The property tax figure on a Pooler listing tells you about the seller. It shows what one owner pays after years of base-year protection. When you buy the house, that protection doesn't come with it. In Chatham County, two separate exemptions hold a long-time owner's taxable value below market value. Neither one transfers at closing. A buyer starts over at a value much closer to today's market, so the bill that matters is the one the house would carry under a new owner.
Two locks on one bill
A typical Pooler homeowner's taxes are shaped by two base-year exemptions, and they come from different places.
The older one is local. Chatham County's Stephens-Day exemption equals the gap between the current fair market value and an "adjusted base year value." The county defines that as the property's value in the year before the owner applied for homestead, plus any improvements made since then. Chatham County Board of Assessors The Tax Commissioner's guide to reading a property tax bill calls it a "locked in value," which is used instead of fair market value for Chatham County taxes as long as the property doesn't change. For the County School M&O line, the base is compounded each year by the federal Consumer Price Index, so the school portion rises slowly instead of staying flat.
The newer one comes from the state. Georgia's HB 581, passed in 2024, created a statewide floating homestead exemption. Each year it exempts the amount by which a home's assessed value has grown beyond its adjusted base year value. Georgia General Assembly For 2026, the Georgia Department of Revenue set the inflation index that adjusts that base at 2.7%, based on the change in CPI-U reported for December 2025. Georgia DOR bulletin
These two protections don't cover the same parts of the bill. That uneven coverage is why the gap between a seller's bill and a buyer's bill can be wide.
Where each lock applies in Pooler
Local governments and school districts could opt out of HB 581 by the 2025 deadline. The Georgia Secretary of State's list of opt-outs received by the deadline includes Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools on February 27, 2025, and the Chatham County School Board on February 28, 2025. Neither Chatham County government nor the City of Pooler appears on that list.
According to the Savannah Morning News, the school board voted 5–3 on February 26, 2025, to opt out. The district's position was that HB 581 was unnecessary because Chatham already had Stephens-Day. The three members in the minority wanted to opt in so taxpayers could use whichever exemption produced the lower taxable value.
Pooler's own record is less complete. In January 2025 the city published a notice of intent to opt out and scheduled hearings for February 10 and February 18. The notice said a resolution would come to a vote on February 18 only if Council decided to opt out. The city isn't on the state's roster of timely opt-outs, which points to Pooler staying in. We didn't find a final council resolution confirming either way.
A follow-up law, HB 92, lets a body that opted out reverse that choice by March 1 in tax years 2026 through 2029. Georgia General Assembly We found no reporting that the Savannah-Chatham board reversed its decision before the 2026 deadline.
Here is how the main lines on a Pooler bill line up for tax year 2026, using the Tax Commissioner's published millage rates:
| Line on the bill | 2026 millage | Base-year protection, per the sources |
|---|---|---|
| County Maintenance & Operations | 10.518 | Stephens-Day locked value; county also remained in HB 581 |
| School | 17.331 | Stephens-Day base compounded by CPI; school board opted out of HB 581 |
| City of Pooler | 4.096 | Not on HB 581 opt-out roster; Stephens-Day coverage of this levy is not specified in county materials |
The largest rate on the bill is the school levy, and it follows the Stephens-Day CPI formula alone. That makes the length of the seller's ownership most visible on that line.
What a sale resets
Neither lock stays with the house. HB 581 says plainly that the exemption doesn't transfer to any later owner. The one exception is a surviving spouse who keeps living in the home. For a new applicant, the base is the assessed value "from the taxable year immediately preceding the taxable year in which the exemption … is first granted." Stephens-Day uses a similar formula. Its base is the value in the year before the owner's homestead application. The county page doesn't describe a sale-triggered reset in so many words, but a new owner files a new application, and that sets a new base year.
In order, it works like this for a buyer:
- Ownership date. Chatham homestead eligibility goes to residents who own and occupy the home as their permanent residence as of January 1 of the tax year.
