A homestead exemption and a property tax appeal do different jobs, and most homeowners in California, Georgia and Florida should look at both. An exemption reduces the slice of your home's value that actually gets taxed, or caps how fast that value can grow. An appeal challenges the value itself, arguing the county's number is too high in the first place. They run on separate applications, separate deadlines, and neither one substitutes for the other.
What each one actually does
Your tax bill is a rate applied to a value. An appeal targets the value: you argue the county's assessed value, or in Florida the just value, is higher than what your home was actually worth on the valuation date, and if you win, the county lowers the number the rate applies to. The complete appeal guide covers how that argument works in each state.
A homestead exemption does not touch that underlying value at all. It either subtracts a fixed amount from the value before the rate is applied, or it limits how much the assessed value itself is allowed to grow year over year, so that market appreciation does not translate one for one into a higher bill. Because the two mechanisms operate on different parts of the calculation, applying for an exemption and filing an appeal are not alternatives. A homeowner who has both a valid exemption and a legitimate case that the value is too high should do both.
Florida: exemptions, caps, and portability
Florida gives homeowners more moving parts than the other two states. The base homestead exemption, under Fla. Stat. section 196.031(1)(a), exempts a permanent Florida residence "up to the assessed valuation of $25,000." A second exemption follows in section 196.031(1)(b): "an additional exemption of up to $25,000 on the assessed valuation greater than $50,000 for all levies other than school district levies." The second exemption therefore reduces county and municipal taxes but not the school portion of your bill. You have to apply by March 1 of the year you want the exemption to take effect, under section 196.011(1).
Once you have the exemption, Save Our Homes takes over. Under section 193.155(1), a homesteaded property's assessed value cannot grow by more than the lower of 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index each year, regardless of how much the just value rises. If you move to a new Florida homestead and had this protection before, portability under section 193.155(8) lets you carry up to $500,000 of the gap between assessed and just value onto the new home. If you buy a home that is not going to be your primary residence, a different, looser cap applies: non-homestead residential property cannot grow more than 10 percent a year for non-school levies, under section 193.1554(3). None of this changes what happens when the property is sold; a sale resets these protections for the new owner, which the guide to buying a house covers in full. If you still think your just value is too high after the exemption and the cap are applied, you can petition the Value Adjustment Board within 25 days of your TRIM notice; the Florida VAB guide has the process.
Georgia: exemption, deadline, and the new floating exemption
Georgia's standard homestead exemption is $2,000 off the assessed value for county and school taxes, for an owner-occupied primary residence, under O.C.G.A. section 48-5-44. You have to own and occupy the home on January 1, and you file with the county tax commissioner or tax assessor's office. The historic deadline was April 1, but the Georgia Department of Revenue now says owners "may apply up to the end of their 45-day window to appeal their notice of assessment," and Chatham County specifies that application has to happen in person during that window. Georgia also offers age 65 and age 62 exemptions with income limits, under O.C.G.A. section 48-5-52, for homeowners who qualify.
On top of the standard exemption, House Bill 581 created a statewide floating homestead exemption, codified at O.C.G.A. section 48-5-44.2. Unless your county, city, or school district opted out, the floating exemption shields a homestead from the amount by which its current assessed value exceeds an adjusted base year value: for the 2025 digest year, that base year was the 2024 value, and the first inflation index rate applies starting with the 2026 digest year. If your local jurisdiction opted out, your tax bill has to say so. Combined with an appeal, the two work in sequence: the Georgia appeal guide covers the 45-day window and the three hearing routes for challenging the value itself, while the exemptions apply to whatever value results.
California: a modest exemption, the real protection is the cap
California's homeowners' exemption is modest: Cal. Rev. and Tax. Code section 218 exempts "seven thousand dollars ($7,000) of the full value of the dwelling" when you own and occupy it as your principal residence on the January 1 lien date. It does not extend to a rented, vacant, or vacation home. You file for it once with your county assessor, and it stays in place while you live there.
The bigger protection in California is not the exemption at all. It is the Proposition 13 structure itself: once your base year value is set, it can grow by no more than the lower of the California Consumer Price Index or 2 percent a year (Cal. Rev. and Tax. Code section 51(a)(2)), no matter how fast the market around you moves. On top of that, Proposition 8 requires the assessor to enroll the lower of your factored base year value or current market value whenever the market falls below your base, reviewed annually as long as the reduction lasts. Neither of those is something you apply for once; they run automatically, alongside whatever appeal you file if you think the assessor's number is still wrong.
