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2018 Georgia Code 48-5-48 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 48-5-48 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 48-5-48

TITLE 48 REVENUE AND TAXATION

Section 5. Ad Valorem Taxation of Property, 48-5-1 through 48-5-607.

ARTICLE 2 PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS AND DEFERRAL

48-5-48. Homestead exemption by qualified disabled veteran; filing requirements; periodic substantiation of eligibility; persons eligible without application; retroactive award.

  1. As used in this Code section, the term "disabled veteran" means:
    1. Any veteran who is a citizen and a resident of this state, who was discharged under honorable conditions, and who has been adjudicated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as having a service related disability that renders such veteran as being 100 percent totally disabled or as being less than 100 percent totally disabled but is compensated at the 100 percent level due to individual unemployability or is entitled to receive a statutory award from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs for:
      1. Loss or permanent loss of use of one or both feet;
      2. Loss or permanent loss of use of one or both hands;
      3. Loss of sight in one or both eyes; or
      4. Permanent impairment of vision of both eyes of the following status: central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye, with corrective glasses, or central visual acuity of more than 20/200 if there is a field defect in which the peripheral field has contracted to such an extent that the widest diameter of visual field subtends on angular distance no greater than 20 degrees in the better eye;
    2. An American veteran of any war or armed conflict in which any branch of the armed forces of the United States engaged, whether under United States command or otherwise, and that he or she is disabled due to the loss or loss of use of both lower extremities such as to preclude locomotion without the aid of braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair; due to blindness in both eyes, having only light perception, together with the loss or loss of use of one lower extremity; or due to the loss or loss of use of one lower extremity together with residuals of organic disease or injury which so affect the functions of balance or propulsion as to preclude locomotion without resort to a wheelchair;
    3. Any disabled veteran who is not entitled to receive benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs but who qualifies otherwise, as provided for by Article VII, Section I, Paragraph IV of the Constitution of Georgia of 1976;
    4. An American veteran of any war or armed conflict who is disabled due to loss or loss of use of one lower extremity together with the loss or loss of use of one upper extremity which so affects the functions of balance or propulsion as to preclude locomotion without the aid of braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair; or
    5. A veteran becoming eligible for assistance in acquiring housing under Section 2101 of Title 38 of the United States Code as hereafter amended on or after July 1, 1999.
  2. Any disabled veteran as defined in any paragraph of subsection (a) of this Code section who is a citizen and resident of Georgia is granted an exemption of the greater of $32,500.00 or the maximum amount which may be granted to a disabled veteran under Section 2102 of Title 38 of the United States Code, as amended, on his or her homestead which such veteran owns and actually occupies as a residence and homestead, such exemption being from all ad valorem taxation for state, county, municipal, and school purposes. As of January 1, 2004, the maximum amount which may be granted to a disabled veteran under the above-stated federal law is $50,000.00. The value of all property in excess of the exempted amount cited above shall remain subject to taxation. The unremarried surviving spouse or minor children of any such disabled veteran as defined in this Code section shall also be entitled to an exemption of the greater of $32,500.00 or the maximum amount which may be granted to a disabled veteran under Section 2102 of Title 38 of the United States Code, as amended, on the homestead so long as the unremarried surviving spouse or minor children continue actually to occupy the home as a residence and homestead, such exemption being from all ad valorem taxation for state, county, municipal, and school purposes. As of January 1, 2004, the maximum amount which may be granted to the unremarried surviving spouse or minor children of any such disabled veteran under the above-stated federal law is $50,000.00. The value of all property in excess of such exemption granted to such unremarried surviving spouse or minor children shall remain subject to taxation.
    1. Any disabled veteran qualifying pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of this Code section for the homestead exemption provided for in this Code section shall file with the tax commissioner or tax receiver a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Veterans Service stating the qualifying disability.
