HB 213: Clean Energy Investment Tax Credit Act; enact

Currently Georgia law reserves a code section (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.10) without content on clean energy tax credits. This bill fills that section in, creating the 'Clean Energy Investment Tax Credit Act.' It allows a state income tax credit equal to 6 percent of a taxpayer's qualified investment in a 'qualified facility,' defined as an electricity generation facility in Georgia placed in service after July 1, 2025 with a greenhouse gas emissions rate of zero, or in energy storage technology. The bill sets rules for how the credit works: it cannot exceed the taxpayer's tax liability for that year, unused amounts carry forward three years, and taxpayers must keep records proving eligibility. It also allows the credit to be sold or transferred once to another Georgia taxpayer, with notification requirements and a rule that transferees must pay at least 60 percent of the credit's value. The Environmental Protection Division must publish emissions rate tables annually to support the credit. The law would take effect July 1, 2025 and apply to tax years starting on or after January 1, 2026.

• Creates a Georgia income tax credit equal to 6 percent of a taxpayer's qualified investment in a zero-emission electricity generation facility or energy storage technology.
• Defines a 'qualified facility' as one located in Georgia, placed in service after July 1, 2025, with a greenhouse gas emissions rate of zero.
• Limits use of the credit to no more than the taxpayer's tax liability for that year and allows unused credit to carry forward for three years.
• Allows an eligible person to sell or transfer the credit once, in whole or in part, to a Georgia taxpayer, requiring notice to the Department of Revenue within 30 days.
• Requires transferees to pay at least 60 percent of the transferred credit's value and limits transferees' rights to whatever the original claimant held.
• Requires the Environmental Protection Division to annually publish greenhouse gas emissions rate tables used to determine eligibility.

Businesses and individuals investing in clean electricity generation or energy storage facilities in Georgia, companies that might buy or sell these tax credits, the Georgia Department of Revenue, which administers the credit, and the Environmental Protection Division, which must publish emissions data annually.

The credit would lower the tax cost of building zero-emission power or storage projects in Georgia, and the transfer provision means companies without enough tax liability to use the credit themselves could still benefit by selling it, potentially attracting more clean energy investment to the state.

• Section 1 names the law the 'Clean Energy Investment Tax Credit Act.'
• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.10, previously reserved, to define terms like 'qualified facility,' 'qualified investment,' and 'greenhouse gas emissions rate' based on federal definitions in 26 U.S.C. Section 48E.
• Subsection (b) sets the credit at 6 percent of the qualified investment for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
• Subsection (c) caps credit use at the taxpayer's tax liability, bars use against prior years' liability, and allows a three-year carry-forward.
• Subsection (d) permits a single transfer or sale of unused credits to a Georgia taxpayer, with a 30-day notice requirement and a 60 percent minimum sale price rule.
• Subsection (e) requires the Environmental Protection Division to annually publish emissions rate tables by facility type.
• Section 3 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applicable to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.

1. 2025-02-04House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-03House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-01-30House Hopper (House)

• Samuel Park (D, HD-107)Primary sponsor
• Tanya Miller (D, HD-062)
• Karla Drenner (D, HD-085)
• Ruwa Romman (D, HD-097)
• Tangie Herring (D, HD-145)
• Jasmine Clark (D, HD-108)

• clean energy
• tax credits
• income taxes
• energy storage
• greenhouse gas emissions