Fulton homeowner thought he’d filed for homestead exemption. County says he didn’t hit submit

A Fulton County homeowner says he uploaded everything he needed to get the annual homestead exemption, but he got stuck with a big tax bill anyway.

“My chin dropped when I opened it and saw it. I was like, what the?” William Panzarella told Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray.

Panzarella thought he had submitted for his homestead exemption months ago, back in March before the Fulton County annual deadline.

When he got his tax bill that was thousands of dollars more than he expected he called the Fulton County Tax Assessors’ office about what he was sure was a mistake.

‘She’s like, well, you didn’t hit submit. and I was like, ‘What?’ I said, ‘I have the receipt right here,’” Panzarella said.

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He received an email from Fulton County in the spring showing he had uploaded all the documents and information for his midtown Atlanta condo, but the county says he didn’t properly submit it. He did not hit the submit button. It’s something a staffer told him happens often.

“I’m just curious if anybody else is having troubles like this and how can we get Fulton County to fix it?” said Panzarella’s real estate agent Rich Sullivan.

He wants to know how many others are experiencing the same issue.

“I want to get to the bottom of this because this is thousands of dollars,” Sullivan said.

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In this case, Fulton County told Channel 2 Action News that Panzarella is past the appeal date and must pay the full tax bill. He can resubmit his homestead exemption for next year.

Fulton County released a statement that read:

“In some cases, property owners start the process, but have not yet provided all of the required documentation. these applications are incomplete until all required documentation is submitted. after assessment notices are mailed each year, there is an appeal window in which property owners are able to appeal denial of homestead exemptions…”

Fulton says Panzarella is past that appeal deadline.

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