    2. Any disabled veteran qualifying pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of this Code section for the homestead exemption provided for in this Code section shall file with the tax commissioner or tax receiver a copy of his DD form 214 (discharge papers from his military records) along with a letter from a doctor who is licensed to practice medicine in this state stating that he is disabled due to loss or loss of use of both lower extremities such as to preclude locomotion without the aid of braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair; due to blindness in both eyes, having only light perception, together with the loss or loss of use of one lower extremity; or due to the loss or loss of use of one lower extremity together with residuals of organic disease or injury which so affect the functions of balance or propulsion as to preclude locomotion without resort to a wheelchair. Prior to approval of an exemption, a county board of tax assessors may require the applicant to provide not more than two additional doctors' letters if the board is in doubt as to the applicant's eligibility for the exemption.
    3. Any disabled veteran qualifying pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of this Code section for the homestead exemption provided for in this Code section shall file with the tax commissioner or tax receiver a letter from a doctor who is licensed to practice medicine in this state stating the qualifying disability. Prior to approval of an exemption, a county board of tax assessors may require the applicant to provide not more than two additional doctors' letters if the board is in doubt as to the applicant's eligibility for the exemption.
    4. Any disabled veteran qualifying pursuant to paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of this Code section for the homestead exemption provided for in this Code section shall file with the tax commissioner or tax receiver a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Veterans Service stating the eligibility for such housing assistance.
  4. Each disabled veteran shall file for the exemption only once in the county of his residence. Once filed, the exemption shall automatically be renewed from year to year, except as provided in subsection (e) of this Code section.Such exemption shall be extended to the unremarried surviving spouse or minor children at the time of his death so long as they continue to occupy the home as a residence and homestead.In the event a disabled veteran who would otherwise be entitled to the exemption dies or becomes incapacitated to the extent that he or she cannot personally file for such exemption, the spouse, the unremarried surviving spouse, or the minor children at the time of the disabled veteran's death may file for the exemption and such exemption may be granted as if the disabled veteran had made personal application therefor.
  5. Not more often than once every three years, the county board of tax assessors may require the holder of an exemption granted pursuant to this Code section to substantiate his continuing eligibility for the exemption. In no event may the board require more than three doctors' letters to substantiate eligibility.
  6. Any person who as of January 1, 1991, has applied and is eligible for the exemption for disabled veterans, their surviving spouses, and minor children formerly provided for by the sixth unnumbered subparagraph of Article VII, Section I, Paragraph IV of the Constitution of 1976; the exemption for disabled veterans provided for in Article VII, Section II, Paragraph V of the Constitution of 1983; or the exemption for disabled veterans formerly provided for by Code Section 48-5-48.3 as enacted by an Act approved April 11, 1986 (Ga. L. 1986, p. 1445), shall be eligible for the exemption granted by subsection (b) of this Code section without applying for such exemption.
    1. If a disabled veteran receives a final determination of disability from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs containing a retroactive period of eligibility, such disabled veteran or his or her surviving unremarried spouse or minor children shall be entitled to a refund of the ad valorem taxes paid during such period that he or she or his or her surviving unremarried spouse or minor children would have otherwise been exempt from such taxes pursuant to this Code section, provided that the refund shall only be for the three tax years preceding his or her or his or her surviving unremarried spouse's or minor children's application for the homestead exemption permitted by this Code section.
    2. Upon application for the homestead exemption provided by this Code section and submittal of proper documentation, each county and municipality shall consider the taxes paid by such disabled veteran or his or her surviving unremarried spouse or minor children under the circumstances provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection to be voluntarily or involuntarily overpaid and shall refund such taxes to such disabled veteran or his or her surviving unremarried spouse or minor children in accordance with Code Section 48-5-380.
    3. Upon final determination and approval of a period of prior eligibility, the county board of assessors shall immediately transmit such approval to the local tax commissioner and local municipal tax officer if applicable.The tax commissioner and municipal tax officer shall be authorized to refund the proportionate amount of taxes from the entities for whom the taxes were collected for the tax years approved for the exemption.Such refund shall not exceed three tax years and shall not include interest.

