--- title: HB 1353. Excise tax; rooms, lodgings, and accommodations; exclude usufructs from assessments collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb1353 cite_as: HB 1353, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1353 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1353.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1353/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73297 date: 2026-02-19 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1352.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1354.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1353.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 1353 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-02-17 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Charles Martin text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1353/2025 upstream_id: 2118584 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - hotel motel tax - excise tax - lodging tax - property law - local taxation --- # HB 1353. Excise tax; rooms, lodgings, and accommodations; exclude usufructs from assessments ## Text House Bill 1353 By: Representative Martin of the 49th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 3 of Chapter 13 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to excise tax on rooms, lodgings, and accommodations, so as to exclude usufructs from assessments; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Article 3 of Chapter 13 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to excise tax on rooms, lodgings, and accommodations, is amended by revising Code Section 48-13-53.5, relating to assessments, as follows: "48-13-53.5. Any assessment of an innkeeper pursuant to this article by the governing authority imposing a tax under this article shall be deemed prima facie correct; provided, however, that usufructs shall not be subject to assessment." 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. A Georgia House bill would change the state's hotel and motel excise tax law so that usufructs, a type of short-term rental interest under Georgia property law, cannot be assessed for the tax. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law lets local governments impose an excise tax on rooms, lodgings, and accommodations, similar to a hotel or motel tax. Under current law, any assessment of an innkeeper by the local government collecting this tax is treated as presumed correct unless challenged. This bill adds one exception to that rule. The bill amends O.C.G.A. § 48-13-53.5 to state that usufructs, a legal term in Georgia property law for a possession interest that is less than a full leasehold estate (commonly short-term rental or occupancy arrangements), cannot be subject to this kind of assessment. The bill does not change the tax rate or who collects the tax; it narrows what can be assessed. It repeals any conflicting laws but does not include a separate effective date section. ### What it does - Amends the state's excise tax law on rooms, lodgings, and accommodations (O.C.G.A. § 48-13-53.5) to add an exclusion for usufructs. - Prevents local taxing authorities from assessing usufructs, a Georgia property law term for certain short-term occupancy interests, under this tax article. - Leaves the existing rule intact that other innkeeper assessments are presumed correct unless disputed. - Repeals any other state laws that conflict with this change. ### Who it affects Local governments that impose excise taxes on rooms, lodgings, and accommodations, innkeepers and lodging operators subject to those taxes, and anyone holding a usufruct interest in rental property, such as certain short-term tenants or occupants under Georgia property law. ### Why it matters If enacted, local tax collectors would no longer be able to assess the lodging excise tax against usufructs specifically, which could reduce the pool of arrangements local governments can tax under this article and affect how disputes over assessments involving such interests are resolved. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-13-53.5 to add a proviso that usufructs shall not be subject to assessment under the lodging excise tax article. - The existing rule that an innkeeper assessment is presumed correct (prima facie correct) unless successfully challenged remains unchanged for non-usufruct cases. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting state laws but does not set a specific delayed effective date. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-02-17) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-19) - Sponsors: Charles Martin - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73297 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1353.md?full=1