The property tax figure on a Woodstock listing tells you what the seller paid. It does not tell you what you will pay. In Cherokee County, two pieces of a homeowner's bill are frozen at the value the home had when that owner first filed for a homestead exemption. Cherokee County says plainly that the taxable value "is reset when a home is sold." If the seller is 62 or older and has held a Cherokee homestead exemption for five years, the bill may show no school tax at all. A new owner starts over on all of it.
The timing makes this more interesting than usual. Fall bills are due November 15. Then on January 1, 2027, the school portion of the bill, which is the largest piece, comes under a statewide cap for the first time.
A Woodstock bill is several taxes, and each follows its own rules
If you live inside Woodstock's city limits, your one bill covers several taxing bodies, and each one handles rising values differently. Here are the 2026 rates from the Cherokee County Tax Commissioner and the City of Woodstock:
| Line on the bill | 2026 rate | How the 2026 bill treats rising value for a homesteaded owner |
|---|---|---|
| County Maintenance & Operations | 5.712 mills | Frozen at the owner's base year under Cherokee's floating homestead exemption |
| City of Woodstock M&O | 5.13 mills | Frozen under Woodstock's own floating exemption |
| City Parks Bond | 0.52 mills | Not covered by the city freeze |
| School M&O | 16.45 mills | No freeze; the school district opted out of HB 581 |
| School Bond | 1.5 mills | No freeze |
| County Parks Bond | 0.264 mills | Not listed under either freeze |
Cherokee County has had its floating exemption on County M&O since 2008. It works by raising the exemption at the same pace as the home's value, so the taxable amount stays at the base-year level. The city's 2025 Property Tax Guide describes its exemption the same way: taxable assessed value cannot rise above the base-year value, and the exemption covers City M&O only, not the parks bond. Georgia taxes property at 40 percent of fair market value, so "assessed value" in all of these rules means that 40 percent figure.
The table shows which lines carry the frozen history. The two frozen lines add up to 10.842 mills. The school lines add up to 17.95 mills, the largest share by a wide margin. The county itself notes that the biggest property tax on the bill belongs to the Board of Education, not the commissioners.
What resets at the sale, and how much it matters
Many Woodstock-area homes carry a freeze. Cherokee County reported in July 2026 that more than half of its taxable properties have the floating homestead exemption. If a seller filed years ago, their County M&O and City M&O lines are calculated on an older, lower value. A new owner does not inherit that base. The county says a homestead exemption has to be filed again when a property changes ownership.
The size of the gap depends on how long the seller has owned the home and how much its value has risen since. For a recent buyer the gap is small, and for an owner whose base year goes back a decade it can be large. That is why two similar houses on the same street can list very different annual taxes.
The freeze also never covered the rate. When Cherokee County described its freeze in 2025, it said homesteaded owners would see no increase on the frozen lines "as long as the millage rate stays the same." The commissioners advertised 5.307 mills for County M&O in July 2025 and set 5.712 for 2026. On the city side, Woodstock adopted a full rollback on August 24, 2026. The City M&O rate moved to 5.13 from 5.065 because the rollback calculation produced a slightly higher number. A seller's frozen value and a buyer's new value are both multiplied by these same rates.
The school line, and the seller who may not be paying it
The school line works differently from the others. Through 2026, nobody has a freeze on it. In February 2025, the Cherokee County Board of Education opted out of the statewide floating homestead exemption created by HB 581. WSB-TV reported in September 2025 that the board cited an audit in defending that decision. So on a typical seller's bill, the school portion already reflects current value, and a buyer's school line should look similar after the reassessment.
The exception is a senior seller. According to the Cherokee County Tax Assessor, since January 1, 2025, Cherokee homeowners 62 and older who have held a homestead exemption in the county for at least five years have been exempt from 100 percent of school taxes. The school district's FY2027 budget document connects the two policies directly. It says opting out of HB 581 positioned the board to "preserve the full tax exemption for eligible seniors age 62 and over."
Here is a rough illustration. Take a $500,000 home, which is $200,000 in assessed value. Subtract the $2,000 standard school deduction and apply the 16.45-mill school M&O rate. The result is about $3,257 a year. A qualifying senior seller's bill would not include that amount. A buyer's bill would, unless the buyer also qualifies. The five-year requirement means a newcomer to Cherokee County does not qualify right away, whatever their age.
January 1, 2027: the school line gets a cap
Georgia's Senate Bill 33, the Homeownership Opportunity and Market Equalization Act of 2026, ends the opt-out. Governor Brian Kemp signed it on May 11, 2026. The enrolled bill makes the statewide base-year homestead exemption mandatory for all political subdivisions. It also limits yearly growth in a homestead's adjusted base-year value to the prior year's inflation rate. The Georgia Department of Revenue's May 2026 briefing summarizes it this way: "HB581 opt-out removed," the statewide float is "applicable January 1, 2027," with a "Baseline of 2026 values."
For Woodstock buyers, this means the school line is about to follow the same idea as the county and city lines. Value growth on a homestead will be limited, and the limit applies to each owner's homestead. The bill sets an owner's base year as the year before the exemption is first granted to that owner. Every exemption still depends on the owner meeting the January 1 ownership and residency rule on the county's homestead exemption page. The school district has not yet published how it will apply SB 33 to its existing senior exemption. Until it does, the 2027 school line for any particular house is still an open question.
The same law opens a route to sales-tax relief. The Georgia Municipal Association's session review notes that bringing every jurisdiction under the HB 581 framework makes nearly all cities eligible for a Floating Local Option Sales Tax, which needs voter approval, and that the new Local Homestead Option Sales Tax could not reach voters before November 2027. Cherokee County said in July 2026 that it has no HOST or LOST in place to offset property taxes.
The dates that frame a fall closing
- November 15, 2026: due date for this year's Cherokee County property tax bills, which the Tax Commissioner mails in September.
- January 1, 2027: exemption eligibility depends on owning and living in the home on this date. It is also the first day the statewide float applies to every jurisdiction, including the school district.
- April 1, 2027: the county's usual deadline for homestead applications. Under the county's updated rules, applications are also accepted during the 45-day appeal period after assessment notices go out, which is typically around mid-June. The county currently requires applying in person, with a Georgia driver's license showing the property address and a settlement statement or warranty deed.
What this means in practice is that the seller's bill tells you about the seller. To estimate your own bill, start from the current assessed value and apply the 2026 rates in the table above. Then check whether your own situation qualifies for each exemption.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Your own exemptions, base year and bill depend on your circumstances, so please confirm the details with the Cherokee County Tax Assessor, a tax professional or your closing attorney.
A few common questions
Does my lender's escrow estimate use the seller's tax bill? An estimate built on the seller's bill carries the seller's frozen values and exemptions. Ask your lender what figure they used and compare it with the current assessed value at 2026 rates.
Do I have to refile if the seller already had a homestead exemption? Yes. The county says a homestead exemption needs to be filed again when a property changes ownership.
Does the city freeze cover every city line on the bill? No. Woodstock's guide says it applies to City M&O only. The 0.52-mill Parks Bond, which funds park and trail projects voters approved in November 2023, is taxed on the full value.
Are Cherokee home values still climbing? Not everywhere. Of the nearly 116,000 real property notices mailed in 2026, Cherokee County reported that 53.9 percent increased in value and 37.9 percent decreased, with about 9 percent unchanged.
If you're weighing a Woodstock home this fall and want to see how the listed taxes compare with what you'd actually pay as the new owner, Angel Kennedy is glad to go through the numbers with you before you write an offer. Let's Connect.
