Oconee County Tax Commissioner (Jennifer Riddle) and Board of Tax Assessors: the homestead route and the county’s own exemption vote

The exemptions are Georgia's: O.C.G.A. 48-5-48 for the qualifying disabled veteran and 48-5-52.1 for the unremarried surviving spouse of a service member killed in a war or armed conflict - the State entries carry the statutes, the qualification list and the yearly indexed amount. What Oconee's offices add is the route and the county's own homestead record. Where and who. Tax Commissioner Jennifer Riddle, 7635 Macon Highway, Watkinsville, GA 30677, mailing address 7635 Macon Highway, Suite 300; phone (706) 769-3917, text (706) 765-7790, [email protected]; "Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 4:30 pm"; the office's own site, oconeecountypay.com, carries the tax search, the excess-funds and tax-sale notices and a taxpayer brochure, and publishes no exemption text of its own. The FAQ points the exemption detail to the Tax Assessor: "Contact the Oconee County Tax Assessor's Office for details of the available special assessment programs and Homestead exemptions", with the April 1 filing line - "Application for homestead exemption may be submitted any time during the year but must be received before April 1 of the taxable year to qualify for the exemption that year." The Board of Tax Assessors - Kristofer Robinson (chair), Sidney Bell (vice-chair), Charles H. Lee, Danny Mobley and one vacant seat - meets the second Tuesday of every month at 9:00 a.m. at the Administration Building, 7635 Macon Highway; (706) 769-3921. The county's own vote. The county's Homestead Exemption Changes page: "Oconee County residents voted to increase homestead exemptions and automate age-based property value freezes in the May 21, 2024 Primary Election. As a result of this vote, the following changes will be made to Homestead Exemptions: The general homestead exemption will increase from $2,000 to $5,000. In 2035, the general homestead exemption will increase again to $10,000. At age 65, the assessed value of the property will automatically be frozen. At age 75, an additional $10,000 will automatically be added to the property’s homestead exemption." The changes took effect January 1, 2025 and "apply to both county and school taxes". The page carries no veteran-specific local amount - a qualifying disabled veteran files with the Tax Assessor's office under the State's sections and reads the amounts on the State entries.