How much of a Kennesaw homeowner's property tax bill does the Cobb homestead freeze actually hold in place? On the 2026 rates, the levies confirmed as frozen add up to about 41 percent of the bill. The largest single line, the school levy, never froze at all.
That matters most this month. Cobb County mailed its 2026 tax bills around August 15, and they're due around October 15. The City of Kennesaw mails its own bills October 1 and collects them December 1. Anyone touring homes this fall is looking at listings whose tax figure comes from a bill that is still being paid. That figure reflects one owner's exemptions, one owner's freeze and one owner's years in the house. When the deed changes hands, much of it starts over.
Two bills, five levies, and only some of them freeze
Kennesaw homeowners get two bills, one from Cobb County and one from the city, not a single combined statement. The 2026 millage schedule from the Cobb Tax Commissioner puts Kennesaw's combined rate at 39.28 mills, split across five levies.
| 2026 levy | Mills | Covered by a floating freeze? |
|---|---|---|
| Cobb County general | 8.46 | Yes, under the county's floating homestead exemption |
| Cobb County fire | 2.97 | No. The county freeze applies to County M&O |
| Cobb County School District | 18.70 | No. Basic $10,000 homestead exemption, plus an age-62 exemption for qualifying owners |
| City of Kennesaw M&O | 7.75 | Yes, under the city's Floating Homestead Exemption |
| City of Kennesaw bond | 1.40 | Not confirmed in city documents |
| Total | 39.28 |
When Cobb announced in January 2025 that it planned to opt out of the new statewide exemption, it said its existing homestead exemption "for County M&O" would remain in place. School taxes get the $10,000 basic homestead exemption, plus a separate exemption from school general and school bond taxes for qualifying homeowners age 62 and older. They don't get a freeze.
Add up the table. The two levies confirmed as frozen, county general and city M&O, come to 16.21 mills, or about 41 percent of the total. Schools and fire come to 21.67 mills, about 55 percent, and both move with assessed value. The city bond levy makes up the small remainder, and the city's materials don't say whether its freeze covers it.
The statewide cap that could have touched the school levy doesn't apply here
Georgia voters approved HB 581 in November 2024. It created a statewide floating homestead exemption with an inflation-indexed cap, and local governments could opt out. All three jurisdictions on a Kennesaw bill did. Cobb's Board of Commissioners voted 4-0 to opt out, saying the county's decades-old freeze was the better deal for homeowners. The Cobb County School District opted out on a 6-0 vote on February 13, 2025. The Georgia Secretary of State's HB 581 list records the City of Kennesaw's opt-out as received on February 10, 2025.
For the county and city, opting out kept a stronger tool in place. For the school levy, it means no freeze and no inflation cap, so the largest line on the bill follows the assessor's market value each year. The Cobb Courier reported Kennesaw's city manager saying the city's freeze "does not affect taxes for the schools," adding, "That's separate. That's on them."
What a long ownership does to the number on the listing
The freeze affects the seller's bill most where it applies. In the same Cobb Courier report, the city manager described a homeowner who bought in 2000 and, absent major additions, paid the same city M&O taxes in 2024 as in 2000. Cobb County says its exemption freezes a homeowner's taxable value "when they apply for it." The freeze belongs to the owner who applied. It isn't attached to the house.
So the gap between a listed tax figure and a buyer's eventual bill tends to grow with how long the seller owned the home. Someone who homesteaded years ago may have county general and city M&O taxes set on a value from another era. A buyer starts those two levies at a base set under their own exemption. Cobb's official materials don't spell out exactly how a new owner's base value is set, so it shouldn't be assumed to equal the sale price. Cobb's homestead exemption applies only to someone who owns and occupies the home as a legal residence on January 1 with their name on the deed, so a buyer qualifies through their own application.
A recent seller's figure has a different blind spot. That bill may already track market value closely on the frozen levies. But the 55 percent tied to schools and fire was never frozen for anyone, so a 2026 increase in assessed value shows up there whoever owns the home.
That increase is real. Cobb's assessor reports that the 2026 tax digest closed up "slightly more than 5%" over the prior year, above the roughly 4 percent projected earlier in the year. The same page describes the county market as prices up slightly, more homes for sale and homes taking longer to sell.
