DeKalb County, Georgia, hangs its senior property tax breaks on three birthdays and one calendar date. Homeowners who are 62, 65 or 70 on Jan. 1 can apply for a school and county tax exemption, and the county’s assessment freeze has to be qualified for by April 1. At 70, the school tax break is open to homeowners with federal adjusted gross income up to $113,664.
The rules come from the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner. Each age brings a different menu, and each menu has its own income test. A code that fits a 64-year-old will not fit a 71-year-old, and the age is counted on January 1, not on the day the form is filed.
The question many DeKalb homeowners ask is whether more than one exemption can be stacked. Mostly, the answer is no. A senior exemption is added on top of an existing homestead exemption on the primary home, which the Tax Commissioner’s office says is required before any special exemption can be granted. Inside each age group, the applicant picks one code. Married couples count as one household and may claim only one exemption.
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Which code does each birthday unlock?
At 70, there is a single code, H9. It exempts the home from school taxes for households with federal adjusted gross income up to $113,664, and it keeps the $10,000 exemption against county levies, except bonds.
At 65, or at any age for a home owner who is 100 percent permanently disabled, the applicant chooses among three. H4 covers income up to $10,000 in Georgia net income, exempts all school taxes and lifts the county exemption to $14,000. H6 allows $37,500 in Georgia net income, a $16,500 school exemption and the $14,000 county exemption. H8 allows $40,000 in gross income, a $22,500 school exemption and the $14,000 county exemption.
At 62, non-veteran applicants who are 100 percent permanently disabled can use the same two codes. H3 matches H4’s school tax exemption for income up to $10,000 in Georgia net income and keeps the $10,000 county exemption. H7 allows $40,000 in gross income and reduces taxable value by $22,500 for school taxes and $10,000 for county levies, except bonds.
Why Georgia net income is not the number on the tax return
The H3, H4 and H6 income tests use Georgia net income, which the county says is not a figure printed on income tax forms. It is a formula from the Georgia Department of Revenue. For 2026, up to $49,824 for an individual or $99,648 for a married couple in Social Security and retirement benefits can be left out of it.
That exclusion is why a retiree with a modest pension and Social Security can land under the $10,000 line even when the checks look larger. H7, H8 and H9 run on other measures: gross income for the first two, federal adjusted gross income for H9. The same household can be over the line for one code and under it for another.
Applicants need the previous year’s federal and state tax returns, any Social Security Form 1099, and proof of age and residency such as a Georgia driver’s license or state ID, according to the county’s senior services page.
What the April 1 freeze does and does not cover
The assessment freeze is separate from the exemption codes. It is meant to offset future increases in a home’s assessed value for residents who already receive a homestead exemption. The Tax Commissioner states plainly: “Residents must qualify for this freeze by April 1st.”
New applicants receive the freeze automatically with their exemption. Homeowners who bought before 2007 and already held a homestead exemption may need to apply for it separately. Once set, the freeze cannot be “re-frozen” at a lower level, whatever happens to assessments later.
The freeze does not touch school, city or state taxes. That is the gap the school codes fill. A senior who gets only the freeze still pays school tax at the current assessment, while H3, H4 and H9 can wipe the school bill out entirely for those who meet the income test.
Where DeKalb seniors file, and when a late form costs a year
Special exemptions are filed through the county’s online Special Exemption Application. Paper filings are accepted in person year-round. Online filings for the current tax year must come in between Jan. 1 and mid-July, before the assessment appeal deadline, and anything later is processed for the following year.
The county’s exemptions page adds that exemptions are not retroactive and that the office typically finishes processing by the end of May. The second county installment of the 2026 bill is due Nov. 16, so a homeowner who qualifies now is filing for next year’s bill, not this one.
Several cities add their own breaks. Brookhaven and Tucker pair a senior exemption with the freeze, Doraville offers a 100 percent city tax exemption at 70, and Chamblee does the same at 65. Those are applied for with the city, not the county. Questions go to the Tax Commissioner at 404-298-4000, or through the county tax office site.
Which DeKalb code fits one household before April 1?
A couple has to settle on one exemption, and the right pick turns on January 1 ages and last year’s income.
A homeowner who files under the wrong DeKalb code, or misses the April 1 freeze date, usually does not find out until the next bill arrives. Late applications roll to the following year, and exemptions are not paid back.
The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit lays out the 5 kinds of property-tax relief and what each one does, so a DeKalb household can match H3, H4, H7, H9 and the freeze to its own case. It also includes an application log and renewal calendar, built to keep the April 1 and mid-July dates in one place.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
