---
title: HB 1018. Sales and use tax; exempt sales of clothing and school related supplies during the month of August each year
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1018
cite_as: HB 1018, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1018
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1018.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1018/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72346
date: 2026-01-29
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1018.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1018
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-27
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Dar'shun Kendrick
- David Wilkerson
- Stacey Evans
- Spencer Frye
- Regina Lewis-Ward
- Sandra Scott
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1018/2025
upstream_id: 2095051
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- sales tax holiday
- school supplies
- gas tax
- back to school
- tax exemptions
---
# HB 1018. Sales and use tax; exempt sales of clothing and school related supplies during the month of August each year
## Text
House Bill 1018
By: Representatives Kendrick of the 95th, Wilkerson of the 38th, Evans of the 57th, Frye of the
122nd, Lewis-Ward of the 115th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 48-8-3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
exemptions from sales and use taxes, so as to exempt sales of clothing and school related
supplies from sales and use taxation during the month of August each year; to amend Code
Section 48-9-3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to levy of excise tax,
rates, exemptions, and prohibition on tax by political subdivisions, so as to exempt all sales
of motor fuel from excise taxation during the month of August each year; to provide for
related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 48-8-3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to exemptions from
sales and use taxes, is amended by revising subparagraph (A) of paragraph (75) as follows:
"(75)(A) The sale of eligible property. The exemption provided by this paragraph
applies only to sales occurring during the period commencing at 12:01 A.M. on July 30,
2016, August 1 and concluding at 12:00 Midnight on July 31, 2016 August 31 each
year."
SECTION 2.
Code Section 48-9-3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to levy of excise
tax, rates, exemptions, and prohibition on tax by political subdivisions, is amended in
subsection (b) by striking "or" at the end of paragraph (11), by replacing the period at the end
of paragraph (12) with "; or", and by adding a new paragraph to read as follows:
"(13) For the period of time beginning August 1 and ending on August 31 each year, all
sales of motor fuel."
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
House Bill 1018 would create an annual Georgia sales tax holiday for clothing and school supplies throughout the month of August, and also exempt motor fuel from the state excise tax that same month every year.
### Plain-language summary
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.
### What it does
- 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.
### Who it affects
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.
### Why it matters
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.
### Key provisions
- 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.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-01-27)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-01-29)
- Sponsors: Dar'shun Kendrick, David Wilkerson, Stacey Evans, Spencer Frye, Regina Lewis-Ward, Sandra Scott
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72346
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1018.md?full=1