Hall County Tax Commissioner Darla Eden reminded residents Monday selling commercial or residential property does not automatically relieve the responsibility of paying property taxes for that year.
Nearly 11,000 property tax bills out of 99,000 total billings have gone unpaid since the Nov. 15, 2024 deadline, according to a release from the Hall County Tax Commissioner's Office. Georgia tax law specifies that the owner of a property on Jan. 1 is responsible for that year’s property tax, regardless of sale. Additionally, any lien resulting from delinquent taxes can be recorded in your name if you owned the property on Jan 1, even if the property was sold.
However, the office also said that this is not the case for individuals who properly passed tax payment responsibilities to the person or entity that purchased their real estate. Georgia law allows you to legally transfer the property tax liability to the new owner through sales documents at the real estate closing. Still, those who properly transferred liability need to notify the Hall County Tax Office by emailing signed sales documents to [email protected].
“Your documents will be reviewed for the proper language to transfer the tax liability,” Eden said in a release. “And for the 2024 tax year, we must receive the documents in our tax office no later than February 13, 2025 – per state law.
The best source for ensuring proper legal verbiage can be found on the Hall County Tax Commissioner's website at https://hallcountytax.org/property/real-personal-property.
However, tax liability rules for personal property, such as boats, airplanes, business inventory or assets are different. The owner of personal property on Jan. 1, 2024, is responsible for property taxes for that year regardless of sale. There can be no legal transfer of tax liability for those items, however, the office said either party is able to make the payment.
“Our office is dedicated to educating our Hall County property owners with tools to help them with tax rules in ownership and sales transactions,” Eden said. “Just check out our website or reach out to our office.”
