DeKalb County, Georgia Homestead Exemption: Deadline & How to Apply (2026)
The homestead exemption filing deadline in DeKalb County, Georgia is April 1, according to DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office.
Applications are accepted in person year-round. To apply online for the current tax year, submissions must be made between January 1 and April 1.
What to do now
- Check you qualify — DeKalb County applies the requirements DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office publishes, not a national rule.
- Open the application DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office publishes: https://efile.dekalbcountyga.gov/Pub/AvailableFilings
- File it with DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office by April 1.
Who qualifies in DeKalb County
Applicants must own and occupy the home as their legal residence as of January 1. DeKalb's Tax Commissioner administers a basic homestead exemption plus a large stack of lettered local exemptions (H3, H4, H6, H7, H8, H9, H10) covering senior exemptions at age 62/65/70 thresholds, 100%-disability exemptions, an H5 disabled-veteran/spousal exemption, an H10 disabled-veteran-senior exemption, and a surviving-spouse exemption for unremarried widow(er)s of veterans killed in action or disabled veterans. Numerous DeKalb cities layer their own additional exemptions on top of the county ones.
The deadline, and what happens if you miss it
April 1. The same calendar date every year.
If you file late
State law provides that failing to properly file the application on time is a waiver of the homestead exemption for that year; the application then rolls forward and is processed 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: DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office
- The application: efile.dekalbcountyga.gov
- Filing online: efile.dekalbcountyga.gov
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 A copy goes out of date the day the county edits it; the county's own file does not.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 DeKalb 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 DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office's rules.
- Mailing a paper application close to April 1 without a postmark, when DeKalb requires mail applications to be postmarked by April 1 to count as timely
- Assuming the county basic homestead exemption automatically layers in a city-specific DeKalb municipal exemption (e.g., Decatur, Dunwoody), which requires a separate filing
- Picking the wrong lettered exemption code (H3 vs H4 vs H6 vs H7 vs H8 vs H9 vs H10) for a given age/income/disability combination, resulting in a lower reduction than the applicant actually qualifies for
- Assuming automatic renewal covers a newly purchased home, when DeKalb's auto-renewal explicitly applies only to the original home the exemption was granted on
- Trying to check status or refile through the old dekalbtax.org branding instead of the current efile.dekalbcountyga.gov / dekalbtaxga.gov systems
DeKalb County homestead exemption questions
- When is the homestead exemption deadline in DeKalb County?
- April 1 — DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office puts it this way: “Applications are accepted in person year-round. To apply online for the current tax year, submissions must be made between January 1 and April 1.” The same calendar date every year. We read that sentence on 2026-08-04.
- Who do I file my DeKalb County homestead exemption with?
- You file with DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office, not with us and not with the state. Its own site is https://dekalbtaxga.gov/, and everything on this page was read from there or from a page it links.
- Which form does DeKalb County want?
- The application DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office publishes is at https://efile.dekalbcountyga.gov/Pub/AvailableFilings. We link it rather than hosting a copy, because a copy goes stale the day the county edits it and the county's own file does not.
- What happens if I miss the DeKalb County deadline?
- Late filing in this county: State law provides that failing to properly file the application on time is a waiver of the homestead exemption for that year; the application then rolls forward and is processed for the following tax year.
- Who qualifies for the homestead exemption in DeKalb County?
- In short: Applicants must own and occupy the home as their legal residence as of January 1. DeKalb's Tax Commissioner administers a basic homestead exemption plus a large stack of lettered local exemptions (H3, H4, H6, H7, H8, H9, H10) covering senior exemptions at age 62/65/70 thresholds, 100%-disability exemptions, an H5 disabled-veteran/spousal exemption, an H10 disabled-veteran-senior exemption, and a surviving-spouse exemption for unremarried widow(er)s of veterans killed in action or disabled veterans. Numerous DeKalb cities layer their own additional exemptions on top of the county ones.
- Can I file online in DeKalb County?
- Yes — DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office publishes an online entry point at https://efile.dekalbcountyga.gov/. 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 DeKalb County?
- No. Once DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office 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 DeKalb 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
- Clayton County homestead exemption deadline
- Chatham 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: dekalbtaxga.gov, read
- Office: DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office
- Application form: efile.dekalbcountyga.gov
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 DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office and are governed by its current notices. This page was verified on 2026-08-04.