Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: Georgia protects up to $50,000 (effective July 1, 2026, under House Bill 1024, up from $21,500) of a debtor’s interest in real or personal property used as a residence. If title to the residence is held by one of two spouses who is a debtor and the residence is the primary residence of both spouses, the protected amount is $100,000 (up from $43,000). Beginning July 1, 2031, both amounts are to be multiplied annually by an inflation rate.
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This just changed a lot. Georgia’s exemption more than doubled on July 1, 2026, from $21,500/$43,000 to today’s $50,000/$100,000, a large enough change that older articles elsewhere online likely still show the smaller numbers.
This is protection against an ordinary money judgment creditor under O.C.G.A. §§ 44-13-1, 44-13-100(a)(1), a different question from a property tax bill or exemption, which this page does not cover.
How it works in Georgia
- Filing rule not addressed in the cited source. Confirm with a local attorney or your county recorder before relying on this being automatic.
- Married couples and joint owners: If title to the residence is held by one of two spouses who is a debtor and the property is the primary residence of both spouses, the exemption amount is $100,000.
What it does not protect against
Taxes, purchase-money debt on the property, labor performed on the property, materials furnished for it, and removing an encumbrance from the property.
Read it yourself
Verbatim from O.C.G.A. §§ 44-13-1, 44-13-100(a)(1): “the debtor’s aggregate interest, not to exceed $50,000.00 in value, in real property or personal property that the debtor or a dependent of the debtor uses as a residence” Read the full official text before relying on any figure here. Exemption law is fact-specific, and this is a source-backed planning guide, not individualized legal advice.
Figures verified against Georgia House Bill 1024 (2026, as passed, published by the office of the Governor) and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Georgia notice of June 12, 2026 on September 30, 2026; the list of excluded debts and the O.C.G.A. § 44-13-1 cross-reference were not re-checked.