- Application. The owner named on the title applies in person, unless another party holds power of attorney.
- New base year. Both formulas set the base from the year before the exemption is first granted, which is a value much closer to the purchase than to the seller's original base.
- Protection starts again. From that point, the buyer's taxable value is shielded from future growth, just as the seller's was.
So a seller who has owned for a decade is taxed at a base set roughly ten years ago, adjusted only by CPI on the school line. The buyer's base starts close to today's value.
Why 2026 widened the gap
Starting over costs more when assessments rise and taxing bodies keep their rates above rollback. In 2026, two of the three bodies on a Pooler bill did that.
- Schools: The Savannah-Chatham board advertised 17.331 mills against a rollback rate of 17.049. SCCPSS notice WTOC reported that the board adopted 17.331 in a 6–3 vote. The district estimated the change at about $28 more per year on a typical $250,000 home, because higher assessments raise collections even when the rate stays the same.
- County: The county's 2026 notice listed a rollback rate of 10.188 for General M&O. Chatham County The Tax Commissioner's 2026 schedule shows 10.518, the same rate the county has carried every year since 2022.
- Pooler: City Council adopted the full rollback rate for 2026, lowering the city rate from 4.197 to 4.096 mills. City of Pooler The rate was 3.78 in 2024, so the 2026 rate is still above that level.
For an owner with an old base, a flat rate on a rising assessment matters very little, because their taxable value barely moves. For a new owner whose base is set near today's value, every year of appreciation the seller was shielded from is part of the starting point.
Some quick math shows the scale. Georgia taxes on 40% of fair market value. At the 2026 rates above, each $100,000 of fair market value, assessed at 40% or $40,000, works out to roughly:
| Levy | Per $100,000 of fair market value, before credits |
|---|---|
| School at 17.331 mills | about $693 |
| County M&O at 10.518 mills | about $421 |
| City of Pooler at 4.096 mills | about $164 |
| Combined | about $1,278 |
These are gross amounts. The bill guide notes that sales tax credits are subtracted for each taxing jurisdiction. Even so, if a seller's protected value sits $100,000 below current market, the difference on a buyer's bill can approach four figures a year across these three lines.
A tax season that ran late
The 2026 calendar made all of this harder to see. WTOC reported that Chatham's 2026 assessment notices went out June 16. The homestead, Stephens-Day, and appeal deadlines were moved to July 31 under recently enacted legislation. In a July 24 WTOC report, local agents said some clients received tax information after the standard 45-day appeal window. One said a client's bill reflected more than $100,000 in appreciation in a single year, which the agent didn't believe the home could sell for. According to WTOC, second-installment bills were mailed in mid-September and are due November 16.
For a buyer making an offer this fall, that means the newest bill on a listing reflects a contested assessment layered on top of the seller's protected base. For a closer read on the rest of the Pooler market, see our Pooler neighborhood page and our earlier guide to housing, commutes, and daily life in Pooler.
FAQ
Does Stephens-Day or HB 581 transfer to me when I buy? HB 581 doesn't transfer to later owners, except to a surviving spouse who keeps living in the home. Stephens-Day is tied to the owner's own homestead application, so a new owner's base comes from that owner's application year.
Where do I see a seller's locked value on the bill? Chatham bills show a "Stephens/Day" value and a separate "Stephens/Day CPI" value. The first is used for Chatham County taxes and the second for County School M&O. Comparing those to the bill's fair market value shows how much protection the seller has built up.
Who sends the Pooler tax bill? The Chatham County Tax Commissioner collects for the county, the school board, CAT, and local municipalities including Pooler. Savannah and Thunderbolt send separate bills.
Could the school district still opt into HB 581? Under HB 92, a body that opted out can opt back in by March 1 in any tax year from 2027 through 2029.
If you're weighing a Pooler home and want a sense of what its tax bill could look like with you as the owner, Devin Pickett can go through the seller's bill with you line by line, base years included, before you write an offer. Book a Consultation and we'll start with the property you have in mind.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
