Muscogee County (Columbus): Disabled Veteran Homestead Exemption

The exemption is the State's, under Code section 48-5-48; see the Georgia entry. In Muscogee County applications are filed with the Property Tax Division of the Tax Commissioner's Office (706-225-4211), and the Board of Assessors (3111 Citizens Way, 706-225-4398) decides them. Bring the recorded deed, proof of occupancy and Georgia residence, and a VA benefits letter. What the two offices say. - The Board of Assessors' homestead page: "available to certain disabled veterans in an amount up to $117,014", "restricted to certain types of serious disabilities, requiring proof of disability from the Veterans Administration or from a private physician in certain circumstances. Disability must be 100%." - The Tax Commissioner's list of homestead types (code H5, S5): "Available to 100% disabled veterans in an amount up to $121,812 (2025) ... a VA benefits letter is required." - Both give April 1 as the last day for the current year. Where that is behind or narrower than the law. Amount. For 2026 the Department of Revenue's figure is $126,526; $117,014 was the 2024 amount and $121,812 the 2025 amount. Rating. Section 48-5-48(a)(1) takes a 100% totally disabling rating, including individual unemployability paid at the 100% rate, and also a VA statutory award for loss or loss of use of a foot or hand, loss of sight, or the defined loss of vision; the wartime limb-loss routes and adapted housing eligibility are further routes. Neither office names unemployability or the other routes. Deadline. Senate Bill 566, signed April 22, 2026 and applying from tax year 2026, rewrote Code section 48-5-45 so that an application filed during the year counts for that year if it is in by the final date to appeal that year's assessment notice. Cite the Act if an application after April 1 is refused. Refund. Neither office mentions the three-year refund for a retroactive VA decision in section 48-5-48(g). School and bond taxes. Section 7-103 of the Columbus Charter still says homestead exemptions, other than those for people 65 and older, do not apply to taxes for retiring bonds or for the Muscogee County School District. Both offices say the disabled veteran exemption applies to all levies, which is what section 48-5-48 provides; ask for it on the school levy if a bill shows otherwise. The surviving spouse of a service member killed in a war has the same amount under section 48-5-52.1; see the Georgia entry. Columbus's own assessment freeze applies to every homestead and is not veteran-specific.