---
title: HB 1285. Sales and use tax; limit number of local sales and use taxes by authorizing counties; revise provisions
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1285
cite_as: HB 1285, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1285
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1285.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1285/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73134
date: 2026-03-09
status: engrossed
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: 466
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1285.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1285
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-03-06
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
  - Mike Cheokas
  - Ron Stephens
  - Carter Barrett
  - Noel Williams
  - Soo Hong
  - Charles Cannon
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1285/2025
upstream_id: 2114604
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - sales tax
  - local option sales tax
  - homestead exemption
  - county government finance
  - property tax relief
---

# HB 1285. Sales and use tax; limit number of local sales and use taxes by authorizing counties; revise provisions

## Text

House Bill 1285
By: Representatives Cheokas of the 151st, Stephens of the 164th, Barrett of the 24th, Williams
of the 148th, Hong of the 103rd, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 8 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to sales
and use taxes, so as to revise provisions limiting the number of local sales and use taxes by
authorizing counties to collect an enhanced homestead option sales tax as well as a local
option sales tax; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 8 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to sales and use
taxes, is amended in Code Section 48-8-6, relating to prohibition of political subdivisions
from imposing various taxes, ceiling on local sales and use taxes, and taxation of mobile
telecommunications, by revising paragraph (1) of subsection (a) as follows:
"(a)(1) Except as provided in this subsection, on and after July 1, 2024, there shall not
be imposed in any jurisdiction in this state or on any transaction in this state local sales
taxes, local use taxes, or local sales and use taxes in excess of 2 percent. For purposes
of such 2 percent limitation, the taxes affected are any sales tax, use tax, or sales and use
tax which is levied in an area consisting of less than the entire state, however authorized,
including such taxes authorized by or pursuant to constitutional amendment, and
regardless of whether another provision of law purports to the contrary except for the
following:
(A) A 1 percent sales and use tax for educational purposes exempted from such
limitation under Article VIII, Section VI, Paragraph IV of the Constitution;
(B) Up to 1 percent in aggregate of any of the transportation related sales and use taxes
authorized under Articles 5, 5A, and 5B of this chapter and Article 2 of Chapter 9 of
Title 32, and in a county in which a tax is levied and collected pursuant to Part 2 of
Article 2A of this chapter, any tax levied for purposes of a metropolitan area system of
public transportation, as authorized by the amendment to the Constitution set out at
Georgia Laws, 1964, page 1008, the continuation of such amendment under Article XI,
Section I, Paragraph IV(d) of the Constitution, and the laws enacted pursuant to such
constitutional amendment; and
(C) Up to 1 percent in aggregate of any sales and use taxes authorized under Code
Section 48-8-96, Code Section 48-8-97, Article 2A, Article 2B of this chapter, Part 3
of Article 3 of this chapter, and Article 4 of this chapter."
SECTION 2.
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 1285 would revise Georgia's cap on local sales taxes so counties can combine an enhanced homestead option sales tax with a local option sales tax without exceeding the state's overall local sales tax limit.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia law generally caps local sales and use taxes at 2 percent in any jurisdiction, but it carves out exceptions for certain taxes like school sales taxes and transportation taxes so they don't count fully against that cap. This bill changes the list of taxes covered by one of those exceptions, the one allowing up to 1 percent combined for taxes authorized under specific code sections and chapter articles dealing with homestead option sales taxes and other local sales taxes.
By rewriting paragraph (1) of subsection (a) in O.C.G.A. Section 48-8-6, the bill effectively lets a county collect both an enhanced homestead option sales tax and a local option sales tax at the same time, as long as their combined rate under this carve-out stays within the 1 percent aggregate limit. The bill does not set a new effective date and repeals conflicting laws.

### What it does

- Rewrites the list of sales tax types counted under the 1 percent aggregate exception to Georgia's 2 percent local sales tax cap (O.C.G.A. Section 48-8-6).
- Groups an enhanced homestead option sales tax together with a local option sales tax under the same 1 percent combined limit, letting counties potentially levy both.
- Keeps the overall structure of the law intact, including the separate 1 percent exemption for the school sales tax and the 1 percent exemption for transportation-related taxes.
- Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this change.

### Who it affects

County governments deciding which local sales taxes to levy, county residents who pay local sales taxes, homeowners who benefit from homestead exemptions funded by these taxes, and local school systems or transportation agencies that rely on related sales tax revenue.

### Why it matters

The change affects how much flexibility counties have to stack different local sales taxes without breaching the state's overall cap. If enacted, some counties could adopt or combine an enhanced homestead option sales tax with a local option sales tax, potentially changing how much sales tax residents pay locally and how homestead tax relief is funded.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. Section 48-8-6(a)(1), which sets the general 2 percent ceiling on local sales, use, and sales-and-use taxes statewide.
- The amended text keeps a 1 percent exemption for the education sales and use tax authorized under the state constitution.
- The amended text keeps up to 1 percent in aggregate for transportation-related sales and use taxes under specified chapters of Georgia law.
- The amended text sets up to 1 percent in aggregate for taxes authorized under Code Section 48-8-96, Code Section 48-8-97, Article 2A, Article 2B, Part 3 of Article 3, and Article 4 of Chapter 8, which cover taxes including the homestead option and local option sales taxes.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting Georgia laws.

## Status

- Status: Engrossed (2026-03-06)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-03-09)
- Sponsors: Mike Cheokas, Ron Stephens, Carter Barrett, Noel Williams, Soo Hong, Charles Cannon
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73134

> The history, votes, and amendments (466 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1285.md?full=1