In 2026, Glynn County kept its general fund millage at 3.864 mills, the same rate it has used for four years. The county also approved 14.90 mills for Glynn County Schools, which was likewise unchanged, according to The Brunswick News. Both rates were still advertised as tax increases. On St. Simons Island, whether a given owner feels that increase depends less on the house than on the year the current owner's homestead exemption began. Two neighbors in matching cottages can pay very different amounts, and the gap tends to open up in a buyer's first years.
A flat rate that was published as an increase
In August 2026, the county announced that its tentatively adopted 3.864-mill rate was 6.65% above the rollback rate, and it scheduled public hearings for August 18, 20 and 27. The school system's notice said its tentative 14.90 mills compared with a rollback rate of 13.99 mills, which it described as a 6.44% tax increase.
Both statements are accurate. The rate stayed the same, and the gap to the rollback rate tracks growth in the assessed values the rate is applied to. That growth doesn't reach every homeowner equally. It mostly lands on property whose taxable value can still move.
The St. Simons share of that rate looks like this on the Glynn County Tax Commissioner's 2026 rate sheet for District 4:
| Levy | 2026 mills |
|---|---|
| County maintenance and operations | 3.864 |
| Fire | 1.500 |
| Capital projects | 0.860 |
| Schools | 14.900 |
| EMS | 1.100 |
| Police | 1.850 |
| Total, District 4 | 24.074 |
Georgia assesses property at 40% of fair market value. A mill is one dollar per $1,000 of assessed value. So for a home valued at $1,000,000, the assessment is $400,000, and the full District 4 rate applied to it comes to about $9,630 before any exemptions. This is only an illustration of the math, not a quote for any property. The question that matters is which value those mills land on, and that depends on the owner.
The freeze follows the owner, not the address
Glynn County has its own local exemption, the Scarlett-Williams Homestead Valuation Freeze, listed as L5 on the county's homestead page. The county's application describes how it works. The freeze locks the valuation at the taxable year immediately before the year the homestead exemption was first granted. That value stays in place as long as the homeowner owns the property, lives there and makes no major improvements.
The Tax Commissioner's FAQ says the L5 exemption "freezes 40% of the the market value of your property for your qualifying year. It does not freeze the entire bill." The same page puts the regular homestead exemption's savings at up to $100 off the bill. Most of the protection comes from the frozen value, not from that flat deduction.
The base-year rule has been fought over in court. The Brunswick News reported that a class action led the Georgia Court of Appeals to rule that the county had been applying the exemption incorrectly. The base year had to be the year before the application, not the year the owner applied. The paper reported that the base year for 17,142 homestead exemptions had to be reset to the prior year for the 2019 tax digest, and that the county would stop honoring "re-freezes" at later, lower values going forward. That's an older story. What it still shows is how much hangs on a single base year in this county.
A second layer sits on top of that one. In November 2024, 62.7% of Glynn County voters supported the statewide floating homestead exemption created by HB 581. The county's February 24, 2025 release confirmed that Glynn would remain in it. The Brunswick News reported that the county, Glynn County Schools and Brunswick City Hall all chose not to opt out by the deadline.
"The bottom line is that staying in HB 581 provides more choices, not fewer, for our residents," Commissioner Walter Rafolski said in the county's release.
Under the HB 581 text, the floating exemption shields increases in a homestead's assessed value above its base-year value, beyond an annual inflation allowance. It does not cap the millage rate. It also says outright that the exemption does not transfer to a later owner. It can't be stacked with another base-year exemption for the same taxing jurisdiction. Glynn says homeowners may choose whichever option benefits them more.
Neither protection travels with the house. When a home sells, the seller's base year stays with the seller.
How a buyer's base year gets set
For someone moving to St. Simons full time, the order of events matters more than any one rate.
- Closing. HB 581 makes the most recent arm's-length sale price the maximum allowable fair market value for the next tax year. Your purchase price therefore sets the ceiling for what the county can call the home's value.
- January 1. To claim a homestead exemption for a tax year, you must own the home and use it as your legal residence on January 1 of that year. Neither you nor your spouse can hold a homestead exemption on any other property.
- Application. Glynn's usual deadline is April 1. Under House Bill 92, the county also accepts homestead applications within the 45-day appeal window after assessment notices go out. A change in ownership requires a new application, and the seller's exemption ends with the sale.
- Base year. For the Scarlett-Williams freeze, the base year is the taxable year just before the exemption is first granted. For a recent buyer, that's a recent year at recent values.
- Assessment notice. The county's June 12, 2026 guide explains that notices show appraised value, taxable value, exemptions and the appeal deadline, and that owners have 45 days to appeal the market value.
The difference between neighbors comes from this sequence. An owner who first received a homestead exemption years ago has a taxable value tied to that earlier year. A buyer who closed this year has one tied to now. The same 24.074 mills then apply to two very different numbers.
The county's sources don't say exactly which District 4 levies the L5 freeze covers, so check the exemption lines on an actual bill rather than assuming the freeze applies to every row of the table above.
The second-home buyer starts with no base year at all
A large share of island buyers purchase a second home or a rental. To qualify for homestead, the home has to be the owner's legal residence on January 1. A second home doesn't qualify, so it gets neither the Scarlett-Williams freeze nor HB 581's floating exemption. Its taxable value follows the market every year, and it pays the full rate sheet on that value.
The rollback notices become concrete here. If the county holds the rate while values rise, the owners whose values are free to rise carry more of the added revenue. Owners with an older frozen base carry less.
Reading the tax figure on a home you're considering
The property tax amount attached to a St. Simons home reflects the current owner's exemptions and base year, not yours. If the seller has lived there for years with an L5 freeze, the bill you see may say little about what you'll pay after a sale resets the history.
Two other details tend to cause confusion. Brunswick's HOME Act is a separate homestead benefit approved by city voters that applies to homes inside Brunswick city limits, so it doesn't cover St. Simons Island property. And the 2026 General Assembly passed SB 33, which the Georgia Municipal Association says brings localities that opted out of HB 581 under its framework without capping local revenues. Glynn County was already in, so the structure described here stays the same for island owners.
FAQ
Does the seller's Scarlett-Williams freeze carry over to me? No. The freeze lasts while the homeowner owns and lives in the property. A new owner applies separately, and HB 581's exemption expressly does not pass to a later owner.
Can a homeowner have both the L5 freeze and HB 581? Not for the same taxing jurisdiction. Glynn County says homeowners can compare the two and choose the more beneficial one.
Where do I apply? In person at the Glynn County Property Appraisal Office, 1725 Reynolds Street, Suite 101, Brunswick. Bring proof of ownership and a photo ID that shows the property address.
This post is general information about how Glynn County's exemptions work, not legal, tax or financial advice. For your own property, please confirm the details with the Property Appraisal Office or a tax professional.
If you're comparing St. Simons homes and want to understand what a listing's tax history really reflects, Ganten Kirby can go through the seller's exemption codes with you before you make an offer. If you own on the island and are weighing a sale against your current base year, start with a complimentary home valuation.
