Georgia CommonsHB 165: Income tax credit; business enterprises for leased motor vehicles; repeal and reserve
Last action May 5, 2026 · Effective Date 2026-07-01
House Bill 165 rewrites Georgia's sales tax break for manufactured homes that are converted into real property, changing filing and penalty rules and removing a provision that had kept the exemption from applying to certain local sales taxes.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Georgia law already gives a 50 percent sales tax exemption on manufactured homes that are installed and then converted into real property within 30 days of sale. House Bill 165 keeps that basic exemption but rewrites the rules around it. It clarifies that within 30 days of the exempted sale, the seller must complete the conversion paperwork and file the Certificate of Permanent Location with the clerk of superior court, or the state revenue commissioner can recover 1.5 times the taxes that were exempted. The bill also says a manufactured home whose sale was tax exempt cannot get a Certificate of Removal from Permanent Location, or otherwise be converted back to personal property, unless the exempted taxes are repaid to the commissioner. It removes a section of current law that had blocked the exemption from applying to local sales taxes such as those tied to MARTA or special local sales taxes. The changes take effect July 1, 2026.
What the bill does
- Keeps the existing 50 percent sales tax exemption for manufactured homes that are installed and converted to real property within 30 days of sale.
- Requires sellers to file the Certificate of Permanent Location within 30 days of an exempted sale or face recovery of 1.5 times the exempted taxes by the state revenue commissioner.
- Bars a manufactured home that received the exemption from getting a Certificate of Removal from Permanent Location, or from otherwise reverting to personal property, unless the exempted taxes are repaid.
- Deletes a subparagraph that had excluded local sales and use taxes, such as MARTA's tax or various special local sales taxes, from the manufactured home exemption.
- Sets the effective date of the changes as July 1, 2026.
Who it affects
Manufacturers and sellers of manufactured homes, buyers who plan to convert a manufactured home into real property, county clerks of superior court who record the paperwork, and the Georgia Department of Revenue, which administers the exemption and can claw back taxes.
Why it matters
Sellers and buyers of manufactured homes get clearer deadlines and consequences for completing the paperwork that makes the tax break valid, and the change to local tax treatment could affect how much sales tax applies in areas with additional local sales taxes like MARTA's transit tax.
Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3(102), keeping the 50 percent exemption for a manufactured home installed and converted to real property within 30 days of sale.
- Section 1 defines 'manufactured home' as a structure on a permanent chassis with plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems, at least 650 square feet, with an angled roof.
- Section 1 requires sellers to file the Certificate of Permanent Location within 30 days of the exempted sale, or the commissioner can recover 1.5 times the exempted tax amount from the seller.
- Section 1 blocks a home that got the exemption from later obtaining a Certificate of Removal from Permanent Location unless the exempted tax amount is repaid to the commissioner.
- Section 1 deletes former subparagraph (E), which had said the exemption did not apply to local sales taxes such as MARTA's tax or certain special local sales taxes.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.
Status timeline
- Effective Date 2026-07-01
- Act 407
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Engrossed (Senate)
Show full history (19 actions)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Recommitted (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Lehman Franklin (R, HD-160)
- Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
- Al Williams (D, HD-168)
- William Werkheiser (R, HD-157)
- Mike Cameron (R, HD-001)
- Rick Townsend (R, HD-179)
- Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
Votes
- House voteMarch 3, 2025
173 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 5 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 19, 2026
32 yea, 20 nay (0 not voting, 2 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 19, 2026
46 yea, 0 nay (4 not voting, 4 absent)
- House voteMarch 31, 2026
166 yea, 3 nay (2 not voting, 5 absent)
Topics
- manufactured homes
- sales tax exemption
- property taxes
- local sales taxes
- real estate conversion