A buyer's first exemption year starts on January 1
Eligibility for a Cobb homestead exemption depends on owning and living in the home as a primary residence on January 1, with every applicant's name on the deed. For a home bought this fall, that sets a specific sequence:
- Closing in October through December 2026. The buyer didn't own the home on January 1, 2026, so there's no 2026 homestead exemption in the buyer's name. The 2026 bills already in circulation carry the seller's exemptions.
- January 1, 2027. If the buyer owns and occupies the home as a primary residence on this date, they become eligible for 2027.
- Filing window. Cobb now accepts current-year applications up to the appeal deadline printed on the Notice of Assessment. In 2026 that deadline was July 20, with notices mailed June 5. Cobb's site says late applications waive the exemption for that year.
- The city is a separate filing. The Cobb Tax Commissioner directs city residents to apply for city exemptions with their city tax office. Kennesaw's city age-65 exemption has its own April 1 application date and also requires a county application.
Because the city bills in October and the county in August, a buyer's first year includes two separate bills on two calendars, each with its own exemption filing behind it.
The 2026 notice gives a better preview, and it still leaves things out
Georgia's Senate Bill 566 took effect January 1, 2026, and redesigned the assessment notice. Box 7 shows the prior and current fair market values. Box 10 lists approved exemptions. The new Box 11 estimates the dollar savings from those exemptions.
Cobb's assessor notes that the Box 11 estimate uses the previous year's millage rates and covers only taxes the county bills. Savings on city taxes, which Kennesaw bills itself, aren't included. Box 11 on a seller's 2026 notice would therefore show the value of that seller's county exemptions, with nothing about the city side and nothing about what a new owner would get.
The Cobb Tax Commissioner's New Owner Estimate tool lets a buyer enter a market value, choose Kennesaw as the tax district and select exemptions. The page says the estimator covers county taxes only and sends city residents to their municipal tax office for the rest.
Why "no increase" and "tax increase" both appeared on 2026 notices
Both the county and the city kept their rates flat this year and still advertised tax increases. Cobb held its general fund at 8.46 mills and fire at 2.97 but, as the county explained, had to advertise a "tax increase" because reassessments raised the digest. Kennesaw kept city M&O at 7.75 mills, which the city's notice described as 4.25 percent above the rollback rate.
At the city's August 3, 2026 hearing, Mayor Derek Easterling said holding the rate "does not constitute a tax increase for the vast majority of Kennesaw homesteaded homeowners." He added that rental properties, second homes and vacant land "may see changes in their City property taxes if their assessed values increase." The school district's notice listed a rollback rate of 18.016 mills against its 18.70 proposal and called the difference a 3.80 percent increase. The 2026 schedule shows 18.70.
With rates held flat, frozen levies stay level while floating levies rise with the digest, and a buyer who hasn't yet qualified for a homestead exemption has no frozen levies during that first gap year.
For sellers listing this fall
A seller's low tax figure reflects a real benefit of long ownership. When buyers compare it to their own estimate, it can create confusion. Showing which lines on the bill are frozen and which aren't helps explain why the number won't carry over. Telling buyers which year the seller homesteaded gives them a fair way to read the figure, and it heads off a renegotiation conversation built on a number that was never going to transfer.
Quick answers
Does a buyer inherit the seller's frozen value? No. Cobb's freeze starts when the homeowner applies for it, and the exemption goes to the person who owns and occupies the home on January 1, so a buyer files their own application.
Does the freeze cover school taxes? No. School taxes get the $10,000 basic homestead exemption and an exemption for qualifying owners 62 and older, with no freeze.
Does the freeze apply to a Kennesaw rental or second home? Kennesaw's council minutes say the city protection applies to qualified homesteaded primary residences, and that rentals, second homes and vacant land may see changes.
Where can a buyer get a county estimate? The Cobb Tax Commissioner's New Owner Estimate tool covers county taxes. City taxes go through the Kennesaw tax office.
If you're weighing a Kennesaw listing and want to know which parts of its tax bill will reset at closing, or you're getting ready to sell and want to show buyers clearly what your tax figure includes, The Martin Group can go through the actual bill with you, levy by levy, before anything goes to contract. Start with a free home valuation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
