Georgia Homestead Exemption for the Surviving Spouse of a Service Member Killed in Action

Code section 48-5-52.1 grants a homestead exemption to a Georgia citizen and resident who is the unremarried surviving spouse of a member of the U.S. armed forces "killed in or ... died as a result of any war or armed conflict in which the armed forces of the United States engaged". The amount is the greater of $32,500 or the maximum grant under 38 U.S.C. 2102, the same figure as the disabled veteran exemption. The Department of Revenue's memorandum to county tax officials gives $126,526 for tax year 2026. Value above that stays taxable. Who counts. An "unremarried surviving spouse" includes an unmarried widow or widower receiving spousal benefits from VA. The exemption is on the home the spouse owns and lives in, and ends on December 31 of the year the spouse remarries. Proof. File with the county tax commissioner documents from the Secretary of Defense showing that the spouse receives Survivor Benefit Plan spousal benefits, or a later federal survivor benefit, because the member was killed or died as a result of a war or armed conflict while on active duty or travelling to or from it, plus the marital status information the county board of tax assessors asks for. Once filed, it renews automatically, though the board may ask each year for proof of continuing eligibility, and the spouse must tell the tax commissioner if they stop qualifying. It replaces, rather than adds to, any other homestead exemption of an equal or lower amount. Senate Bill 566 of 2026 sets the filing window and the 50% penalty for not reporting ineligibility for every homestead exemption; see the Georgia disabled veteran homestead entry. The text is FindLaw's copy of the Code, current to March 28, 2024, because the State's official free code on LexisNexis would not open on October 24, 2026; every act of 2024, 2025 and 2026 whose first reader names Title 48 was read, and none amends section 48-5-52.1.