---
title: SB 187. State Income Tax; amount of tax credits available for qualified caregiving expenses; increase
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb187
cite_as: SB 187, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb187
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb187.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb187/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70401
date: 2025-02-19
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/sb187.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 187
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-18
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Jason Esteves
- Harold Jones
- Kim Jackson
- Elena Parent
- Nabilah Islam Parkes
- RaShaun Kemp
- Kenya Wicks
- Donzella James
- Gail Davenport
- Sally Harrell
- Nan Orrock
- Nikki Merritt
- Tonya Anderson
- Michael Rhett
- Ed Harbison
- Josh McLaurin
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB187/2025
upstream_id: 1974202
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- income tax credits
- caregiving
- family caregivers
- state tax law
---
# SB 187. State Income Tax; amount of tax credits available for qualified caregiving expenses; increase
## Text
Senate Bill 187
By: Senators Esteves of the 35th, Jones II of the 22nd, Jackson of the 41st, Parent of the 44th,
Islam Parkes of the 7th and others
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 for state income tax,
so as to increase the amount of tax credits available for qualified caregiving expenses; 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 for state income tax, is amended by
revising subsection (c) of Code Section 48-7-29.2, relating to tax credits for qualified
caregiving expenses, as follows:
"(c)(1) In no event shall the amount of the tax credit exceed $150.00 $500.00 or the
taxpayer's income tax liability, whichever is less. Any unused tax credit shall not be
allowed to be carried forward to apply to the taxpayer's succeeding years' tax liability.
No such tax credit shall be allowed the taxpayer against prior years' tax liability."
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, 2025.
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 raise the state income tax credit for caregiving expenses from $150 to $500, starting with the 2025 tax year.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia currently allows a state income tax credit for qualified caregiving expenses, but the credit is capped at $150 or the taxpayer's tax liability, whichever is less. This bill would raise that cap to $500. The credit still cannot exceed a taxpayer's actual income tax liability for the year, unused amounts still cannot be carried forward to future years, and the credit still cannot be applied against past years' taxes.
The change is made by amending O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.2, part of Georgia's income tax law. If enacted, the higher cap would take effect July 1, 2025, and would apply to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, meaning it could apply when Georgians file their 2025 state income taxes.
### What it does
- Raises the maximum state income tax credit for qualified caregiving expenses from $150 to $500 per taxpayer.
- Keeps the existing rule that the credit cannot exceed the taxpayer's actual income tax liability for the year.
- Keeps the existing rule that unused portions of the credit cannot be carried forward to future tax years.
- Keeps the existing rule that the credit cannot be applied against a taxpayer's tax liability from prior years.
- Sets the change to take effect July 1, 2025, applying to tax years starting on or after January 1, 2025.
### Who it affects
Georgia taxpayers who claim the existing state income tax credit for qualified caregiving expenses, such as people paying for care for an elderly or disabled family member, would be eligible for a larger credit under this bill.
### Why it matters
Caregivers who already qualify for this tax credit could see their maximum benefit more than triple, from $150 to $500, lowering their state income tax bill by a larger amount starting with taxes filed for 2025, though the credit still cannot exceed what they owe.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.2(c)(1), raising the caregiving expense tax credit cap from $150.00 to $500.00.
- Section 1 leaves in place the rule that the credit cannot exceed the taxpayer's income tax liability, whichever is less.
- Section 1 leaves in place the bar on carrying forward unused credit to future years or applying it to prior years' taxes.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applicable to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws, a standard technical provision.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-18)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-02-19)
- Sponsors: Jason Esteves, Harold Jones, Kim Jackson, Elena Parent, Nabilah Islam Parkes, RaShaun Kemp, Kenya Wicks, Donzella James, Gail Davenport, Sally Harrell, Nan Orrock, Nikki Merritt, Tonya Anderson, Michael Rhett, Ed Harbison, Josh McLaurin
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70401
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb187.md?full=1