The City Council set Atlanta's final 2026 tax rates Nov. 2: 20.3 mills for schools, down from 20.5, and 9.52 for the city. Updated November 2026.
Atlanta’s school tax rate for 2026 is 20.3 mills, down from 20.5 mills, after the Atlanta City Council set the city’s final tax rates Monday. The city’s own general rate stays at 9.52 mills.
The council adopted the rates by a 10-0 consent vote on Nov. 2. They are in ordinance 26-O-1238 (PDF), which the council’s Nov. 2 meeting record lists as adopted.
The timing matters this year. Fulton County mailed temporary 2026 bills in August using last year’s rates, because the county’s tax digest was late. Our property tax guide explains why. Last year’s school rate was 20.5 mills, so the final school rate is 0.2 mills below what those temporary bills charged.
The final rates
A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. The ordinance sets these rates:
| Levy | Final 2026 rate | Who pays it |
|---|---|---|
| City general levy | 9.52 mills | All taxable property in the city |
| City bonds | 0.85 mills | All taxable property in the city |
| Parks | 1.00 mill | All taxable property in the city |
| Atlanta Public Schools | 20.300 mills | All taxable property in the city |
| Special tax district | 0.450 mills | The part of Atlanta in DeKalb County |
| Atlanta BeltLine special service district | 2.00 mills | Real property inside that district only |
| Atlanta Stitch special service district | 2.00 mills | Real property inside that district only |
The council had adopted preliminary rates on June 1, before the final digests arrived from Fulton and DeKalb counties. Two rates came down since then:
- the school rate, from 20.500 to 20.300 mills
- the DeKalb special tax district rate, from 0.577 to 0.450 mills
Every other rate is the same as the June figure. The city’s 9.52-mill general rate is a net figure. The ordinance builds it from a 12.00-mill gross rate, minus a 3.08-mill rollback for sales tax revenue and a 0.07-mill rollback, plus 0.67 mills for city solid waste rates.
County taxes are separate. Fulton County kept its general fund rate at 8.87 mills, the county said in its Oct. 8 release.
A lower school rate, a bigger school levy
A lower rate does not mean Atlanta Public Schools collects less. Property values rose faster.
The district’s published 2026 tax digest shows the net digest, the taxable value after exemptions, at about $55.88 billion. That is up from about $52.66 billion in 2025. The district applied a 0.2-mill rollback to its 20.5-mill gross rate to reach 20.3 mills.
Total school taxes levied come to about $1.134 billion, according to the same digest. That is about $55 million, or 5.09%, more than in 2025.
The district’s five-year history, in its own figures:
| Year | Net school tax rate | School taxes levied | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20.740 mills | $817.4 million | 7.87% |
| 2022 | 20.500 mills | $874.8 million | 7.02% |
| 2023 | 20.500 mills | $995.2 million | 13.77% |
| 2024 | 20.500 mills | $1,064.7 million | 7.34% |
| 2025 | 20.500 mills | $1,079.5 million | 1.38% |
| 2026 | 20.300 mills | $1,134.4 million | 5.09% |
Atlanta Public Schools’ figures are in thousands of dollars; we rounded them to the nearest $100,000.
What it means for you
- The rate cut is small for one home. In Georgia, the assessed value is 40% of market value. On a $400,000 home, that is $160,000. A 0.2-mill cut is worth $32 a year before any exemptions.
- Your own bill can still go up. The rate applies to this year’s assessed value. If your assessment rose, your school tax can rise even at the lower rate.
- Temporary bill already paid? “If required, either a refund or a revised final tax bill will be issued,” Fulton County said in its Aug. 10 announcement. The county had not said when that will happen. We will update this story when it does.
- The state homeowner grant is separate. Our story on the $18,000 Homeowner Tax Relief Grant explains how it shows up on Atlanta bills.
- Questions about a Fulton bill: the Fulton County Tax Commissioner, 404-613-6100.
Related: Atlanta public schools and who to call at City Hall.
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