HB 559: Sales and use tax; exemption for certain high-technology data center equipment; revise sunset date

Georgia currently exempts certain equipment used in qualifying high-technology data centers from sales and use tax, an exemption that was set to run through December 31, 2031, as long as the data center meets minimum investment and other conditions in the law. This bill changes that end date to December 31, 2026, cutting five years off the exemption's lifespan. The bill makes this change by amending O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3, the state's sales and use tax exemptions statute, revising just one subparagraph. No other terms of the exemption, such as the investment threshold or eligibility rules, are altered. The bill also includes a standard clause repealing any conflicting laws.

• Moves the expiration date of the sales and use tax exemption for high-technology data center equipment from December 31, 2031 to December 31, 2026.
• Leaves unchanged the requirement that a data center must meet a minimum investment threshold and other conditions to qualify for the exemption.
• Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this change.

Owners and operators of high-technology data centers in Georgia that rely on this tax exemption for equipment purchases, along with businesses planning future data center investments in the state that would need to qualify before the earlier 2026 cutoff.

Data center operators who assumed the exemption would last until 2031 would now need to complete qualifying investments and equipment purchases five years sooner, by the end of 2026, or lose access to the tax break on new equipment.

• Section 1 amends subparagraph (A) of paragraph (68.1) of O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3, changing the exemption's sunset date from December 31, 2031 to December 31, 2026.
• The exemption still applies only to high-technology data centers that meet the minimum investment threshold and other conditions already set out in this Code section.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision with no substantive effect of its own.

1. 2025-02-21House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-20House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-20House Hopper (House)

• John Carson (R, HD-046)Primary sponsor
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
• Charles Martin (R, HD-049)
• Debbie Buckner (D, HD-137)
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)

• sales tax exemption
• data centers
• technology investment
• state tax policy