--- title: HB 234. Income tax; commercial pilot, aircraft mechanic, or an aircraft technician; exempt taxable net income as a sign-on bonus or retention bonus collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb234 cite_as: HB 234, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb234 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb234.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb234/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69839 date: 2025-02-06 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/hb233.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb235.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb234.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 234 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-04 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Rick Townsend - John LaHood - Mike Cheokas - Clint Crowe - Leesa Hagan - Spencer Frye text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB234/2025 upstream_id: 1955714 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - income tax exemption - aviation industry - commercial pilots - aircraft mechanics - tax incentives --- # HB 234. Income tax; commercial pilot, aircraft mechanic, or an aircraft technician; exempt taxable net income as a sign-on bonus or retention bonus ## Text House Bill 234 By: Representatives Townsend of the 179th, LaHood of the 175th, Cheokas of the 151st, Crowe of the 118th, Hagan of the 156th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to income taxes, so as to exempt from taxable net income certain income received by a commercial pilot, aircraft mechanic, or aircraft service technician as a sign-on bonus or retention bonus; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to income taxes, is amended by adding a new paragraph to subsection (a) of Code Section 48-7-27, relating to computation of taxable net income, to read as follows: "(11.3) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and ending on or before December 31, 2030, income received by a commercial pilot, aircraft mechanic, or aircraft service technician as a sign-on bonus or retention bonus for service as a commercial pilot, aircraft mechanic, or aircraft service technician in this state;" SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval and shall be applicable to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. SECTION 3. 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 exempt sign-on and retention bonuses paid to commercial pilots, aircraft mechanics, and aircraft service technicians from state income tax, for tax years 2026 through 2030. ### Plain-language summary Under current Georgia law, bonuses paid to workers are generally counted as taxable income. This bill changes that for one group of workers: commercial pilots, aircraft mechanics, and aircraft service technicians who work in Georgia. The bill adds a new exemption to Georgia's income tax code (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27) so that sign-on bonuses and retention bonuses paid to these workers for service in Georgia would not count as taxable net income. The exemption applies only to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and ending on or before December 31, 2030, meaning it is temporary and would expire after five years unless extended. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it, or otherwise becomes law without a signature, and would apply starting with the 2026 tax year. ### What it does - Adds a new exemption to Georgia's income tax law excluding certain bonus income from taxable net income. - Limits the exemption to sign-on bonuses and retention bonuses paid to commercial pilots, aircraft mechanics, or aircraft service technicians. - Requires that the bonus be tied to service as one of those roles performed in Georgia. - Sets the exemption to apply only for tax years from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2030, making it temporary. - Takes effect immediately upon the Governor's signature or becoming law without signature, applying to tax years starting in 2026. ### Who it affects Commercial pilots, aircraft mechanics, and aircraft service technicians working in Georgia who receive sign-on or retention bonuses, along with the airlines, aviation maintenance companies, and other employers who pay such bonuses to attract or keep these workers. ### Why it matters Workers in these aviation roles who receive sign-on or retention bonuses between 2026 and 2030 would keep more of that money because it would not be subject to Georgia income tax, which could make such bonuses more attractive as a recruitment or retention tool for aviation employers in the state. ### Key provisions - Section 1 adds paragraph (11.3) to subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27, listing new categories of income excluded from Georgia taxable net income. - The exemption covers sign-on bonuses and retention bonuses paid specifically for service as a commercial pilot, aircraft mechanic, or aircraft service technician in Georgia. - The exemption is time-limited, applying only to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026 and ending on or before December 31, 2030. - Section 2 sets the effective date as upon the Governor's approval or becoming law without approval, applicable to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-04) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-06) - Sponsors: Rick Townsend, John LaHood, Mike Cheokas, Clint Crowe, Leesa Hagan, Spencer Frye - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69839 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb234.md?full=1