Chatham County, Georgia Homestead Exemption: Deadline & How to Apply (2026)
The homestead exemption filing deadline in Chatham County, Georgia is 45-day appeal deadline on that year's Notice of Assessment (not a fixed calendar date), according to Chatham County Board of Assessors.
Applications made on or before the annual notice of assessment's 45-day appeal due date of the current year are considered for the current tax year and applications made after the appeal due date will be considered for the next tax year.
- the application form — No dedicated downloadable homestead application PDF was found on boa.chathamcountyga.gov/Forms; the office states applications are completed in person, and electronic filing is routed through chathamtax.org rather than a static form.
What to do now
- Check you qualify — Chatham County applies the requirements Chatham County Board of Assessors publishes, not a national rule.
- Ask Chatham County Board of Assessors which application it wants — we could not source a form URL for this county.
- File it with Chatham County Board of Assessors by 45-day appeal deadline on that year's Notice of Assessment (not a fixed calendar date).
Who qualifies in Chatham County
Applicants must own and occupy the property as a primary residence and apply in person at the Board of Assessors with a Georgia driver's license/ID and vehicle registration. Chatham offers a Senior School Tax Exemption, a School Tax Disability exemption, a Special Chatham County exemption, exemptions for disabled veterans or the surviving spouse of a 100% disabled veteran, an exemption for the unremarried surviving spouse of a U.S. service member killed in action, an exemption for the unremarried surviving spouse of a firefighter/peace officer killed in the line of duty, a City of Savannah exemption, a Floating Homestead exemption that caps assessed-value growth, and a Tax Deferral for the Elderly program.
The deadline, and what happens if you miss it
45-day appeal deadline on that year's Notice of Assessment (not a fixed calendar date). Counted from an event rather than from a calendar date, so it lands differently for different properties and different years.
If you file late
Applications filed outside the 45-day appeal window waive the exemption for that tax year; the application is then considered for the following tax year.
Do you have to re-apply each year?
No — once granted it continues while you own and occupy the home. Moving ends it, and the new home needs its own application.
The form, and where to file it
- The office: Chatham County Board of Assessors
- The application: not sourced — ask the office above which form it wants
- Filing online: www.chathamtax.org
We link the county's own file rather than hosting a copy of it. A copy goes out of date the day the county edits it; the county's own file does not.
What gets Chatham County applications rejected
Unlike everything above, this list carries no source. It is our own reading of what this county's material emphasises, written to be useful rather than authoritative — treat it as a checklist, not as Chatham County Board of Assessors's rules.
- Assuming the April 1 date used elsewhere in Georgia applies in Chatham, when the actual cutoff is the 45-day appeal deadline on that year's Notice of Assessment and shifts annually
- Trying to file online through chathamtax.org when first applying, instead of the required in-person visit to the Board of Assessors office to complete the initial application
- Assuming the county Floating Homestead value freeze is automatic once the basic homestead exemption is granted, rather than a separate exemption that must be applied for
- Not realizing City of Savannah residents need a separate City of Savannah exemption filing on top of the county application
- Missing the surviving-spouse or disabled-veteran exemption because the required VA or line-of-duty death documentation was not brought to the in-person appointment
Chatham County homestead exemption questions
- When is the homestead exemption deadline in Chatham County?
- 45-day appeal deadline on that year's Notice of Assessment (not a fixed calendar date) — Chatham County Board of Assessors puts it this way: “Applications made on or before the annual notice of assessment's 45-day appeal due date of the current year are considered for the current tax year and applications made after the appeal due date will be considered for the next tax year.” Counted from an event rather than from a calendar date, so it lands differently for different properties and different years. We read that sentence on 2026-08-04.
- Who do I file my Chatham County homestead exemption with?
- You file with Chatham County Board of Assessors, not with us and not with the state. Its own site is https://boa.chathamcountyga.gov/, and everything on this page was read from there or from a page it links.
- Which form does Chatham County want?
- We could not source an application form for Chatham County. No dedicated downloadable homestead application PDF was found on boa.chathamcountyga.gov/Forms; the office states applications are completed in person, and electronic filing is routed through chathamtax.org rather than a static form. Ask Chatham County Board of Assessors directly rather than filling in a form found somewhere else.
- What happens if I miss the Chatham County deadline?
- Late filing in this county: Applications filed outside the 45-day appeal window waive the exemption for that tax year; the application is then considered for the following tax year.
- Who qualifies for the homestead exemption in Chatham County?
- In short: Applicants must own and occupy the property as a primary residence and apply in person at the Board of Assessors with a Georgia driver's license/ID and vehicle registration. Chatham offers a Senior School Tax Exemption, a School Tax Disability exemption, a Special Chatham County exemption, exemptions for disabled veterans or the surviving spouse of a 100% disabled veteran, an exemption for the unremarried surviving spouse of a U.S. service member killed in action, an exemption for the unremarried surviving spouse of a firefighter/peace officer killed in the line of duty, a City of Savannah exemption, a Floating Homestead exemption that caps assessed-value growth, and a Tax Deferral for the Elderly program.
- Does Chatham County use the usual Georgia deadline?
- No, and that is the point of reading each county separately. Chatham's Board of Assessors states the homestead filing cutoff is the 45-day appeal deadline tied to the annual Notice of Assessment, which is mailed at a different time each year, rather than a fixed April 1 date. This is a materially different rule from the Georgia statutory norm of April 1 under O.C.G.A. 48-5-45.
- Can I file online in Chatham County?
- Yes — Chatham County Board of Assessors publishes an online entry point at https://www.chathamtax.org/. Georgia counties open online homestead filing for the January–April season and close it the rest of the year. Outside that window this link may return an error or a “filing is closed” page — that is the county’s normal off-season behaviour, not a broken address. The paper form and the office below work all year.
- Do I have to re-apply every year in Chatham County?
- No. Once Chatham County Board of Assessors grants it, the exemption stays with the property while you own and occupy it. Moving house does end it, and the new home needs its own application.
Remind me before the next Chatham County deadline
Not open yet. Email reminders are the thing this site is being built to do, and the sending side is not finished. There is no form here on purpose: we would rather show you an empty space than take an address we cannot yet write to.
When it opens it will be one address and one county, a confirmation email you have to click before anything else is ever sent, and three reminders a year at most. No advertising, and nothing sold on.
Other counties, and the Georgia rule
- Georgia homestead exemption: the state rule
- Fulton County homestead exemption deadline
- Gwinnett County homestead exemption deadline
- Cobb County homestead exemption deadline
- DeKalb County homestead exemption deadline
- Clayton County homestead exemption deadline
- Cherokee County homestead exemption deadline
- Every county deadline we hold, in one table
- When is the Georgia homestead exemption deadline?
Sources
- Deadline: boa.chathamcountyga.gov, read
- Office: Chatham County Board of Assessors
What this site is
HomesteadDeadlines is not a government website and is not affiliated with any appraisal district, assessor’s office or county tax office.
Applying for a homestead exemption with your county is free. We do not file it for you, we do not charge you anything, and we never ask you to pay to apply.
Deadlines and eligibility are set by Chatham County Board of Assessors and are governed by its current notices. This page was verified on 2026-08-04.