Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB 408: State Sales and Use Taxes; data center equipment sales and use tax exemption; advance the sunset date

Last action January 16, 2026 · Senate Read and Referred

A Georgia Senate bill would move up the expiration date of the state's sales and use tax exemption for data center equipment from January 1, 2032 to January 1, 2027.

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The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

Georgia currently exempts certain data center equipment purchases from state sales and use taxes under O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3, with that exemption set to expire automatically on January 1, 2032. This bill changes only that expiration date, moving it up five years to January 1, 2027. The bill does not otherwise change who qualifies for the exemption or what equipment it covers; it simply shortens how long the tax break will remain available before it ends automatically. If enacted, the law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without his signature.

What the bill does

Moves the automatic repeal date of the data center equipment sales and use tax exemption from January 1, 2032 to January 1, 2027.
Leaves all other terms of the exemption in O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3 unchanged, affecting only when it expires.
Sets the effective date as immediate upon the Governor's signature or the bill becoming law without his signature.

Who it affects

Companies that build or operate data centers in Georgia and currently rely on the sales and use tax exemption for data center equipment, as well as the state revenue collected from sales taxes on that equipment once the exemption ends earlier than planned.

Why it matters

Data center operators would have five fewer years to buy equipment tax-free under this exemption than current law allows, meaning the tax break would end in 2027 instead of 2032, potentially raising costs for future data center purchases in Georgia.

Key provisions

Section 1 amends subparagraph (H) of paragraph (68.1) of O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3 to change the exemption's sunset date from January 1, 2032 to January 1, 2027.
Section 2 makes the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's approval or upon becoming law without approval.
Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

Discussed in meetings (3)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

Senate Finance Committee, January 28, 2026
From 0:50:00 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: Witnesses opposed SB 408 alongside the proposal to end new exemption approvals. No separate sponsor presentation occurred. An Atlanta North Georgia Building Trades witness urged keeping the existing sunset, saying data centers accounted for 25 million of the organization’s 47 million work hours the previous year and provided recurring equipment-replacement work. An IBEW Local 613 witness said data center construction and operations accounted for 75% of members’ employment and supported long-term maintenance careers. A Data Center Coalition witness argued that predictable incentives were essential for large investments and that projects could move to competing states. The witness cited a recent Virginia report using a 90% estimate for investment attributable to incentives, challenging the Georgia researchers’ 30% estimate. A former Atlanta development authority member challenged claims of large local property tax benefits, citing low appraisals in Fulton County and a $5 million tax cap at the Stanton Springs Meta facility. No vote was taken.
Senate Finance Committee, February 2, 2026
From 0:39:27 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 408 would move the expiration of the data-center equipment sales-and-use-tax exemption from 2032 to January 1, 2027. The chair cautioned that businesses could shift to a separate computer-equipment exemption, limiting additional revenue until that exemption expires at the end of 2028. Discussing the fiscal note, the chair said only a partial effect would appear in fiscal 2029, with the full effect in fiscal 2030. The chair said projected state and local exemptions together approached $3 billion and requested clarification from the Department of Revenue about the figures and possible overlap. The sponsor described the proposal as bipartisan and said public interest in data centers had grown. The sponsor acknowledged trade unions’ earlier arguments about jobs but said there was a compelling case for acting sooner. A committee member asked whether legislation would address businesses shifting between exemptions. The chair said discussions were ongoing and more information was being gathered. Another member asked whether equipment must be installed rather than merely purchased; the exchange did not clearly establish the requirement. No amendment or vote occurred. The chair said the committee would continue gathering information before acting.

Read aloud: Senate floor session, January 16, 2026 (legislative day 5), 0:19:08

Status timeline

2026-01-16Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2026-01-15Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

sales tax exemptions
data centers
state tax policy
economic development incentives

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Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb408.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp