The Columbus Tax Trap: Back-to-Back Digest Hikes Are Squeezing Your Cap Rate

kyleaisaacs
Dec 16, 2025
2 min read

Columbus demand is real. The problem is fixed costs. Muscogee County’s tax digest climbed about 7% last year and the Assessor signaled roughly 11% “catch-up” this year. If your property is non-homestead, that flows straight into your bill, compresses NOI, and drags your cap rate.

This isn’t a reason to panic. It’s a reason to run the right playbook fast.

What the digest hikes do to your numbers

Georgia taxes are based on 40% of fair market value multiplied by the millage rate. Example:

FMV: $300,000
Assessed value (40%): $120,000
Millage (illustrative): 28 mills
Tax = $120,000 × 0.028 = $3,360

Now layer the “catch-up”:

After ~7% digest growth: assessed value ≈ $128,400 → tax ≈ $3,595
After a further ~11%: assessed ≈ $142,524 → tax ≈ $3,990

That’s roughly +$630/year on one average asset with no added rent. Multiply across a portfolio and your NOI takes the hit.

Why investors feel it more

Owner-occupied homes benefit from freezes/credits. Non-homestead rentals don’t. Your line item moves with the digest and the rate. Result: even well-run properties can look worse on paper unless you 1) fight valuation, and 2) out-earn the inflation.

Two-part defense that actually works

1) Appeal the assessment with a specialist

You typically have 45 days from the Assessment Notice to file. A competent appeal targets valuation errors, inequitable assessments, or condition issues and can lock in savings for multiple years when successful. We refer owners to vetted tax-appeal pros who live in this trench.

2) Run revenue at the top tier

You can’t cut your way to victory. You have to out-earn the fixed-cost creep.

Short-term (STR): Dynamic pricing around Fort Benning graduations, conventions, and hospital rotations; rapid turns; quality control that sustains 5-star standards; lawful local-agent compliance.
Long-term (LTR): Faster leasing with video tours, strict delinquency controls, no-markup maintenance coordination, and transparent reporting.
Small multifamily: Tight make-ready schedule, RUBS/utility bill-backs where appropriate, preventative maintenance calendar, parking control, and smart-lock access to cut re-key costs.

We run this playbook every week. It’s not glamorous; it’s effective.

STR note: high guest taxes raise the bar

Columbus stays carry hotel/motel tax collected at checkout. Guests will pay a premium; the property has to justify it. That’s where operational discipline pays: better reviews, higher conversion, stronger RevPAR, less vacancy. You keep margin even while taxes creep.

When to pivot (or not)

If your DSCR is <1.20 after the digest increase, you either win the appeal, lift revenue, or consider a disposition/1031 into higher-yield Columbus stock.
If you’re 1.25–1.40, revenue optimization plus a successful appeal usually restores breathing room.
If you’re >1.40, don’t get cute. Bank reserves, keep rents aligned with BAH and comps, and stay aggressive on appeals.

Bottom line

Columbus remains the cash-flow market in Georgia because demand is stable and supply growth is rational. The digest hikes don’t change that; they just punish passive ownership. Appeal what you can control, and operate the asset like it matters. Because it does.