Metro Atlanta Property Tax Bills: Fall 2026 Due Dates and a New-Owner Checklist

Fulton County and Cobb County property taxes are due Thursday, October 15, 2026, and the second DeKalb County installment and Gwinnett County bills follow in mid-November. If you bought a metro Atlanta home this year, this is likely the first property tax season in your new house, and the bill may not look the way you expected.

This guide walks through the fall 2026 due dates for the four core counties, who actually receives the bill after a sale, how escrow fits in, and what to check before you pay. It is general homeowner education, not tax or legal advice. The date and amount printed on your own bill, and your county tax commissioner's office, are the final word.

Fall 2026 due dates by county

Each county tax commissioner sets and publishes its own schedule. Here is what each office has announced for 2026:

• Fulton County: City of Atlanta property taxes were due September 30, 2026. Fulton County taxes, and taxes from all other jurisdictions on the bill, are due October 15, 2026.
• Cobb County: Payments are due October 15, 2026, and must be received by the Tax Commissioner's Office or postmarked by USPS by that date to count as on time.
• DeKalb County: DeKalb bills in two installments, due September 30 and November 15. Because November 15, 2026 falls on a Sunday, DeKalb's rule that weekend deadlines move to the next business day points to Monday, November 16. Anyone paying the full year in one payment needed to pay by September 30.
• Gwinnett County: The 2026 bills have been mailed and are due November 15.

If your home is inside a city, read the bill closely. Fulton's bill lists the county, the school district, and municipalities separately because each sets its own rate. In Cobb, the county Tax Commissioner bills for the county and the Cobb County School District, while the seven cities of Cobb bill and collect their own property taxes, so a city homeowner can have more than one bill.

Why Fulton's 2026 bills are temporary

Fulton County's 2026 bills are temporary bills. According to the county, the Superior Court of Fulton County authorized them on August 4, 2026, after submission of the 2026 tax digest to the Georgia Department of Revenue was delayed. The bills use valuations from the preliminary 2026 digest and each jurisdiction's 2025 millage rate.

Once the digest is certified and each jurisdiction sets its 2026 rate, final calculations will be made, and Fulton says a refund or revised bill will be issued only as needed. The due date still applies to the temporary bill, so pay it on time and keep an eye out for a possible revised bill or refund later.

Who gets the bill after a sale

New owners are often surprised to find a tax bill addressed to the seller. The DeKalb County Tax Commissioner explains that, under state law, bills are mailed to the owner of record as of January 1 of the tax year, and also to the current owner if a deed change happened after January 1. Depending on when the home changed hands, DeKalb tells new owners to check with their closing attorney, mortgage company, or escrow agent, or to review their closing statement, to see who is responsible for paying.

Two points hold across the metro:

1. Not receiving a bill does not excuse the tax. DeKalb says failure to receive a bill does not relieve the responsibility to pay. Fulton asks owners who have not received an expected bill by September 15 to call the Tax Commissioner's Office at 404-613-6100.
2. Unpaid taxes stay with the property. DeKalb notes that unpaid taxes continue to accrue against the property, which is one more reason to confirm the bill was handled after a sale.

If your taxes are paid through escrow

Many buyers with a mortgage pay property taxes through an escrow account, but the county does not treat that as the end of your responsibility. Both the Gwinnett and DeKalb tax commissioners state that they do not send tax bills to mortgage companies. Tax information is made available to your lender, but it is ultimately the property owner's responsibility to make sure the taxes are paid.

Before the deadline:

• Confirm with your loan servicer that it plans to pay this year's bill for your parcel.
• Check again if you refinanced or your loan was transferred to a new servicer this year, which both counties flag as a common gap.
• After the due date, look up your parcel on the county tax commissioner's website to confirm the payment posted.

What happens if you pay late

Penalties add up quickly, and they differ by county:

• Fulton County: Interest begins the day after the due date and continues until the bill is paid in full. A 5% penalty is added on the 120th day after the due date and again every 120 days, up to a maximum of 20%. Fulton accepts partial payments, but interest accrues on any unpaid principal.
• Gwinnett County: Interest of 0.81% is added each month a balance remains. A 5% penalty is added on the remaining balance after 120 days, then another 5% every 120 days, not to exceed 20%.
• DeKalb County: A 5% penalty applies to a late first or second installment if the envelope is not postmarked by the due date. Metered or kiosk postage dates are not accepted as proof of timely payment, and DeKalb recommends having an envelope hand canceled at the post office when mailing near the deadline.
• Cobb County: A mailed payment must be USPS postmarked, or received by the office, by October 15 to count as on time.

If you are paying online or through your bank's bill-pay service, leave margin. DeKalb points out that the date you schedule a bank payment may not be the date the office receives it.

Check your exemptions while you have the bill

Your tax bill is a good place to confirm that any homestead exemption you filed for actually appears. Cobb County notes two 2026 items for its owners: the State of Georgia applied the Homeowner Tax Relief Grant as a reduction on eligible Cobb bills, separate from other homestead exemptions, and owners who receive a homestead exemption they are no longer eligible for must notify the Tax Commissioner's Office or may face a penalty. Cobb owners can check their exemptions at cobbtax.gov.

If you are selling, renting out, or moving out of a home that carries a homestead exemption, ask your county how to update it rather than assuming it falls off on its own.

Where to pay and who to call

• Fulton County Tax Commissioner: fultoncountytaxes.org or 404-613-6100, in person at 141 Pryor St. SW in downtown Atlanta, or at one of the office's three other full-service locations.
• Cobb County Tax Commissioner: cobbtax.gov or 770-528-8600, by phone at 1-866-535-2622, or at its Marietta, Austell, and Acworth offices. Cobb's official e-alerts come from no-reply@govhub.com by email and 678-244-0361 by text, which helps you spot messages that do not.
• DeKalb County Tax Commissioner: dekalbtax.org, or pay by phone at 678-501-7995. There is no transaction fee for e-Check payments by phone, and card payments carry processing fees.
• Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner: gwinnetttaxcommissioner.com or 770-822-8800.

A quick checklist for this week

• Find your 2026 bill on your county tax commissioner's website, even if you never received a paper copy.
• Confirm whether you, your lender, or the prior owner is paying it, using your closing statement and your servicer.
• Fulton and Cobb owners: pay or confirm payment by Thursday, October 15.
• DeKalb owners: mark Monday, November 16 for the second installment. Gwinnett owners: mark November 15.
• Fulton owners: watch for a possible revised bill or refund once 2026 rates are set.
• Check that your homestead exemption appears on the bill.

If you are buying in metro Atlanta and want to understand how property taxes will show up on your closing statement and your first bill, reach out to John Adams Realty. We can help you know what to ask your closing attorney and lender, while your county tax commissioner remains the authority on what you owe.