HB 1516: Revenue and taxation; sales to United States Department of Homeland Security or United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement; revise tax

Georgia currently charges a small real estate transfer tax on most property sales, but exempts sales involving the federal government, state government, and other public entities from that tax. This bill would carve out a specific exception to that exemption: when land in Georgia is sold, granted, or transferred to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the seller would owe a transfer tax equal to 100 percent of the value of the property being conveyed, instead of the usual low flat rate or no tax at all. The bill does this by rewriting O.C.G.A. section 48-6-1 to add a new subsection specifically taxing transfers to those two federal agencies, and by revising O.C.G.A. section 48-6-2 so the general tax exemption for government transactions no longer applies to sales involving DHS or ICE. Other government-related property transfers would keep the existing exemption.

• Adds a new tax rule that charges a transfer tax equal to 100 percent of a property's value when land is sold or conveyed to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
• Removes the existing exemption from Georgia's real estate transfer tax that currently covers sales to any federal government agency, specifically for transfers to DHS or ICE.
• Keeps the general exemption in place for transfers to the United States, the State of Georgia, and other public authorities that are not DHS or ICE.
• Repeals any existing laws that conflict with these changes.

Sellers of real estate who convey property to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, county tax officials who collect real estate transfer taxes, and by extension these two federal agencies as they seek to acquire land or facilities in Georgia.

If enacted, anyone selling property to DHS or ICE in Georgia would face a much steeper tax bill than under the normal rate or the current government exemption, which could make land or facility acquisitions by those agencies in Georgia more expensive and potentially discourage such sales.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 48-6-1 to keep the existing low transfer tax rate ($1.00 for the first $1,000 plus 10 cents per additional $100) for ordinary sales, but adds subsection (b) imposing a 100 percent tax on transfers to DHS or ICE.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 48-6-2, paragraph (3), so the standard exemption for deeds involving federal, state, or other public entities no longer covers transfers to DHS or ICE.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision.

1. 2026-03-10House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-09House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-06House Hopper (House)

• Ruwa Romman (D, HD-097)Primary sponsor
• Samuel Park (D, HD-107)
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Park Cannon (D, HD-058)

• property taxes
• immigration enforcement
• real estate transfer tax
• Homeland Security
• ICE