With the deadline to appeal 2026 property assessments now passed, Chattooga County property owners are entering the next stage of the annual property-tax process — waiting for final millage rates and the arrival of their actual tax bills.

Chattooga County property taxes are normally due December 1, according to the Chattooga County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Georgia tax rules also provide taxpayers 60 days from the date of billing to pay their property taxes, meaning bills must be issued far enough in advance of the local payment deadline to provide that payment period.

Before those bills can be calculated, however, local governments must complete the process of establishing their 2026 millage rates.

Assessment notices mailed this summer showed the county’s estimate of each property’s fair market value. Georgia generally assesses property for taxation at 40 percent of fair market value, but that number alone does not determine what a homeowner will ultimately owe.

The other major part of the equation is the millage rate. Chattooga County Sole Commissioner Andy Allen establishes the county government’s millage rate, while the Chattooga County Board of Education sets the rate used to fund the school system. One mill represents $1 in tax for every $1,000 of taxable assessed value.

That means homeowners who saw significant increases in the fair market value listed on their assessment notices should not automatically assume their tax bills will increase by the same percentage.

Several forms of tax relief also have to be factored into the final calculation, including applicable homestead exemptions and sales-tax rollbacks.

What remains unknown is the final 2026 tax digest and the millage rates that will be applied to it. Once those figures are finalized, the Chattooga County Tax Commissioner’s Office can calculate individual property tax bills.

The Tax Commissioner collects the taxes but does not determine property values or set the county and school millage rates.

For Chattooga County property owners, the important date to remember is December 1 — the county’s normal property-tax payment deadline. WZQZ News will continue following the 2026 tax process and report the county and school millage rates when those figures are finalized.