---
title: SB 465. Income Taxes; business enterprises that hire illegal aliens for large-scale projects from claiming certain tax credits associated with such projects; disqualify
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb465
cite_as: SB 465, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb465
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb465.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb465/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72895
date: 2026-03-10
status: engrossed
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: 859
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bill_number: SB 465
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-03-06
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Steve Gooch
- Drew Echols
- Frank Ginn
- Randy Robertson
- Russ Goodman
- Billy Hickman
- Carden Summers
- Ricky Williams
- Marty Harbin
- Matt Brass
- Jason T. Dickerson
- Timothy Bearden
- Bill Cowsert
- Max Burns
- Bo Hatchett
- Greg Dolezal
- Shawn Still
- Blake Tillery
- Ben Watson
- Lee Anderson
- Jason Anavitarte
text_version: Engrossed
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB465/2025
upstream_id: 2109970
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- income tax credits
- illegal immigration enforcement
- economic development incentives
- business tax policy
---
# SB 465. Income Taxes; business enterprises that hire illegal aliens for large-scale projects from claiming certain tax credits associated with such projects; disqualify
## Text
Senate Bill 465
By: Senators Gooch of the 51st, Echols of the 49th, Ginn of the 47th, Robertson of the 29th,
Goodman of the 8th and others
AS PASSED SENATE
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 imposition, rate, computation, exemptions, and credits relative to income taxes,
so as to disqualify business enterprises that hire illegal aliens for large-scale projects from
claiming certain tax credits associated with such projects; to prevent a business enterprise
from claiming such credits in excess of such business enterprise's tax liability against certain
quarterly or monthly payments; to provide for a sunset date; to allow for a business enterprise
whose application has been approved prior to such sunset date to continue to claim credits
for a limited period of time; to provide for related matters; 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
imposition, rate, computation, exemptions, and credits relative to income taxes, is amended
by revising subsection (d) of Code Section 48-7-40.24, relating to tax credits for jobs
associated with large-scale projects, and adding a new subsection to read as follows:
"(d) A business enterprise whose application is approved shall be allowed a tax credit for
taxes imposed under this article equal to $5,250.00 annually per new eligible full-time
employee job for five years beginning with the year in which such job is created through
year five after such creation; provided, however, that, where the amount of such credit
exceeds a business enterprise's liability for such taxes in a taxable year, the excess may be
taken as a credit against such business enterprise's quarterly or monthly payment under
Code Section 48-7-103. The taxpayer may file an election with the commissioner to take
such credit against quarterly or monthly payments under Code Section 48-7-103 that
become due before the due date of the income tax return on which such credit may be
claimed. In the event of such an election, the commissioner shall confirm with the taxpayer
a date, which shall not be later than 30 days after receipt of the taxpayer's election, when
the taxpayer may begin to take the credit against such quarterly or monthly payments. For
any one taxable year the amounts taken as a credit against taxes imposed under this article
and against the business enterprise's quarterly or monthly payments under Code
Section 48-7-103 may not in the aggregate exceed $5,250.00 per eligible full-time
employee job. Each employee whose employer receives credit against such business
enterprise's quarterly or monthly payment under Code Section 48-7-103 shall receive a
credit against his or her income tax liability under Code Section 48-7-20 for the
corresponding taxable year for the full amount which would be credited against such
liability prior to the application of the credit provided for in this subsection. Credits against
quarterly or monthly payments under Code Section 48-7-103 and credits against liability
under Code Section 48-7-20 established by this subsection shall not constitute income to
the taxpayer. To qualify for a credit under this subsection, the employer business
enterprise must make health insurance coverage available to the employee filling the new
full-time job; provided, however, that nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
require the employer business enterprise to pay for all or any part of health insurance
coverage for such an employee in order to claim the credit provided for in this subsection
if such employer enterprise does not pay for all or any part of health insurance coverage
for other employees. A business enterprise found to have hired an illegal alien, as such
term is defined in Code Section 16-11-201, and claimed such hiring as the basis for
receiving a tax credit under this Code section shall be disqualified from receiving any such
credit."
"(s) No business enterprise shall be allowed a tax credit under this Code section against
taxes imposed under this article on or after July 1, 2031; provided, however, that any
business enterprise whose application has been approved prior to such date may be allowed
such tax credit for the remainder of the five-year period, as provided under subsection (d)
of this Code section, for which such business enterprise would have otherwise been
allowed such tax credit."
SECTION 2.
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 strip a state jobs tax credit from companies caught hiring illegal aliens on large-scale projects, end the practice of applying excess credits to quarterly tax payments, and set a 2031 sunset date for the credit program.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia currently offers a tax credit worth $5,250 per year for five years to businesses that create new full-time jobs on large-scale projects, as long as they offer health insurance to those employees. This bill changes that program in a few ways. First, it removes the option for a business to apply excess credit against its quarterly or monthly withholding tax payments when the credit is bigger than its income tax bill, so any leftover credit amount can no longer be used that way. Second, it adds a new disqualification rule: if a business enterprise is found to have hired an illegal alien (as defined under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-201) and used that hiring as the basis for claiming the credit, it loses the credit entirely. Third, it sets a sunset date of July 1, 2031, after which no new credits can be claimed under this program, though businesses already approved before that date can keep collecting the credit for whatever remains of their original five-year period.
### What it does
- Disqualifies a business enterprise from the large-scale project jobs tax credit if it is found to have hired an illegal alien and used that hiring to justify the credit claim.
- Removes the existing option for businesses to apply excess tax credit amounts against their quarterly or monthly withholding tax payments under O.C.G.A. § 48-7-103.
- Replaces references to 'employer' with 'business enterprise' throughout the health insurance eligibility requirement for the credit.
- Sets a sunset date of July 1, 2031, after which no business enterprise can newly claim this tax credit.
- Allows businesses whose applications were approved before the 2031 sunset date to keep claiming the credit for the remainder of their original five-year eligibility period.
### Who it affects
Businesses that run large-scale projects in Georgia and claim the state's jobs tax credit under O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.24, the employees whose jobs qualify for the credit, and the Georgia Department of Revenue, which administers and would enforce the disqualification rule.
### Why it matters
Companies that rely on this jobs tax credit for large projects would lose it if found to have hired an illegal alien as the basis for a claimed job, and would no longer be able to offset unused credit against withholding tax payments. The program itself would stop accepting new applicants after mid-2031.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.24(d) to delete the provision letting businesses apply excess credit against quarterly or monthly withholding payments under O.C.G.A. § 48-7-103.
- Section 1 replaces the term 'employer' with 'business enterprise' in the health insurance requirement needed to qualify for the credit.
- Section 1 adds language disqualifying any business enterprise found to have hired an illegal alien, as defined in O.C.G.A. § 16-11-201, and claimed that hiring as the basis for the credit.
- A new subsection (s) bars any business enterprise from claiming this tax credit on or after July 1, 2031.
- Subsection (s) preserves credit eligibility for businesses already approved before July 1, 2031, letting them finish out their original five-year credit period.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2026-03-06)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-03-10)
- Sponsors: Steve Gooch, Drew Echols, Frank Ginn, Randy Robertson, Russ Goodman, Billy Hickman, Carden Summers, Ricky Williams, Marty Harbin, Matt Brass, Jason T. Dickerson, Timothy Bearden, Bill Cowsert, Max Burns, Bo Hatchett, Greg Dolezal, Shawn Still, Blake Tillery, Ben Watson, Lee Anderson, Jason Anavitarte
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72895
> The history, votes, and amendments (859 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb465.md?full=1