---
title: HB 1079. Income tax; credits for rehabilitation of historic structures; revise expiration and transferability
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1079
cite_as: HB 1079, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1079
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1079.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1079/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72505
date: 2026-02-02
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/hb1079.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1079
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-28
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
  - Anissa Jones
  - Scott Hilton
  - Ron Stephens
  - Dale Washburn
  - Tangie Herring
  - Debbie Buckner
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1079/2025
upstream_id: 2100349
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - historic preservation
  - income tax credits
  - property tax law
  - economic development
  - real estate transactions
---

# HB 1079. Income tax; credits for rehabilitation of historic structures; revise expiration and transferability

## Text

House Bill 1079
By: Representatives Jones of the 143rd, Hilton of the 48th, Stephens of the 164th, Washburn
of the 144th, Herring of the 145th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 48-7-29.8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to tax
credits for the rehabilitation of historic structures, so as to revise expiration and
transferability; to provide for reversion and reporting; to provide for construction; to provide
for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 48-7-29.8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to tax credits for
the rehabilitation of historic structures, is amended by revising paragraph (1) of subsection
(e) and subsection (f) and adding a new subsection to read as follows:
"(e)(1)(A) If the credit allowed under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code
section in any taxable year exceeds the total tax otherwise payable by the taxpayer for
that taxable year, the taxpayer may apply the excess as a credit for succeeding years
until the earlier of:
<del>(A)(i)</del> The full amount of the excess is used; or
<del>(B)(ii)</del> The expiration of the <del>tenth</del> <ins>second</ins> taxable year after the taxable year in which
the certified rehabilitation has been completed.
<ins>(B) Any amount of the historic rehabilitation tax credit that is not claimed within the
time frame set forth in division (1)(A)(ii) of this subsection shall expire, be of no
further use to the original taxpayer or any transferee, and revert to the state.
(C) The department shall report annually to the Governor and the General Assembly
the total amount of historic rehabilitation tax credits that have expired and reverted
under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph."
</ins> "(f) <del>In the case of any rehabilitation which may reasonably be expected to be completed
in phases set forth in architectural plans and specifications completed before the
rehabilitation begins, a 60 month period may be substituted for the 24 month period
provided for in paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of this Code section</del> <ins>Except as otherwise
provided in this subsection, in the event a tax credit under this Code section has been
claimed and allowed to a taxpayer, upon the sale or transfer of the certified structure, the
taxpayer shall be authorized to transfer the remaining unused amount of such credit to the
purchaser of such certified structure. A credit transferred under this subsection shall remain
subject to the time frame set forth in division (e)(1)(A)(ii) of this Code section and any
portion not claimed by the end of such period shall expire and revert to the state."
"(h.1)(A) For credits that expire and revert under subparagraph (e)(1)(B) or subsection
(f) of this Code section, the amount of such credits may be appropriated by the General
Assembly for other state economic development initiatives, historic preservation
programs, community revitalization projects, affordable housing, or other public
purposes.
(B) Nothing in this subsection shall create a property right or entitlement to receive
such reallocated funds by any specific taxpayer, project, or class of projects."
</ins>
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2027.
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.

A Georgia House bill would shorten how long historic rehabilitation tax credits can be carried forward, from ten years to two, while creating a new right to transfer unused credits when a historic property is sold.

### Plain-language summary

Current Georgia law lets taxpayers who rehabilitate a certified historic structure carry forward any unused income tax credit for up to ten years after the rehabilitation is completed. This bill would cut that window down to two years. Any credit not used within that shorter period would expire, be unusable by the original taxpayer or anyone who received the credit through transfer, and revert back to the state.
The bill also removes an existing provision that let developers substitute a 60 month completion period for certain phased rehabilitation projects, replacing it with a new rule: taxpayers may transfer their remaining unused historic rehabilitation credit to a buyer when they sell the certified structure, but the transferred credit still has to be used within the same two year window. The Department of Revenue would have to report annually to the Governor and General Assembly on how much credit value expired and reverted. The General Assembly could then redirect that reverted money toward economic development, preservation, revitalization, or housing purposes, though no taxpayer or project would have a legal claim to receive it. The changes would take effect January 1, 2027.

### What it does

- Shortens the carryforward period for the historic rehabilitation tax credit from ten years to two years after the rehabilitation project is completed (Code Section 48-7-29.8).
- Makes unused credit amounts expire, become unusable by the taxpayer or any transferee, and revert to the state once the two-year window closes.
- Requires the Department of Revenue to report annually to the Governor and General Assembly on the total amount of credits that expired and reverted.
- Removes the prior option letting phased rehabilitation projects use a 60-month completion period instead of the standard 24-month period.
- Creates a new right for taxpayers to transfer their remaining unused credit to a buyer when they sell a certified historic structure, subject to the same two-year expiration deadline.
- Allows the General Assembly to redirect reverted, expired credit amounts to other public purposes such as economic development, historic preservation, revitalization, or affordable housing, without creating any entitlement to that money.

### Who it affects

Property owners and developers who rehabilitate certified historic structures in Georgia, buyers who purchase historic properties with unused tax credits attached, the Georgia Department of Revenue, and state lawmakers who would gain discretion over reverted credit funds.

### Why it matters

Developers and investors who plan historic rehabilitation projects around a longer credit window would have far less time, only two years instead of ten, to use up their tax credits or transfer them to a buyer, which could affect financing decisions and property sales involving historic structures.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 revises paragraph (1) of subsection (e) to cut the credit carryforward period from ten taxable years to two taxable years after the certified rehabilitation is completed.
- Section 1 adds subparagraph (e)(1)(B) making unclaimed credit amounts expire and revert to the state, unusable by the original taxpayer or any transferee.
- Section 1 adds subparagraph (e)(1)(C) requiring the Department of Revenue to report annually to the Governor and General Assembly on total expired and reverted credits.
- Section 1 rewrites subsection (f), removing the 60-month phased-project completion option and instead allowing transfer of unused credit to a buyer upon sale of the certified structure, still bound by the two-year deadline.
- Section 1 adds subsection (h.1) letting the General Assembly appropriate reverted credit amounts for economic development, historic preservation, community revitalization, or affordable housing, while denying any entitlement to specific taxpayers or projects.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as January 1, 2027.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2026-01-28)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-02)
- Sponsors: Anissa Jones, Scott Hilton, Ron Stephens, Dale Washburn, Tangie Herring, Debbie Buckner
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72505

> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1079.md?full=1