HB 1018: Sales and use tax; exempt sales of clothing and school related supplies during the month of August each year

Georgia law currently allows a sales tax exemption for certain clothing and school supplies (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3), but the specific dates written into the law point to a one-time holiday from July 30-31, 2016 that has not automatically repeated since. This bill rewrites that section so the exemption applies every year from 12:01 a.m. on August 1 through midnight on August 31, turning it into a recurring, month-long back-to-school sales tax holiday. The bill also changes Georgia's motor fuel excise tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-9-3) to add a new exemption: no state excise tax would be collected on any sales of motor fuel during that same August 1 through August 31 window, every year. The bill does not set a specific list of what counts as 'eligible property' for the clothing and supplies exemption; that definition stays as already written elsewhere in the code. It repeals any conflicting laws.

• Rewrites the dates in Georgia's sales tax exemption law (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3) so the clothing and school supplies tax holiday runs every August 1 through August 31 instead of a single 2016 weekend.
• Adds a new exemption to Georgia's motor fuel excise tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-9-3) covering all motor fuel sales during the same August 1-31 period each year.
• Makes both tax breaks recurring annual events rather than one-time or expired provisions, without requiring further legislative action each year.
• Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with these changes.

Georgia retailers who sell clothing and school supplies, families buying back-to-school items, gas stations and fuel distributors, drivers who buy gasoline or diesel in August, and the state revenue collections that fund the general budget.

Shoppers would pay less in August on clothing, school supplies, and fuel purchases every year, potentially lowering costs during back-to-school season. State and local governments would collect less sales and excise tax revenue during that month, which could affect funds that rely on those taxes.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3(75)(A) to change the sales tax exemption period for eligible clothing and school supplies from the 2016 dates to August 1 through August 31 every year.
• Section 2 adds a new paragraph (13) to O.C.G.A. § 48-9-3(b) exempting all motor fuel sales from the state excise tax from August 1 through August 31 each year.
• Section 3 repeals any state laws that conflict with these two changes.

1. 2026-01-29House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-01-28House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-27House Hopper (House)

• Dar'shun Kendrick (D, HD-095)Primary sponsor
• David Wilkerson (D, HD-038)
• Stacey Evans (D, HD-057)
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Regina Lewis-Ward (D, HD-115)
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)

• sales tax holiday
• school supplies
• gas tax
• back to school
• tax exemptions