---
title: HB 7. Income tax; workforce-ready graduates employed in high-tech full-time jobs in rural counties; provide tax credit
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb7
cite_as: HB 7, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb7
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb7.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb7/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69287
date: 2026-02-26
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: 319
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb7.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 7
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-01-13
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
sponsors:
- Dar'shun Kendrick
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB7/2025
upstream_id: 1916663
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- income tax credit
- rural economic development
- tech jobs
- workforce development
- small business
---
# HB 7. Income tax; workforce-ready graduates employed in high-tech full-time jobs in rural counties; provide tax credit
## Text
The House Committee on Ways and Means offers the following substitute to HB 7:
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 the imposition, rate, computation, exemptions, and credits relative to income
taxes, so as to provide for a tax credit for workforce-ready graduates employed in high-tech
full-time jobs in rural counties in this state; to require the Department of Labor to establish
certain criteria; to provide for conditions and limitations; to provide for definitions; to
provide for rules and regulations and forms; 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 the
imposition, rate, computation, exemptions, and credits relative to income taxes, is amended
by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"48-7-29.29.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Employer' means an enterprise or organization, whether 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) 'High-tech full-time job' means employment:
(A) That is located in a rural county;
(B) As a data scientist, software developer, information security analyst, web
developer, computer sales engineer, information technology manager, computer
research scientist, network and systems administrator, or computer support specialist;
(C) Through an employer located in a rural county that is also a small business;
(D) That involves a regular work week of 30 hours or more;
(E) That has no predetermined end date; and
(F) That pays at or above the average hourly wage of the county with the lowest
average hourly wage in the state, as reported in the most recently available annual issue
of the Georgia Employment and Wages Averages Report of the Department of Labor.
(3) 'Rural county' means a county in this state that has a population of less than 50,000
with 10 percent or more of such population living in poverty based upon the most recent,
reliable, and applicable data published by the United States Bureau of the Census. On
or before December 31 of each year, the commissioner of the Department of Community
Affairs shall publish a list of such counties.
(4) 'Small business' means a business that is independently owned and operated, is not
dominant in its field of operation, and employs fewer than 20 employees.
(5) 'Workforce-ready graduate' means an individual who has obtained a postsecondary
credential from a nationally accredited institution in the discipline of engineering or
computer, information, or data science within a high-tech area of study and who is
certified by the Department of Labor as having completed a workforce readiness program
approved by the Department of Labor in accordance with subsection (b) of this Code
section.
(b) By January 1, 2027, the Department of Labor shall adopt criteria for the establishment
of workforce readiness programs and the certification of workforce-ready graduates for the
purposes of this Code section.
(c)(1) On and after January 1, 2027, each workforce-ready graduate employed in a
high-tech full-time job for at least 40 weeks during a 12 month period shall be eligible
for an income tax credit in the amount of $4,000.00 for each such year of employment
against the tax imposed under this article; provided, however, that no individual shall be
allowed more than $12,000.00 of tax credits under this paragraph.
(2) No individual first employed in a high-tech full-time job before January 1, 2027,
shall qualify to be eligible to receive the credit provided by this subsection.
(3) No individual shall be eligible to receive the credit provided by this subsection more
than once.
(d) In no event shall the credit provided by subsection (c) of this Code section for a taxable
year exceed the taxpayer's income tax liability. Any unused portion of the credit provided
by subsection (c) of this Code section shall be permitted to be carried forward and applied
to the taxpayer's tax liability for the subsequent three years. The credit provided by
subsection (c) of this Code section shall not be applied against the taxpayer's prior years'
tax liabilities.
(e) The commissioner 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, 2026, and shall be applicable to all taxable years
beginning on or after January 1, 2027.
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 give a $4,000-per-year income tax credit, up to $12,000, to workforce-ready graduates who take high-tech jobs at small businesses in rural counties, starting with jobs held on or after January 1, 2027.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia currently has no specific income tax break for graduates who take tech jobs in rural parts of the state. This bill adds a new tax credit to Georgia's income tax code (O.C.G.A. Title 48) aimed at closing that gap. It defines a 'workforce-ready graduate' as someone with a postsecondary credential in engineering or computer, information, or data science who is certified by the Georgia Department of Labor as completing an approved workforce readiness program.
Starting January 1, 2027, such a graduate who works at least 40 weeks in a 12-month period in a qualifying 'high-tech full-time job' at a small business (fewer than 20 employees) in a designated rural county can claim a $4,000 tax credit per year of employment, capped at $12,000 per person and usable only once. The Department of Community Affairs must publish the list of qualifying rural counties, and the Department of Labor must set certification criteria by January 1, 2027. The law takes effect July 1, 2026, and applies to tax years starting on or after January 1, 2027.
### What it does
- Creates a new Georgia income tax credit of $4,000 per year, capped at $12,000 total, for workforce-ready graduates in qualifying rural tech jobs.
- Requires the Department of Labor to set criteria for workforce readiness programs and graduate certification by January 1, 2027.
- Limits eligible jobs to specific tech roles (such as data scientists, software developers, and network administrators) at small businesses with fewer than 20 employees located in rural counties.
- Requires the Department of Community Affairs to publish an annual list of qualifying rural counties based on population and poverty rates.
- Bars anyone first employed in a qualifying job before January 1, 2027 from claiming the credit, and limits each person to claiming it only once.
- Allows unused credit amounts to carry forward up to three years but not to be applied to past tax years.
### Who it affects
Recent graduates in engineering, computer science, information science, or data science who take tech jobs in rural Georgia counties; small businesses (fewer than 20 employees) in those counties that employ them; the Georgia Department of Labor, which must certify graduates and programs; and the Department of Community Affairs, which must publish qualifying county lists.
### Why it matters
The credit could make it more financially attractive for young tech workers to take jobs at small rural businesses instead of leaving for cities, potentially helping rural employers recruit skilled staff, though the benefit is capped at $12,000 per person and only applies to jobs starting in 2027 or later.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code section 48-7-29.29 defining 'employer,' 'high-tech full-time job,' 'rural county,' 'small business,' and 'workforce-ready graduate.'
- Subsection (b) requires the Department of Labor to adopt certification criteria for workforce readiness programs by January 1, 2027.
- Subsection (c) creates the $4,000 annual tax credit, caps total credits at $12,000 per individual, and limits eligibility to jobs first held on or after January 1, 2027.
- Subsection (c)(3) allows each individual to receive the credit only once in their lifetime.
- Subsection (d) caps the credit at the taxpayer's tax liability, allows a three-year carryforward of unused credit, and bars applying it to past tax years.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026, applicable to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-01-13)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (2026-02-26)
- Sponsors: Dar'shun Kendrick
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69287
> The history, votes, and amendments (319 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb7.md?full=1