- Thomas County voters will decide on a 1% sales tax increase that could cut property taxes nearly in half.
- All six cities in the county have agreed to the plan after months of discussions.
- Watch the video to see how much more you’d pay at checkout—and how much you could save on property taxes.
BROADCAST SCRIPT
If you buy anything in Thomas County, you could soon be paying an extra penny on every dollar—but for homeowners, that could mean big savings.
This new sales tax could lower property taxes but what does it mean for shoppers and businesses?
Right now, if you take a typical grocery trip and spend $100, you're paying $7 in sales tax.
Under this new plan, that would go up to $8.
The reason? That extra penny is legally required to go straight towards reducing property taxes.
For months, cities like Pavo, Barwick, and Ochlocknee were considering opting out.
But after meetings and discussions, all six mayors and the county board chairman signed the agreement.
"We took the time to go to all the municipalities, we spent time at their meetings, and they had some legitimate concerns about how the floating homestead exemption was going to work and also how the flexible local option sales tax would work," said county manager Michael Stephenson.
So what does this actually mean for homeowners? If you own property in Thomas County, you'll get a tax break.
For example, if your home is worth $250,000 and you currently pay around $2,000 in property taxes each year, once this plan is fully in place, you will pay 55% less property taxes, and your tax bill could drop to under $1,000.
"We have to collect the sales tax first and then as we collect the sales tax, then it's rolled off of the property tax," said Stephenson.
For business owners like Mark Harkness, who has run a shop in downtown Thomasville for over 80 years, the idea of shifting the tax burden makes sense.
He pays about $2,500 in property taxes every year between his home and business—and he's noticed one thing:
"They've been going up," said Harkness.
Mark bought his home in the early '90s, and over the years, property taxes have kept rising.
"I think it's a lot fairer to do it rather than just the property owners pay all the tax," said Harkness.
The referendum for the sales tax increase is expected to be on the ballot on March 18th.
"I've never seen taxes go down, so we'll see what happens," said Harkness.
"If it's approved by the voters, then the vendors, all the retail vendors in Thomas County, they will be notified by the Georgia Department of Revenue, and they will begin collecting the tax July the first," said Stephenson.
Homeowners, mark your calendars—property tax relief begins in 2026, with full impact by 2027.
