The deadline to apply for homestead exemptions in Bryan County.

Here's information on the exemptions from Tax Commissioner Debra Newman:

"Homestead exemption applies to property that is owned by the taxpayer and occupied as his or her legal residence. You must be a Georgia resident to apply for this exemption. Military personnel that claim another state as their legal state of residence would not be eligible for this exemption.

To receive the benefit of the homestead exemption, the taxpayer must file an initial application. The application is filed with the Tax Commissioner. Georgia law does allow for year-round filing but the application must be received by April 1 of the year for which the exemption is first claimed by the taxpayer. Homestead applications received after that date will be applied to the next tax year.

Once granted the homestead exemption is automatically renewed each year and the taxpayer does not have to apply again unless there is a change of ownership or the taxpayer seeks to qualify for a different kind of exemption.

In Bryan County, we have local exemptions which supersede the state exemptions. For regular taxpayer (under 65 years old), we are eligible for the standard local exemption of $2,000 off state and school portion of our taxes and a $30,000 exemption off our county portion of taxes. For taxpayers who are 65 years old or older on January 1st of the year in which they first apply, there is a $50,000 exemption across the board on state, county and school. We also have an exemption for Disabled Veterans who have been certified by the VA as being 100% disabled with a service connected disability. This is also a $50,000 exemption. There are also exemptions available for unremarried surviving spouses of Disabled Veterans who had qualified for the exemption; we also have an exemption for unremarried spouses of Peace Officers or Firefighters who were killed in the line of duty.

Applications can be obtained by going to one of the Tax Commissioner's offices - in North Bryan we are located at 11 North Courthouse Street in Pembroke across from the Courthouse; in South Bryan we are located in Richmond Hill at 185 Richard Davis Drive in the Jack Kingston Building near Gregory Park. Our office hours are 8:00 am until 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. If you would like, applications can be mailed to you by calling the Pembroke office at 653-3880. If you have any questions concerning these exemptions or qualification for the exemptions, please call our office."