Property Tax

General Information

Property Taxes for the City of Pine Lake are collected by the Dekalb County Tax Commissioner's Office based on assessed value as determined by the Dekalb Property Appraisal office. To look up information about your property or any property in Dekalb county go to Data / Property Search.

In Pine Lake, property taxes include both a County and a City component. The millage rate for the City portion is set each year by the City Council. These are the steps:

Dekalb County publishes the “Tax Digest,” which is simply a listing of the properties with their assessed value and applicable exemptions.
Pine Lake publishes the millage rate that it expects to pass and the dates and times for hearing(s) regarding the setting of the millage rate (three hearings if the City proposes an increase, one hearing if no increase).
City Sets the rate at the council meeting following the final hearing.
City notifies The State of Georgia and Dekalb County of the new rate.
Dekalb County issues property tax bills based on the new rate.

Some additional fees are collected by Dekalb County on behalf of Pine Lake on the property tax bill. Your property tax bill may indicate the following as taxes, but they are actually fees and therefore are not deductible as Property Taxes on your Federal Tax Return.

Storm Water Fee - The city is responsible for the maintenance of the storm water infrastructure within the city. Storm water fees are used solely for this purpose and these funds are not co-mingled with the General Fund. The current Storm water fee is $100 Per ERU (Equivalent Residential Unit). Each residential property is charged at one (1) unit. Non-residential properties are evaluated separately and assigned an ERU upon which this fee is based.

Sanitation Fee - This fee is for trash and recyclable pickup. The city contracts with an outside vendor for this service. Currently the sanitation fee is $225.00.

Plot fee is a fee assessed to each property for the upkeep of public property, such as the lake and wetlands. The current Plot fee is $97.50.