, and one mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. Take a home with a $500,000 fair market value. All figures below are before exemptions:

1. Assessed value is 40% of $500,000, or $200,000.
2. City tax at 4.731 mills is $946.20, the same figure Sandy Springs Today gives for a home at that value.
3. County General Fund tax at 8.87 mills is $1,774.
4. School tax at 17.08 mills, the rate on the temporary bill, is $3,416.
5. School tax at 17.95 mills, the rate the board approved, is $3,590.

So the difference between the school rate on the bill and the rate the board adopted is $174 a year on that home, before exemptions. That is small next to a home's price. It still matters at a closing table, where the year's taxes are split between buyer and seller and the paid bill is usually the starting point. The county has said only that a refund or revised bill will follow "as needed." So for any Sandy Springs sale this fall, ask which version of the 2026 tax year the numbers are based on.

The bigger gap, and it isn't about rates

The rate question is the smaller of two problems. The larger one is that a homestead exemption belongs to the person on the deed, not to the house.

Fulton County's homestead exemption guide says exemptions renew automatically each year as long as the owner keeps living in the home as a primary residence. It also says that if the names on the deed change, even when the same people live there, the person on the deed who lives in the home must reapply. Timing is tied to January 1. Georgia's Department of Revenue says property taxes are due on property owned as of January 1. Fulton's 2026 assessment notice announcement said homeowners who did not own their homes as of January 1 could apply for the 2027 tax year. The annual application deadline is April 1.

For a home that sells in Sandy Springs this November or December, the sequence looks like this:

• 2026 tax year. The bill reflects the seller's ownership and the seller's exemptions, at the rates described above.
• January 1, 2027. The buyer, now the owner and living in the home, meets the date that determines eligibility for the 2027 tax year.
• By April 1, 2027. The buyer applies for homestead exemption with the Fulton County Board of Assessors.
• 2027 tax year. The bill reflects the buyer's own exemptions, measured from the buyer's own base.

The base is what separates a long-time owner's bill from a new owner's. Fulton County's basic homestead exemption takes $30,000 off assessed value for county taxes and $2,000 for school taxes. The county also has a CPI homestead freeze that limits yearly assessment growth for county taxes to the lower of actual CPI or 3%. In January 2025, Fulton County commissioners also voted to opt into HB 581, Georgia's statewide floating homestead exemption. The county says its assessors automatically apply whichever floating exemption benefits the owner more.

Under the county's guide, homes that first received the HB 581 exemption in 2025 use the 2024 assessed value as their base. Later recipients use the assessed value from the year just before. The county's worked example shows how far apart those numbers can get. An assessed value rises from $100,000 to $120,000. The $30,000 basic exemption plus the floating adjustment comes to a $47,000 exemption, which leaves $73,000 of taxable value in the second year. A seller who has lived in a home for years is taxed on a base set years ago. A buyer starts again from a more recent one.

Put simply, the seller's paid 2026 bill misleads a buyer twice. It used a school rate that has since changed, and it reflects the seller's exemptions, which a buyer has to apply for again, starting with the 2027 tax year.

What to ask before closing

For sellers, the useful step is to have the full tax picture ready before buyers ask. That means the paid 2026 temporary bill, the 2026 Notice of Assessment, and a list of the exemptions currently on the parcel. The notice and the exemptions can be checked through the Property Search tab at fultonassessor.org, and the bill itself can be viewed at fultoncountytaxes.org. When a buyer asks about carrying costs, a seller who can explain the difference between the temporary bill and the adopted rates looks better prepared than one who sends a single number.

For buyers, three questions are worth raising with the closing attorney:

1. Is the 2026 tax split based on the temporary bill or on the adopted rates?
2. How would a revised bill or refund for the 2026 tax year be handled after closing?
3. What should I plan for in 2027, when the bill depends on my own homestead application rather than the seller's?

The Fulton County Tax Commissioner at 404-613-6100 can tell you what has been billed and paid on a specific parcel. This post is general information about how Fulton County's 2026 bills were built. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. How taxes are split in a contract, and which exemptions you qualify for, are questions for your closing attorney and tax advisor.

Quick answers

Did the Sandy Springs city tax rate go up in 2026? No. The council kept it at 4.731 mills on November 3, 2026, the rate the city has levied since its founding. It was advertised as an increase because it is above the rollback rate.

Will Fulton County send another county bill? The county said that because its 8.87-mill rate did not change, no additional county bills will be issued.

I bought my home after January 1, 2026. When can I file for homestead? Fulton County says owners who did not own their home on January 1 can apply for the 2027 tax year. The annual deadline is April 1.

Does a seller's homestead exemption carry over to the buyer? No. When the names on the deed change, the person on the deed who lives in the home must reapply.

If you are thinking about selling in Sandy Springs and want a list price backed by a clear account of what buyers will pay to own the home, the Lindsay Levin Team can help. We put the tax details together alongside the valuation, so you have them ready before a buyer asks. Start with a free home valuation.