SB 183: Sales and Use Taxes; certain baby products from taxation; exempt

Under current Georgia law, most retail purchases are subject to the state sales and use tax, with specific exemptions listed in O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3. This bill adds a new exemption for a defined list of baby products, meaning shoppers would not pay sales tax on these items in Georgia. The bill defines 'baby products' to include children's diapers, therapeutic or preventive creams and wipes marketed mainly for use on children's skin, child restraint devices or booster seats meeting federal safety standards, cribs meeting federal safety standards for full-size or non-full-size cribs, and strollers for children up to 36 months old that meet federal stroller safety standards. The bill also makes a minor technical fix to punctuation in the existing exemption list so the new exemption fits grammatically. It repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing clause.

• Adds a new sales and use tax exemption in O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3 covering a defined list of baby products.
• Defines 'baby products' to include children's diapers as tax-exempt items.
• Exempts therapeutic or preventive creams and wipes marketed primarily for use on children's skin.
• Exempts child restraint devices and booster seats that meet a specific federal safety standard (49 C.F.R. § 571.213).
• Exempts cribs that meet federal crib safety standards and strollers for children up to 36 months that meet federal stroller safety standards.
• Makes a technical punctuation change to the existing exemptions list so the new exemption reads correctly alongside current entries.

Parents and caregivers who buy diapers, baby skin creams and wipes, car seats, cribs, or strollers in Georgia, as well as retailers who sell these items and would need to stop charging sales tax on them.

Families buying diapers, car seats, cribs, and strollers would pay less at checkout since these items would no longer carry Georgia's sales tax. Retailers selling baby products would need to adjust how they calculate tax on qualifying items.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3 by adding new paragraph (106), exempting sales of 'baby products' from sales and use tax.
• Paragraph (106)(B) defines 'baby products' with a specific list: diapers, certain creams and wipes, child restraint devices or booster seats, cribs, and strollers.
• Child restraint devices and booster seats must meet the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standard under 49 C.F.R. § 571.213 to qualify.
• Cribs must meet United States Consumer Product Safety Commission standards under 16 C.F.R. Part 1219 (full-size) or Part 1220 (non-full-size).
• Strollers must be intended for children from infancy to 36 months and meet the Consumer Product Safety Commission's standard under 16 C.F.R. § 1227.2.
• Section 1 also makes a technical edit, replacing a period with '; or' at the end of paragraph (105) so the new exemption connects properly to the existing list.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision.

1. 2025-02-18Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-17Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Nabilah Islam Parkes (D, SD-007)Primary sponsor
• Derek Mallow (D, SD-002)
• Jason Esteves (D, SD-035)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)

• sales tax exemption
• baby products
• diapers
• child safety seats
• cribs and strollers