Exemption vs. appeal, side by side
| Homestead exemption | Property tax appeal | |
|---|---|---|
| What it changes | Reduces taxable value, or caps how fast assessed value can grow | Reduces the assessed value or just value itself |
| Who files | The owner-occupant, once, with the assessor, property appraiser, or tax commissioner | The owner or an authorized representative, with the appeals body |
| Deadline | Florida: March 1. Georgia: historically April 1, now extended to the end of your 45-day appeal window. California: file once with the assessor; ask your county about its cutoff for the full amount | Florida: 25 days from the TRIM notice. Georgia: 45 days from the Notice of Assessment. California: July 2 through September 15 or November 30, depending on the county |
| How long it lasts | Continues as long as you own and occupy the home as your primary residence | Applies to the tax year you appealed; Georgia can freeze a reduced value for the following successive years under section 48-5-299(c); a lower Florida just value also becomes the new Save Our Homes starting point |
A worked example: doing both together
Assume, for illustration only, a Florida home with a just value of $400,000; a school-levy tax rate of 0.4 percent and a non-school rate of 0.6 percent (1.0 percent combined); and a successful appeal that lowers the just value to $370,000. The exemption amounts are the ones in section 196.031: the first exemption applies to every levy, the second to everything except school taxes.
| Scenario | School-levy taxable value | Non-school taxable value | Approximate bill |
|---|---|---|---|
| No exemption, no appeal | $400,000 | $400,000 | $4,000 |
| Homestead exemption only | $375,000 | $350,000 | $3,600 |
| Exemption plus a successful appeal | $345,000 | $320,000 | $3,300 |
The exemption alone saves roughly $400 a year in this illustration. Layering the appeal on top saves another $300. Neither move replaces the other, and the order does not matter: you can appeal first and apply for the exemption after, or the reverse.
Common questions
Can I file a homestead exemption application and an appeal in the same year?
Yes. They are decided independently, by different offices in most counties, and filing one does not affect your right to file the other. If you have not applied for an exemption you qualify for, do that regardless of whether you also appeal the value.
Does winning an appeal reduce my exemption amount?
No. Florida's and Georgia's exemptions are set amounts or capped percentages applied to whatever the final value turns out to be. A lower value after an appeal just means the exemption is subtracted from a smaller number, so your bill drops from both directions.
What is Georgia's floating homestead exemption, and do I have it automatically?
It is a statewide exemption created by House Bill 581 that shields a homestead from assessed-value growth above an adjusted base year figure, under O.C.G.A. section 48-5-44.2. It applies unless your county, city, or school district opted out; your tax bill will say if a local government opted out.
How much is California's homeowners' exemption?
It removes $7,000 of a home's full value from the roll, under Cal. Rev. and Tax. Code section 218, for an owner who lives in the home as a principal residence on January 1. Apply once through your county assessor. The more durable protection in California is the Proposition 13 growth cap and the Proposition 8 decline-in-value review described above, not the exemption itself.
I just bought my home. Do these exemptions apply right away?
Not automatically, and the rules differ from what applied to the previous owner. Florida requires a new application by March 1, and a sale resets Florida's Save Our Homes cap for the new owner. See appealing property taxes after buying a house for what a purchase does to your assessment in each state, and consider a free review of your address if you want a second set of eyes on the number.
Sources
Every deadline, fee, and rule above comes from the statute or the agency's own page, never from a summary of one. Last verified September 13, 2026. Rules change. Confirm against your own notice before relying on a date.
- Fla. Stat. section 196.031 (homestead exemption amounts)
- Fla. Stat. section 196.011 (application deadline)
- Fla. Stat. section 193.155 (Save Our Homes cap and portability)
- Fla. Stat. section 193.1554 (non-homestead residential cap)
- Georgia Department of Revenue, Property Tax Homestead Exemptions
- Georgia Department of Revenue, overview of the floating homestead exemption and annual inflationary index rate
- Chatham County Board of Assessors, FAQs Regarding the TY2025 Annual Notice of Assessment
- California State Board of Equalization, Proposition 8 decline in value
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code section 218 (homeowners' exemption)
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code section 1603 (filing period)