(b.1)The unremarried surviving spouse or minor children of any disabled veteran shall also be entitled to an exemption of the greater of $32,500.00 or the maximum amount on a homestead, or any subsequent homestead within the same county, where such spouse or minor children continue to occupy the home as a homestead, such exemption being from ad valorem taxation for state, county, municipal, and school purposes.

(Ga. L. 1959, p. 170, § 1; Ga. L. 1964, p. 280, § 1; Ga. L. 1967, p. 813, § 1; Code 1933, § 91A-1116, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 309, § 2; Ga. L. 1981, p. 1857, § 15; Ga. L. 1983, p. 3, § 64; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 48; Ga. L. 1984, p. 1058, § 3; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 48; Ga. L. 1990, p. 45, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1858, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1223, § 1; Ga. L. 2004, p. 69, § 4; Ga. L. 2004, p. 417, § 1; Ga. L. 2009, p. 646, § 1/HB 304; Ga. L. 2015, p. 816, § 6/HB 48; Ga. L. 2016, p. 166, § 3/SB 258; Ga. L. 2016, p. 770, § 2/HB 862; Ga. L. 2017, p. 55, § 3/HB 196; Ga. L. 2017, p. 774, § 48/HB 323.)

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, substituted the present provisions of paragraph (a)(1) for the former provisions, which read: "A wartime veteran who was discharged under honorable conditions and who has been adjudicated by the Department of Veterans Affairs of the United States as being totally and permanently disabled and entitled to receive service connected benefits so long as he or she is 100 percent disabled and receiving or entitled to receive benefits for a 100 percent service connected disability;".

The 2016 amendments. The first 2016 amendment, effective April 26, 2016, in paragraph (a)(1), inserted "is a citizen and a resident of this state who" near the beginning, inserted "having a service related disability that renders such veteran as" in the middle, and substituted "or is entitled" for "and is entitled" near the end. The second 2016 amendment, effective May 3, 2016, made identical changes.

The 2017 amendments. The first 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, added subsection (g). The second 2017 amendment, effective May 9, 2017, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, revised punctuation in paragraph (a)(1).

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1990, "subsection (e)" was substituted for "subsection (d)" in the second sentence of subsection (d).

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 1984, p. 1058, § 3, effective July 1, 1984, purported to add a new subsection (d) at the end of this Code section. Since there was already a subsection designated as (d), the subsection added by the 1984 Act was redesignated as subsection (e) by Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 48.

Ga. L. 1984, p. 1058, § 9, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "In the event of any conflict between this Act and any other Act of the 1984 General Assembly the provisions of such other Act shall control over the provisions of this Act."

Ga. L. 1990, p. 1858, § 3, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act is enacted pursuant to authority provided for in Article VII, Section II, Paragraph V of the Constitution."

Ga. L. 2004, p. 69, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'State and Local Taxation, Financing, and Service Delivery Revision Act of 2004."'

Law reviews.

- For article on the 2004 amendment of this Code section, see 21 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 226 (2004).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, opinions under former Code Section 48-5-48.3 are included in the annotations for this Code section.

Referendum is not required to implement the veterans' exemption provided by Ga. L. 1986, p. 1445, § 1. 1987 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 87-2 (rendered under former § 48-5-48.3).

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 48-5-48

Total Results: 5  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Blevins v. Dade Cnty. Bd. of Tax Assessors, 702 S.E.2d 145 (Ga. 2010).

Cited 19 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Nov 1, 2010 | 288 Ga. 113, 2010 Fulton County D. Rep. 3484

...mple, homestead exemptions for each resident of the State who owns and occupies a home as a residence, OCGA § 48-5-44; additional homestead exemptions for each person who is 65 years of age or older, OCGA § 48-5-47, and for disabled veterans, OCGA § 48-5-48; and exemptions for qualified farm products, OCGA § 48-5-41.1....
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Gwinnett Cnty. Bd. of Tax Assessors v. Gen. Elec. Capital Comput. Servs., 538 S.E.2d 746 (Ga. 2000).

