---
title: HB 361. Income tax; exempt all retirement income received as retirement benefits in the armed forces of the United States or the reserve components
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb361
cite_as: HB 361, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb361
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb361.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb361/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70123
date: 2025-02-12
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/hb360.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb362.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb361.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 361
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-10
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Bethany Ballard
- Josh Bonner
- David Clark
- Carmen Rice
- Teddy Reese
- Shaw Blackmon
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB361/2025
upstream_id: 1964574
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- military retirement pay
- income tax exemption
- veterans benefits
- Georgia state taxes
---
# HB 361. Income tax; exempt all retirement income received as retirement benefits in the armed forces of the United States or the reserve components
## Text
House Bill 361
By: Representatives Ballard of the 147th, Bonner of the 73rd, Clark of the 100th, Rice of the
139th, Reese of the 140th, 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 taxation all income received as retirement benefits
derived from service in the armed forces of the United States or the reserve components
thereof; 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 in Code Section 48-7-27, relating to computation of taxable net income, by
revising paragraph (5.1) of subsection (a) as follows:
"(5.1)(A) Up to $17,500.00 of All income received by an individual who is less than
62 years of age paid to such paid to an individual as retirement benefits from military
service in the armed forces of the United States or the reserve components thereof and
an additional amount of up to $17,500.00 of such income, provided that he or she has
Georgia earned income otherwise included in his or her Georgia taxable net income in
an amount that exceeds $17,500.00.
(B) In the case of a married couple filing jointly, each spouse who is otherwise
qualified for an exclusion allowed by this paragraph shall be individually entitled to
exclude retirement income received by that spouse up to the exclusion amount.
(C) The exclusions exclusion provided for in this paragraph shall not apply to or affect
and shall be in addition to those adjustments to net income provided for under any other
paragraph of this subsection;"
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.
House Bill 361 would exempt all military retirement pay from Georgia's state income tax, removing the current age limits and dollar caps on the existing exclusion.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law, retirees under 62 can exclude only up to $17,500 of military retirement pay from state income tax, with an extra $17,500 exclusion available if they also have enough earned income. This bill rewrites that law (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27) so that all retirement income from service in the U.S. armed forces or its reserve components is excluded from Georgia taxable income, regardless of the retiree's age or how much other income they earn.
The bill removes the special rule letting each spouse in a married couple separately claim the old exclusion, since the new exclusion is unlimited and applies to whoever receives the retirement pay. It also keeps this exclusion separate from any other income adjustments in the tax code. The change would take effect July 1, 2025, and apply to tax years starting on or after January 1, 2026.
### What it does
- Removes the current $17,500 and $35,000 dollar caps on excluding military retirement pay from Georgia income tax, making the exclusion unlimited.
- Eliminates the current age-62 cutoff, so military retirees of any age can exclude all their retirement pay, not just those under 62.
- Removes the requirement that a retiree have over $17,500 in other Georgia earned income to claim the larger exclusion amount.
- Eliminates the separate rule letting each spouse in a married couple individually claim the old capped exclusion, since the new exclusion is unlimited.
- Keeps the military retirement exclusion separate from and in addition to other income tax adjustments in Georgia law.
- Sets the change to take effect July 1, 2025, applying to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
### Who it affects
Military retirees living in Georgia who receive retirement pay from the U.S. armed forces or reserve components, including those over and under age 62, and married couples where one or both spouses receive military retirement income.
### Why it matters
Military retirees in Georgia would no longer pay state income tax on any of their retirement pay, instead of just the first $17,500 to $35,000 under current rules. This could lower state tax bills for many veterans, particularly older retirees and those with higher retirement incomes.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27(a)(5.1)(A) to exclude all military retirement income from Georgia taxable income, removing the prior $17,500 base cap, the age-62 limit, and the earned-income requirement for the extra $17,500 exclusion.
- Section 1 also removes former subsection (B), which had let each spouse in a married couple separately claim up to the capped exclusion amount.
- Section 1 retains language stating the exclusion applies in addition to, and does not affect, other income adjustments allowed elsewhere in the tax code.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applicable to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-10)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-12)
- Sponsors: Bethany Ballard, Josh Bonner, David Clark, Carmen Rice, Teddy Reese, Shaw Blackmon
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70123
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb361.md?full=1