HB 386: Back to School Relief Act; enact

Georgia law currently exempts certain 'eligible property,' such as clothing and school supplies, from sales and use tax during a specific window that was tied to a fixed 2016 date. This bill, called the Back to School Relief Act, rewrites that exemption so it recurs every year instead of applying only once. The tax-free period would run from 12:01 a.m. on the last Thursday of July through midnight the following Sunday, covering roughly four days each year. The bill also adds a sunset clause so the exemption automatically expires on December 31, 2028, meaning lawmakers would need to renew it after that date for the tax break to continue. The bill repeals any conflicting laws.

• Rewrites Georgia's sales tax exemption law (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3) so the clothing and school supplies tax holiday recurs annually instead of applying only to a one-time 2016 date.
• Sets the tax-free period as starting 12:01 a.m. the last Thursday of July and ending midnight the following Sunday each year.
• Adds a sunset provision that repeals the exemption automatically on December 31, 2028.
• Gives the Act a short title, the 'Back to School Relief Act.'

Georgia shoppers buying clothing and school supplies, retailers who must apply the tax exemption at checkout during the holiday period, and the state revenue system, which would forgo sales tax collections during that annual window through 2028.

Families buying back-to-school clothing and supplies would save on sales tax every year during a set late-July window instead of relying on a one-time exemption, while the state would collect less sales tax revenue during that period until the exemption expires in 2028.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'Back to School Relief Act.'
• Section 2 amends paragraph (75) of O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3 to change the exemption window from a fixed 2016 date to an annual period from the last Thursday of July through the following Sunday.
• Section 2 adds new subparagraph (D), which repeals the exemption on December 31, 2028 unless further action is taken.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-02-13House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-12House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-11House Hopper (House)

• Imani Barnes (D, HD-086)Primary sponsor
• Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
• Rhonda Burnough (D, HD-077)
• Edna Jackson (D, HD-165)
• Karla Drenner (D, HD-085)
• Kimberly Alexander (D, HD-066)

• sales tax holiday
• back to school shopping
• school supplies
• tax exemptions