---
title: HB 292. Income tax; certification of certain employers as living wage employers; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb292
cite_as: HB 292, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb292
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb292.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb292/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69960
date: 2025-02-10
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb292.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 292
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-05
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Anissa Jones
- Dewey McClain
- Debbie Buckner
- Karen Mathiak
- Yasmin Neal
- Lisa Campbell
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB292/2025
upstream_id: 1958335
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- income tax credits
- minimum wage
- living wage jobs
- employer certification
- state tax incentives
---
# HB 292. Income tax; certification of certain employers as living wage employers; provide
## Text
House Bill 292
By: Representatives Jones of the 143rd, McClain of the 109th, Buckner of the 137th, Mathiak
of the 82nd, Neal of the 79th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to imposition, rate, computation, exemptions, and credits from income taxes, so as
to provide for the certification of certain employers as living wage employers; to provide for
definitions; to provide for a tax credit for such employers that employ individuals in new
living wage jobs for at least one year; to provide for conditions and limitations; to provide
for penalties; to provide for rules and regulations; 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.
Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
imposition, rate, computation, exemptions, and credits from income taxes, is amended by
adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"48-7-40.37.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Employer' means an enterprise or organization, whether a corporation, partnership,
limited liability company, proprietorship, association, trust, business trust, real estate
trust, or other form of organization, and its affiliates, which is registered and authorized
to use the federal employment verification system known as 'E-Verify' or any successor
federal employment verification system and is engaged in or carrying on any business
activities within this state.
(2) 'Living wage job' means employment which:
(A) Is located in this state;
(B) Involves a regular, full-time work week of 30 hours or more;
(C) Has no predetermined end date; and
(D) Pays at least $15.00 per hour.
(b)(1) Each employer with five or more employees who are all employed in living wage
jobs shall be eligible to apply to the Department of Community Affairs for certification
as a living wage employer.
(2) A living wage employer shall lose its certification if it employs fewer than three
individuals who are all employed in living wage jobs or if it employs an individual in any
position, whether full time or part time, for which such individual is paid less than $15.00
per hour.
(3) A living wage employer may advertise its status as a living wage employer.
(4) Each living wage employer shall report to the Department of Community Affairs if
at any time such living wage employer fails to meet the eligibility requirements for
certification as a living wage employer. A living wage employer that violates the
provisions of this paragraph may be suspended by the commissioner of community affairs
from the certification program and the tax credit created by this Code section for a period
of between one and five years.
(c) Each living wage employer shall be allowed an income tax credit in the amount of
$3,500.00 against the tax imposed under this article for each individual who is first hired
by such living wage employer on or after January 1, 2026, and who is employed
continuously by such living wage employer in a living wage job for one year, provided that
such living wage employer remains certified as a living wage employer at the time such a
living wage employer claims the credit allowed by this subsection.
(d)(1) A living wage employer shall only be eligible to receive the credit provided for
in subsection (c) of this Code section once per individual.
(2) In no event shall the credit provided for in subsection (c) of this Code section for a
taxable year exceed the living wage employer's income tax liability. Any unused portion
of the credit provided for in subsection (c) of this Code section shall be permitted to be
carried forward and applied to such living wage employer's tax liability for the
subsequent three years. The credit provided for in subsection (c) of this Code section
shall not be applied against such living wage employer's prior years' tax liabilities.
(e) The commissioner and the commissioner of community affairs shall promulgate rules
and regulations and forms necessary to implement and administer the provisions of this
Code section."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025, and shall be applicable to all taxable 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 let employers apply for state certification as 'living wage employers' and give them a $3,500 income tax credit for each new job that pays at least $15 an hour for a full year.
### Plain-language summary
Currently, Georgia offers no special certification or tax credit tied to paying workers a minimum hourly wage above the federal floor. This bill creates a new certification program run by the Department of Community Affairs for employers who use the federal E-Verify system and employ at least five people, all in 'living wage jobs' defined as full-time positions with no set end date paying $15 or more per hour.
Certified employers could advertise their status and would qualify for a $3,500 income tax credit for each new employee hired on or after January 1, 2026, who stays in a living wage job for a full year. Employers lose certification if they drop below three qualifying employees or pay anyone less than $15 an hour, and violators can be suspended from the program and the credit for one to five years. The credit cannot exceed the employer's tax liability but unused amounts carry forward three years. The law would take effect July 1, 2025, applying to tax years starting on or after January 1, 2026.
### What it does
- Creates a new state certification category called 'living wage employer' for businesses using E-Verify that employ five or more people in qualifying jobs.
- Defines a 'living wage job' as a full-time position in Georgia with no set end date paying at least $15.00 per hour.
- Grants a $3,500 income tax credit to certified employers for each new hire who stays in a living wage job for one full year.
- Strips certification from employers who drop below three qualifying employees or pay any worker less than $15 an hour.
- Allows the commissioner of community affairs to suspend a violating employer from the certification program and tax credit for one to five years.
- Lets unused tax credit amounts carry forward for three years but bars applying the credit to past years' taxes.
### Who it affects
Georgia employers with five or more employees, especially those considering raising pay to $15 an hour or above, workers in newly created full-time jobs meeting that pay threshold, the Department of Community Affairs, which would run the certification program, and the Department of Revenue, which administers the tax credit.
### Why it matters
Employers who commit to paying at least $15 an hour for new full-time jobs could reduce their state income tax bills by $3,500 per qualifying hire, while workers in those roles would receive a defined minimum hourly wage and job stability requirement tied to the employer's certification status.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code section 48-7-40.37 to Title 48, defining 'employer' and 'living wage job' (full-time, no end date, at least $15.00 per hour, located in Georgia).
- Subsection (b) sets certification eligibility at five or more qualifying employees and requires reporting to the Department of Community Affairs if an employer falls out of compliance.
- Subsection (b)(2) revokes certification if an employer drops below three qualifying employees or pays any employee less than $15.00 per hour.
- Subsection (c) creates a $3,500 tax credit per new hire retained for one year in a living wage job, starting with hires on or after January 1, 2026.
- Subsection (d) limits the credit to one claim per individual, caps it at the employer's tax liability, and allows a three-year carryforward with no retroactive application.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applicable to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-05)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-10)
- Sponsors: Anissa Jones, Dewey McClain, Debbie Buckner, Karen Mathiak, Yasmin Neal, Lisa Campbell
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69960
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb292.md?full=1