A Georgia bill that would have let counties eliminate primary-home property taxes by raising the local sales tax by one cent failed to advance in the House on Saturday. Cherokee, Forsyth, and Gwinnett had pushed for the option. Parts of Fulton, DeKalb, and Clayton were already ineligible because their sales tax rates are maxed out.

Georgia's Property Tax Swap Bill Fails in House, Splits Metro Atlanta Counties

Atlanta Home Network · Published June 2026

A Georgia bill that would have let counties eliminate primary-home property taxes by raising the local sales tax by one cent failed in the state House on Saturday.

More than 100 counties asked for the option. The House did not advance the bill.

What was proposed

Counties could raise local sales tax by one cent. The new revenue would replace property taxes on a resident's primary home.

Sponsor: State Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire)
Counties that asked for the option: Cherokee, Forsyth, Gwinnett, plus 100+ others
Earliest possible impact: 2028
Local approval required: Every participating county needed a voter referendum

The proposal would have paired with Georgia's existing law capping annual home assessment increases at the rate of inflation.

Who could use it (and who couldn't)

Metro Atlanta would have split sharply.

Eligible to vote on the swap: Cherokee. Forsyth. Gwinnett. Cobb (likely). Other suburban counties with room under the sales tax cap.

Ineligible because they're already maxed out: Parts of Fulton, DeKalb, and Clayton. 32 Georgia counties total are at the maximum local sales tax rate.

A homeowner in Cherokee could have voted for relief. A homeowner in much of Fulton couldn't, even if they wanted to.

The case for it

Supporters framed the swap as practical relief for homeowners watching their assessed values rise.

State Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire), bill sponsor, told colleagues that more than 100 counties had asked for the option: "You've got over 100 counties and the cities within those counties that can fully eliminate their city-county property tax with one penny of sales tax. So I think that's exciting for a lot of voters."

Kaycee Ike, a Gwinnett County homeowner interviewed by WSB-TV, said property tax bills near him have been climbing: "We're right on the edge of Gwinnett, so we can also see the ones in DeKalb, and then we can see the one in Gwinnett. We definitely see them going up."

Ike also acknowledged the trade-off the proposal would create. "For me, I would definitely enjoy it. But for someone else who's renting, it's going to suffer. That's kind of the trade off in the world we kind of live in."

The case against it

Democrats argued the swap is regressive: it shifts the local tax burden from property owners to anyone who buys groceries, gas, and household goods.

State Sen. Kim Jackson (D-Stone Mountain): "What the majority party is asking us to do is to take money from everybody who's going to buy groceries and gas. Adding a tax to that while relieving that for property owners. It's regressive."

State Rep. David Wilkerson (D-Powder Springs): "If you add a penny sales tax in that county, seniors, every time they go to the store to buy cough medicine, they would pay a tax."

The structural disagreement is simple. Property taxes are paid by a smaller pool of homeowners. Sales taxes are paid by everyone, including renters and low-income households. A swap shifts who pays.

What's next

Republican sponsors said they would need Democratic support to revive the bill. Georgia's next regular legislative session begins January 2027.

The state's existing inflation cap on annual home assessment increases remains in effect. It's a narrower form of property tax relief.

Sources

Coverage of the June 19-20, 2026 Georgia legislative special session by WSB-TV and Fox 5 Atlanta.

For Atlanta Home Network's broader methodology, see our Methodology page.