Most landowners in Macon County will be paying more in property tax starting in 2023, due to a rise in land values mostly out-pacing the 13-cent tax reduction, according to data from the Macon County Tax Office.
The Franklin Press obtained data from all 44,130 parcels of taxable land in Macon County, including what valuations were before and after the 2023 revaluation.
Of the 44,130 different parcels in Macon County, the owners of 24,017 parcels, or 54.42%, will pay more in taxes going forward despite the tax rate dropping from 40 cents to 27 cents per $100 valuation. The owners of 19,445 parcels, or 44.06%, will pay less in taxes, while four parcels will have virtually the same tax rate, and the remaining 664 parcels did not exist in the prior revaluation.
The average tax per parcel in Macon County went up $14.16, from $776.87 to $791.03. The total property assessed value in Macon County increased 43.76% from $8,441,897,785 to $12,136,454,695.
One theme in the 2023 revaluations was the increase in million-dollar-plus parcels by 116%, from 1,126 to 2,437. Those parcels accounted for 2.59% of the 43,466 taxed property in 2022 and now make up 5.52% of the 44,130 taxable parcels.
Of those 2,437 million-dollar parcels, four of every five are in or around Highlands, with 1,049 in the Highlands City township and 915 in the Highlands township.
On the other end, the number of properties valued under $100,000 dropped 17% from 22,403 before the revaluations to 18,701 after. All 13 Macon County townships saw a drop in sub-$100,000 parcels.
The total number of parcels valued at $100,000 to $249,999.99 also dropped, but only slightly, from 12,604 to 11,245, with 12 of the 13 townships (Ellijay being the lone exception) having a decrease. The total number of parcels that are valued at $250,000 and up sharply increased with parcels worth between $250,000 and $499,999.99 up 62.19% from 5,071 to 8,154. and those valued between $500,000 and $999,999.99 up 62.95% from 2,262 to 3,593.
Per parcel, the most expensive place to live remains in the Highlands City township, with an average parcel value shooting up from $642,498.37 to $1,022,804.76. The Highlands township is the second-most expensive, going from an average parcel value of $428,770.96 to $684,696.30. The third-highest per parcel average value is Franklin City at $381,108.33.
For owners of the 18,701 parcels valued between $1 and $99,999.99, nearly two thirds, 12,248, will have a lower tax bill in the coming year.
However, for parcels valued $100,000 and more, the tax bill for Macon County landowners will mostly be higher. Of the 11,245 parcels valued between $100,000 and $249,999.99, more than 70%, 7,946, will result in a higher tax bill. That number jumps up to 75.52% (6,158 out of 8,154) for parcels valued between $250,000 and $499,999.99 and stays at 69.8% for parcels between $500,000 and $999,999.99 (2,508 out of 3,593).
Of the 2,438 lots valued at $1 million or more in 2023, two thirds (1,620 or 66.48%) will pay more. Of the 1,125 parcels assessed over $1 million previously, 28 are now valued at less than a million. Macon County gained 1,338 million-dollar-plus parcels in the revaluation.
The 2023 revaluation included 664 new properties. Those properties now have an average assessed value of $275,638, with the highest being $19.459 million. The majority of those new parcels, 361 (54.38%), are valued under $100,000, and 30 are now valued in excess of $1 million. Those parcels net an average of $744.22 each in property tax, or $494,162.08 in total new property value. The total assessed value for those previously non-assessed parcels is over $183 million and will generate $494,164.40 in property taxes.
Despite the overall tax increase for most property owners, most of the districts went down in average tax per parcel. Eight of the 13 districts will have a lower average mill rate: Franklin City (-$124.24), Burningtown (-$26.29), Nantahala (-$10.59), Cartoogechaye (-$11.96), Smithbridge (-$2.58), Flats ($-56.89), Sugarfork (-$15.29) and Franklin (-$3.66).
The two biggest areas that saw per parcel tax increases due to land valuation were Highlands City ($191.58) and Highlands ($133.60). Cowee was up an average of $2.39 per parcel, Ellijay up $15.35 and Millshoal up $4.96. All these per parcel tax averages do not include the 664 properties that didn’t have any listed land value prior to 2023.