HB386: HB386 Back to School Relief Act; enact

Georgia currently taxes most retail sales, including clothing and school supplies, under the state's general sales and use tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3). This bill would create a recurring sales tax holiday each year, covering the last Thursday through Sunday in July, during which qualifying clothing and school related supplies could be bought without state sales tax. The bill is titled the 'Back to School Relief Act.' It rewrites part of an existing tax exemption paragraph that previously applied only to a single weekend back in 2016, turning it into an annual event tied to the last weekend of July going forward. The new tax break would automatically expire, or 'sunset,' on December 31, 2028, unless lawmakers act again before then.

• Rewrites part of Georgia's sales tax exemption law (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3) to create a recurring, annual sales tax holiday instead of the one-time 2016 exemption it previously described.
• Sets the tax holiday to run from the last Thursday in July through the following Sunday every year.
• Applies the tax break to sales of clothing and school related supplies during that window.
• Adds a sunset clause automatically ending the exemption on December 31, 2028.
• Gives the bill an official short title, the 'Back to School Relief Act.'

Georgia shoppers buying clothing and school supplies, especially families preparing for the school year, would benefit from the tax break. Retailers that sell qualifying clothing and school supplies would need to apply the exemption during the holiday period, and the state would collect less sales tax revenue during that window.

Families shopping for school clothes and supplies in late July would pay no state sales tax on qualifying items each year through 2028, lowering back-to-school costs. Retailers would need to track and apply the exemption annually, and the state would see a temporary dip in sales tax collections during that weekend.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'Back to School Relief Act.'
• Section 2 amends paragraph (75) of O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3, changing the exemption from a single 2016 weekend to an annual holiday running from the last Thursday in July through the following Sunday.
• Section 2 adds a new subparagraph (D) stating the exemption 'shall stand repealed and reserved on December 31, 2028,' meaning it ends automatically on that date.
• Section 3 repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2025-02-13House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-12House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-11House Hopper (House)

• Imani Barnes (D, HD-086)Primary sponsor
• Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
• Rhonda Burnough (D, HD-077)
• Edna Jackson (D, HD-165)
• Karla Drenner (D, HD-085)
• Kimberly Alexander (D, HD-066)

• sales tax holiday
• back to school shopping
• school supplies
• clothing tax exemption
• Georgia tax law