HB234: HB234 Income tax; commercial pilot, aircraft mechanic, or an aircraft technician; exempt taxable net income as a sign-on bonus or retention bonus

Georgia currently taxes bonus pay like other income under the state's income tax law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 7 of Title 48). This bill would carve out an exception for a specific group of aviation workers. It adds a new provision to Georgia's tax code (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27) saying that sign-on bonuses and retention bonuses paid to commercial pilots, aircraft mechanics, and aircraft service technicians for working in Georgia would not count as taxable income. The exemption would only apply to tax years from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2030, meaning it expires after five years unless lawmakers act again. The bill would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it otherwise becomes law, and would apply starting with the 2026 tax year.

• Adds a new exemption to Georgia's income tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27) for sign-on and retention bonuses paid to certain aviation workers.
• Limits the tax break to commercial pilots, aircraft mechanics, and aircraft service technicians working in Georgia.
• Sets the exemption to apply only to tax years from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2030, a five-year window.
• Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with this new exemption.

Commercial pilots, aircraft mechanics, and aircraft service technicians who work in Georgia and receive sign-on or retention bonuses from their employers, along with the airlines and aviation companies that pay such bonuses and the state revenue system that would collect less tax on that income.

Aviation workers who get hiring or retention bonuses would keep more of that money instead of paying Georgia income tax on it, which could make Georgia jobs in these fields more financially attractive, at least through 2030 when the exemption is set to expire.

• Section 1 adds paragraph (11.3) to O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27(a), excluding sign-on and retention bonuses paid to commercial pilots, aircraft mechanics, and aircraft service technicians from taxable net income.
• Section 1 limits the exemption to bonuses tied to service performed in Georgia during tax years from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2030.
• Section 2 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law, applying to tax years starting January 1, 2026.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting state laws.

1. 2025-02-06House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-05House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-04House Hopper (House)

• Rick Townsend (R, HD-179)Primary sponsor
• John LaHood (R, HD-175)
• Mike Cheokas (R, HD-151)
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
• Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)

• income tax exemption
• aviation jobs
• aircraft mechanics
• sign-on bonuses
• Georgia tax law