Topics of Interest & What They Mean to You

The Lilburn City Council approved & adopted a resolution June 14, 2021, that authorized city staff to perform billing and collection services for ad valorem property taxes, streetlight and solid waste fees. At the September 8, 2025 council meeting, a resolution adopting the billing date as on or before October 1, 2025, and the collection due to the City of Lilburn date of said billing as December 1, 2025. Prior to this, Gwinnett County billed and collected on the City of Lilburn’s behalf.  Gwinnett County bills for services provided by them & the Board of Education, and Lilburn bills for Police protection and Code Enforcement, for repair & maintenance of our Park and Public Streets, for city Events, for maintenance of the city’s buildings, and for the administration of the Lilburn Government.  The property tax mail out date remains as September 15th and collection due date remains a November 15th.

The most logical reason for this occurrence may be that Gwinnett County has an additional exemption that is automatically applied when any homestead exemption is granted. THIS EXEMPTION APPLIES ONLY TO GWINNETT COUNTY and not Lilburn City Taxes.  The Value Offset Exemption (VOE) holds the assessed value of a property constant for the county tax portion of your bill, even if there is an increase in property value.  School and city taxes continue to be taxed at the current assessed value.  It applies to the home and up to five acres of land.

During the 2024 Legislative session, the Senate and House leaders were concerned about rising property value assessments and in turn property tax. To relieve stress on their constituents, HB 581 was signed into law on April 18, 2024 contingent upon the November Statewide Referendum which was approved in Gwinnett County by a 63.72% margin.

The major components of the bill that will affect you includes a statewide floating homestead exemption.  This bill will take effect January 1, 2025 for all property owners with a homestead exemption provided that the counties, municipalities, or school boards do not vote to “opt out.”

A floating homestead is a special type of homestead exemption designed to offset or reduce increases in taxable value to the property, also known as a Value Offset Exemption (VOE).  This exemption differs from a “Freeze” as it includes and annual inflationary adjustment.

This new exemption works by increasing the value of the exemption to offset inflation.  The 2024 base year assessed value will be adjusted each year by a rate of inflation determined by the State Revenue Commissioner (most likely CPI) of the previous year.  For homes first receiving the exemption in later years, the base year assessed value will be the assessed value for the immediately preceding year.  Similar to other homestead exemptions, the value will be reset when the home is sold and is adjusted to current assessed value.  Homeowners cannot transfer exemption to a new property.

"Millage" or "millage rate" means the levy, in mills, which is established by the governing authority for purposes of financing, in whole or in part, the taxing jurisdiction's expenses for its fiscal year. A tax rate of one mill represents a tax liability of one dollar per $1,000 of assessed value. The tax rate, or millage, is set annually by the Lilburn City Council, typically around early summer. A press release, legal organ advertisement, and notification on our website must invite all concerned citizens to a date/time-specific public hearing regarding any potential tax increase. The City of Lilburn has maintained the same millage rate (4.43 mills) for the past 10 years.

Real Property

The REAL property (immovable property-land and anything attached to the land) tax levied on a property can be calculated as follows:
(Mill Rate x Taxable Property Value) / 1,000 = Property Tax

For example, if the local mill rate is 4.43, this means that for every $1,000 of assessed value, $4.43 is owed in property taxes. If a taxpayer's personal residence has a taxable value of $150,000, then the property tax bill for their residence is:
(4.43 x 150,000) / 1,000 = $664.50
(In addition to the tax calculation on your property tax bill, there is a streetlight assessment and the annual sanitation fee.)

If your tax bill only lists the Jan. 1 owner’s information and does not reflect any of the current owner’s information, contact the tax assessor’s office at 770-822-7200 or at taxpayer.services@gwinnettcounty.com.

We do not send tax bills to mortgage companies. If your property taxes are in an escrow account, your property tax information will be made available to your mortgage company as requested; however, it is ultimately your responsibility to ensure taxes are paid. If you have questions about whether your mortgage will be paying your taxes, contact them, especially if your mortgage company has recently changed and to alert them of the separate bill for your City of Lilburn Taxes. 

Personal Property

The PERSONAL property (movable property-everything except land) tax is based on the same calculation as Real.  

Business Owners who have inventory as of January 1 of taxable personal property must file a property return by April 1 with the Gwinnett County Tax Assessor’s Office. If return is not filed, the Tax Assessor will assign a value. You have the right to appeal the value. For more information, contact the Gwinnett County Assessor’s Office at (770) 822-7220.

Real & Personal Propoerty

If you appealed your value, and it’s not yet settled, you must pay the estimated bill by the deadline or be subject to penalties and interest for late payment. When the appeal is settled, you will receive an adjusted bill.  

Payment Methods

• Mail checks to the City of Lilburn, 340 Main Street, Lilburn, GA  30047.
• Cash, Credit/Debit cards, money orders and checks are accepted
• A payment drop box is located at the Lilburn Police Department Headquarters (4600 Lawrenceville Hwy, Lilburn, GA 30047) through the first double doors for after-hour payment by CHECK ONLY. (Be sure to enclose the remittance stub to ensure that your account is properly credited.)
• Pay in person during regular business hours at 340 Main Street, 1st floor Business Services. Cash, checks, credit, and debit cards accepted. Service fees apply to credit and debit cards.
• Pay online at www.cityoflilburn.com 

Other Helpful Links

• Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner at www.gwinnetttaxcommissioner.com or (770) 822-8800
• Gwinnett County Tax Assessor at (770) 822-7220

ADDITIONALLY, ALL ADDRESS CHANGES MUST ALSO BE MADE WITH THE GWINNETT COUNTY TAX COMMISSIONERS OFFICE.

Yes!

The operating budget is probably a municipality’s most important work product. It serves as a financial planning & communication tool, an operations guide, an allocation of resources, a description of governmental activities, but at the most basic level it gives local government officials the authority to incur obligations and pay expenses-this is a policy document. The budget process sets policies that determine the quality and quantity of services to be furnished to the community for the ensuing fiscal year.  As the departments deliver the services to City taxpayers, each department’s participation in this process is vital to produce a budget that conveys our wider vision for the future of the City of Lilburn.

Georgia law requires a municipality’s staff to propose a budget, requires that citizens have an opportunity for public review, and requires that the Mayor and Council adopt an annual balanced budget for each fund, meaning that the sum of the estimated revenues equate to the appropriations.