The much-anticipated House Bills 111 (tax cuts) and 112 (tax refund) were approved by the Georgia legislative assembly on Friday. Georgia lawmakers passed the bill with the House voting 170-5, while the Senate voted 54-1 for the bill. Now, the bill awaits Governor Brian Kemp’s signature to make it law and implement the policies.
The Georgia government introduced its plan for a tax rebate and tax cut in October 2024, which will return approximately $ 1 billion to the taxpayers. This is the third consecutive year that the government has come up with special tax rebates.
With these tax rebates, Georgians can receive a rebate of up to $500 and save their taxes with tax cuts. The government believes these one-time special tax rebates are much more effective than the tax exemption or reduction because taxpayers are receiving their hard-earned money back.
| Georgia Tax Rebate | Up to 500 (depending on the filing status) |
| Tax Cut | 5.19% from 5.39% |
| Tax Cut Effective | 01 July 2025 |
| Passed | House & senate both |
| What’s Next? | Require the Governor’s Signature to make it law |
| Tax Deadline | 01 May 2025 |
| Taxpayers Benefit | $869 million saved in a year |
| Official Website | https://dor.georgia.gov/ |
Tax Rebate
Under House Bill 112, the Georgia government will offer tax rebates to all taxpayers if the bill becomes law. The Georgia state taxpayers can get the following amount based on their filing status:
- Single Georgia taxpayers can receive a rebate of up to $250;
- Head of household filers will receive the rebate up to $375;
- Married couples who file jointly will receive the rebate of up to $500.
According to the government, the Georgians would have some financial relief through the rebate with the increasing cost of living and high energy prices. This special tax refund is the third rebate package in the consecutive three years.
Taxpayers should know that they would not get back more taxes than they paid in the 2023 tax year, which means taxpayers with low income can get less rebate if possible. The government says the rebate aligns with Governor Kemp’s goal of giving the money back to the state taxpayers.
Tax Rate Cut
The Georgia government also enacted House Bill 111, a tax rate cut bill, which would lower the tax rate from 5.39% to 5.19% for taxpayers. If Governor Brian Kemp signs on veto, the bill will become law and the reduced tax rate will be effective from 01 July 2025.
According to the government estimate, with the tax cut, the taxpayers can save up to $869 million this year. With this reduction, the government is accelerating the transition of the current system to the flat tax system.
The reduction in the tax rate is part of the government’s plan to lower the income tax rate to 4.99% in the coming year and relieve the financial burden on the taxpayers. The budget implies that the current tax cut will reduce the state revenue by $149 million in this budget year.
Do you need to claim a rebate?
The Georgians who paid the state taxes or plan to file taxes this year can expect the tax rebate payment of up to $500 when the House Bill 112 becomes law. Once Governor Kemp signs the bill, it will become law, and the Georgia Department of Revenue will automatically release the tax rebates for the taxpayers.
So, taxpayers do not have to do anything except file their returns, as the officials will use their tax return information to process the special tax rebate. The Georgia state tax return deadline is extended to 01 May 2025 from the tax day (15 April 2025) due to the Hurricane relief measures.
The Department of Revenue has started the processing of the 2024 income tax returns from 03 February 2025, so if you still haven’t filed the tax returns, file them immediately to get the special tax rebates with your tax refund.
Impact
Georgians who are curious about the effects of the tax cuts and rebates can look into it expected impact below.:
- The Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy believes the larger benefit of the tax cuts would go to the highest income taxpayers, which is 20% of Georgians. The government says this is natural, as most of the Georgians with lower income are exempted from the state income tax.
- With a tax rebate, many Georgians would get their money back into their pocket. According to the government, the high-income earners are mostly small business owners who should make better use of the refund and boost the state economy.
- The tax rebate approach fulfills the government’s aim to put back the hard-earned money of the residents into their pockets. According to reports, the previous tax rebates, the latest measures, multiple grants, and other policies of the Georgia government have saved up to $6.6 billion for the taxpayers.
- According to the government, with a tax rate cut, Georgians can save up to $744 million annually. For instance, a single filer with an income of $44,000 could save around $30.
- With the reduction in taxes, the government estimates it would help everyone because it could accelerate job creation and generate many opportunities for Georgians.
The Georgia 2025 tax rebate and tax cut is finally going to be real, if the Governor signs the veto and makes the passed bill into law. So, Georgians, be ready to get a rebate of up to $500 this year.