Cited 18 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Nov 13, 2000 | 273 Ga. 175, 2000 Fulton County D. Rep. 4182

...Thomas, County Attorney, for appellee. HINES, Justice. We granted certiorari to the Court of Appeals in General Electric Capital Computer Services v. Gwinnett County Board of Tax Assessors, 240 Ga.App. 629, 523 S.E.2d 651 (1999), cases involving the freeport exemption in OCGA § 48-5-48.2(b), [1] to address *747 whether the doctrine of collateral estoppel bars the litigation of a tax issue litigated in a prior year where there has been no significant factual change, but where there has been a change or development in the law....
...In the early 1990's, General Electric Capital Computer Services (GECC) wished to establish a Georgia warehouse facility to store testing and measuring equipment which it held for sale, lease, and rental to customers in and out of Georgia. GECC was assured its inventory would be exempt from ad valorem taxes under OCGA § 48-5-48.2, and GECC located its warehouse facility in Gwinnett County and was granted the promised freeport exemption for tax year 1992....
...The present actions arise from the Board's denial of GECC's applications for the freeport exemption in tax years 1996 and 1997 upon the finding that GECC's Gwinnett County warehouse inventory did not qualify for the exemption because of a failure to meet the requirements of OCGA § 48-5-48.2....
...emption, the issue the Board was estopped to deny by the 1994 order. The Court of Appeals explained that while it had denied the taxpayer the freeport exemption in Apollo, finding its inventory ineligible for exemption as "stock in trade" under OCGA § 48-5-48.2(a)(4), [5] the 1994 order in this instance ruled to the contrary as to at least a portion of GECC's inventory, and that the evidence was that thereafter no change occurred in the relevant inventory....
..." Such considerations are not present in this case. 2. Both the Court of Appeals and the trial court found that there was no factual change in GECC's inventory. And there is no dispute that there has been no change in the relevant provisions of OCGA § 48-5-48.2....
...at Apollo claims should be exempted from taxation, constituted inventory of finished goods within the meaning of the freeport exemption." Apollo at 792(4), 498 S.E.2d 297. The analysis then merely quoted the extent of the exemption as stated in OCGA § 48-5-48.2(b)(3), and the definitions of "finished goods" and "stock in trade of a retailer" in subsections (a)(2) [7] and (4) of the statute. The Court of Appeals concluded that the computers in question did not meet the definition of "inventory of finished goods" as contemplated by OCGA § 48-5-48.2 because they were not goods being held for shipment to final destinations outside Georgia for resale; instead, the computers were in the nature of Apollo's stock-in-trade which Apollo was holding for shipment to its retail customers. Apollo at 793(4), 498 S.E.2d 297. Thus, the Court of Appeals was merely applying the express terms of OCGA § 48-5-48.2 to the circumstances at hand and ruling on the facts of Apollo's inventory....
...n. [W]e find that under our law these computers are in the nature of ... stock-in-trade which [the taxpayer] is holding merely for shipment to its retail customers who use the Galileo computer system, and not for shipment for "resale purposes." OCGA § 48-5-48.2(a)(4)....
...Unfortunately, this Court now compounds the error committed by the Court of Appeals' reversal of the trial court's correct rulings in this case. I am authorized to state that Chief Justice BENHAM and Presiding Justice FLETCHER join in this dissent. NOTES [1] OCGA § 48-5-48.2(b) provides: The governing authority of any county or municipality may, subject to the approval of the electors of such political subdivision, exempt from ad valorem taxation, including all such taxes levied for educational purposes and...
...[3] Gwinnett County Board of Tax Assessors v. G.E. Capital Computer Services, 216 Ga.App. XXVIII (1995). [4] The Board acknowledges that before the superior court it took the position that the Apollo case and GECC's situations were different. [5] OCGA § 48-5-48.2(a)(4) provides: "Stock in trade of a retailer" means finished goods held by one in the business of making sales of such goods at retail in this state, within the meaning of Chapter 8 of this title, when such goods are held or stored at a business location from which such retail sales are regularly made....
...rposes. [6] Because the 1994 order found only a portion of GECC's inventory eligible, the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the cases for consideration of the sufficiency of GECC's showings in support of its applications for exemption. [7] OCGA § 48-5-48.2(a)(2) states: "Finished goods" shall mean goods, wares, and merchandise of every character and kind but shall not include unrecovered, unextracted, or unsevered natural resources or raw materials or goods in the process of manufacture or production or the stock in trade of a retailer....
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Bd. of Tax Assessors v. Tom's Foods, Inc., 264 Ga. 309 (Ga. 1994).

