---
title: HB 409. 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/hb409
cite_as: HB 409, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb409
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb409.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb409/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70250
date: 2025-02-18
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/hb408.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb410.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb409.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 409
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-12
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Carl Gilliard
- Derrick Jackson
- Angela Moore
- Lynn Heffner
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB409/2025
upstream_id: 1968182
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- military retirement pay
- income tax exemption
- veterans benefits
- Georgia tax law
---
# HB 409. 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 409
By: Representatives Gilliard of the 162nd, Jackson of the 68th, Moore of the 91st, and Heffner
of the 130th
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 retirement 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) All Up to $17,500.00 of 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 upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval and shall be applicable to 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 409 would let Georgia veterans and reservists exclude all of their military retirement pay from state income taxes, removing the current age limits and dollar caps.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law, only some military retirees get a tax break on their retirement pay, and it is limited: people under 62 can exclude up to $17,500 of that income, plus an extra amount if their other Georgia earnings exceed $17,500. This bill rewrites that section of Georgia's income tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27) so that all retirement income from service in the U.S. armed forces or the reserve components is exempt from state income tax, with no dollar cap and no age requirement.
The bill also removes a separate rule that let each spouse in a married couple filing jointly claim their own exclusion amount, since the new full exemption makes that provision unnecessary. If signed into law, the change would apply to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
### What it does
- Removes the current $17,500 cap (and the added amount tied to outside earnings) on how much military retirement income is exempt from Georgia income tax.
- Eliminates the requirement that a retiree be under age 62 to qualify for the exclusion.
- Makes all retirement income from service in the armed forces or reserve components fully exempt from Georgia state income tax.
- Repeals the separate rule allowing each spouse in a joint return to claim an individual exclusion, since the new exemption already covers all such income.
- Sets the change to apply to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, once the Governor signs it or it becomes law without signature.
### Who it affects
Military retirees living in Georgia who receive retirement pay from the armed forces or reserve components, including those over 62 who were previously excluded from the tax break, and married couples who file joint state tax returns.
### Why it matters
Veterans and reservists who retired from military service would owe no Georgia income tax on that retirement pay, regardless of age or how much they earn from other work, which could meaningfully lower their state tax bills starting with the 2026 tax year.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises paragraph (5.1)(A) of O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27 to exempt all military retirement income instead of capping the exclusion at $17,500 plus an age-based add-on.
- Section 1 removes the former age-62 restriction that limited the base exclusion to younger retirees.
- Section 1 repeals the provision letting each spouse in a joint filing separately claim the exclusion, since the exemption now covers all qualifying income for the household.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as approval by the Governor (or becoming law without approval) and applies the change to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-12)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-18)
- Sponsors: Carl Gilliard, Derrick Jackson, Angela Moore, Lynn Heffner
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70250
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb409.md?full=1