---
title: SB 168. Individual Tax Rates; reduction of the state income tax over time; revise provisions
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb168
cite_as: SB 168, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb168
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb168.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb168/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70334
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb168.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 168
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-13
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Colton Moore
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB168/2025
upstream_id: 1970374
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- state income tax
- tax rate cuts
- income tax reduction
- Georgia budget
---
# SB 168. Individual Tax Rates; reduction of the state income tax over time; revise provisions
## Text
Senate Bill 168
By: Senator Moore of the 53rd
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 48-7-20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
individual tax rates, credit for withholding and other payments, and applicability to estates
and trusts, so as to revise provisions for the reduction of the state income tax over time; to
remove certain conditions for such rate reduction; to provide for related matters; to provide
an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 48-7-20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to individual tax
rates, credit for withholding and other payments, and applicability to estates and trusts, is
amended by revising subsection (a.1) as follows:
"(a.1)(1) On and after January 1, 2024, the tax imposed pursuant to subsection (a) of this
Code section shall be 5.39 percent for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2024;
provided, however, that such rate shall be reduced by 0.10 1 percent annually beginning
on January 1, 2025 2026, until the rate reaches 4.99 0 percent, provided such annual
reductions in the tax rate shall be subject to delays as provided in paragraph (2) of this
subsection.
(2) Each prospective annual reduction in the tax rate that would otherwise occur as
provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be delayed by one year for each year
that any of the following are true as of December 1:
(A) The Governor's revenue estimate for the succeeding fiscal year is not at least 3
percent above the Governor's revenue estimate for the present fiscal year;
(B) The prior fiscal year's net revenue collection was not higher than each of the
preceding three fiscal years' net tax revenue collection; or
(C) The Revenue Shortfall Reserve provided for in Code Section 45-12-93 does not
contain a sum that exceeds the amount of the decrease in state revenue projected to
occur as a result of the prospective reduction in the tax rates set to occur the following
year.
(3) The Office of Planning and Budget shall make the determinations necessary to
implement the provisions of paragraph (2) of this subsection and shall report its
determinations by December 1 of each year to the department, the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the chairpersons of the House
Appropriations Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate
Appropriations Committee, and the Senate Finance Committee. This paragraph shall not
be applicable after the final reduction to the rate of 4.99 percent occurs."
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.
A Georgia Senate bill would speed up the state's flat income tax cuts, dropping the rate by a full percentage point each year starting in 2026 until it hits zero, without the current budget safeguards.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia's state income tax rate has been on a schedule of small annual cuts, currently set to fall by 0.10 percent per year starting in 2025 until it reaches 4.99 percent. Those cuts can also be delayed a year if state revenue growth, past collections, or the state's reserve fund don't meet certain thresholds.
This bill rewrites that law (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-20). It changes the annual reduction from 0.10 percent to a full 1 percent, moves the start date to January 1, 2026, and changes the final target rate from 4.99 percent to 0 percent. It also removes the delay conditions tied to revenue estimates, prior collections, and the state's Revenue Shortfall Reserve, along with the requirement that the Office of Planning and Budget report on those conditions each year. The changes would take effect July 1, 2025, and apply to tax years starting on or after January 1, 2026.
### What it does
- Increases the annual state income tax rate cut from 0.10 percent to 1 percent per year, a much faster reduction schedule.
- Changes the ultimate target for the state income tax rate from 4.99 percent down to 0 percent, meaning the tax could eventually be eliminated.
- Moves the start of the new reduction schedule to January 1, 2026 instead of January 1, 2025.
- Removes the three conditions that could delay a scheduled rate cut, including revenue growth targets and the state's reserve fund balance.
- Eliminates the requirement that the Office of Planning and Budget report annually on whether a rate cut should be delayed.
- Sets the changes to take effect July 1, 2025, applying to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
### Who it affects
Georgia individual income taxpayers, whose tax rate would fall faster and further over time; the state budget process and agencies that rely on income tax revenue; and the Office of Planning and Budget, which currently monitors and reports on conditions for delaying rate cuts.
### Why it matters
Georgians would see their state income tax rate drop faster and potentially reach zero, but state government would lose the built-in checks that currently pause tax cuts when revenue growth slows or reserves run low, changing how automatic the cuts are regardless of budget conditions.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-7-20(a.1) to change the annual rate reduction from 0.10 percent to 1 percent, starting January 1, 2026.
- Section 1 changes the floor for the tax rate reduction from 4.99 percent to 0 percent.
- Section 1 strikes the three delay conditions (revenue estimate growth, prior year collections, and Revenue Shortfall Reserve balance) that could postpone a scheduled cut.
- Section 1 removes the requirement for the Office of Planning and Budget to report annually to legislative leaders on delay determinations.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applying to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-13)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-02-18)
- Sponsors: Colton Moore
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70334
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb168.md?full=1