Cited 14 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jun 27, 1994 | 444 S.E.2d 771, 94 Fulton County D. Rep. 2137

...Any return postmarked on or before March lst[, 1988] and received after March 5th [, 1988] would be brought before the Board ... for a decision. In its 1988 ad valorem tax return, appellee Tom’s Foods, Inc. applied for the freeport exemption on its inventory. See OCGA § 48-5-48.1....
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Levetan v. Lanier Worldwide, Inc., 265 Ga. 323 (Ga. 1995).

Cited 11 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 13, 1995 | 454 S.E.2d 504

...Jonathan A. Weintraub, Joan F. Roach, Lisa F. Stuckey, for appellants. Teddy R. Price, J. M. Raffauf, King & Spalding, Nolan C. Leake, Steven J. Estep, for appellees. HUNT, Chief Justice. In 1976, the Georgia legislature enacted the freeport exemption (OCGA § 48-5-48.2), a constitutional provision that authorizes counties and municipalities to exempt certain business inventories from ad valorem taxation....
...llect the sanitation fees. [1] Thomas Cook appeals the trial court's ruling as to his standing on the freeport exemption issue, and Lanier is an appellee with respect to the freeport exemption issue. 1. DeKalb County argues that the language of OCGA § 48-5-48.2, the freeport exemption statute, invests it with discretion to decide from which particular ad valorem taxes business inventories shall be exempted. We disagree. Under OCGA § 48-5-48.2 (b), DeKalb County "may ....
...ed that the exemption has been approved by the voters of the county. Further, once the voters have approved the exemption, the county has the authority to establish the percentage of the value of the property which will be exempt from taxation. OCGA § 48-5-48.2 (d)....
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Murray Bakery Prods., Inc. v. Bd. of Tax Assessors of Richmond Cnty., Georgia, 371 S.E.2d 393 (Ga. 1988).

Cited 3 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Sep 7, 1988 | 258 Ga. 484

...Burnside, Wall & Daniel, Robert C. Daniel, Jr., for appellee. GREGORY, Justice. This case involves the question of whether inventory items used to package cookies manufactured by the taxpayer are exempt from ad valorem taxation under the freeport exemption, OCGA § 48-5-48.2. The taxpayer, Murray Bakery Products (Murray), manufactures cookies in Richmond County, Georgia. It filed an inventory tax return seeking to exempt from ad valorem taxation, pursuant to OCGA § 48-5-48.2, the plastic trays, cellophane, caddies, cartons, cases, tapes, labels and liners it uses to package its cookies....
...Murray Bakery Products v. Bd. of Tax Assessors of Richmond County, 186 Ga. App. 559 (367 SE2d 852) (1988). This court granted certiorari to determine whether the packaging materials are exempt under the freeport exemption. 1. The freeport exemption, OCGA § 48-5-48.2, was enacted pursuant to Article VII, Section II, Paragraph III(a) of the 1982 Constitution of the State of Georgia....
...The trial court concluded that the items in question are not raw materials within the meaning of the exemption, because they are not "crude or processed" materials which can be "converted by manufacture, processing or combination into a new and useful product." OCGA § 48-5-48.2 (3) (b)....
...Assume Murray assembles the cookies in its boxes prior to sealing and shipment. The product is packaged cookies, but Murray could not claim that the cookies are property which is "substantially changed" during the ordinary course of its manufacturing operation so as to exempt them from ad valorem taxation under OCGA § 48-5-48.2....