---
title: SB 477. Income Taxes; personal income tax rate; reduce
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb477
cite_as: SB 477, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb477
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb477.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb477/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72976
date: 2026-02-18
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: 720
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb477.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 477
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-12
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
  - Blake Tillery
  - Larry Walker
  - Jason Anavitarte
  - Steve Gooch
  - Randy Robertson
  - Greg Dolezal
  - Shawn Still
  - Bo Hatchett
  - Chuck Hufstetler
  - Bill Cowsert
  - Ben Watson
  - Mike Hodges
  - Chuck Payne
  - Kay Kirkpatrick
  - Carden Summers
  - Russ Goodman
  - Max Burns
  - Ricky Williams
  - Drew Echols
  - Jason T. Dickerson
  - Timothy Bearden
  - Clint Dixon
  - Lee Anderson
  - Brian Strickland
  - Marty Harbin
  - Ed Setzler
  - Billy Hickman
  - Frank Ginn
  - Matt Brass
  - Sam Watson
text_version: Engrossed
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB477/2025
upstream_id: 2111539
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - income taxes
  - tax rate cuts
  - standard deduction
  - corporate taxes
  - Georgia state budget
---

# SB 477. Income Taxes; personal income tax rate; reduce

## Text

Senate Bill 477
By: Senators Tillery of the 19th, Walker III of the 20th, Anavitarte of the 31st, Gooch of the
51st, Robertson of the 29th 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 the imposition, rate, computation, exemptions, and credits relative to income
taxes, so as to reduce the personal income tax rate; to revise provisions relative to annual
reductions of the income tax; to reduce the rates of taxation on corporate and partnership
income; to increase the amount of the standard deduction from state taxable income for
individuals; 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 relative to income taxes, is amended
by revising subsection (a.1) of Code Section 48-7-20, relating to individual tax rates, credit
for withholding and other payments, and applicability to estates and trusts, as follows:
"(a.1)(1) <del>On and after January 1, 2025, the</del> <ins>The</ins> tax imposed pursuant to subsection (a)
of this Code section shall be <del>5.19 percent for taxable years beginning on or after January
1, 2025; provided, however, that such rate shall be reduced by 0.10 percent annually
beginning on January 1, 2026, until the rate reaches 4.99 percent, provided that such
</del>
<del>annual reductions in the tax rate shall be subject to delays as provided in paragraph (2)
of this subsection</del> <ins>as follows:
(A) For the taxable year beginning on January 1, 2026, 4.99 percent;
(B) For the taxable year beginning on January 1, 2027, 4.49 percent; and
(C) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2028, 3.99 percent,
provided that such annual reductions in the tax rate shall be subject to delays as provided
in paragraph (2) of this subsection.
</ins> (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 <del>3</del> <ins>1
</ins> 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 <del>final</del> reduction to the rate of <del>4.99</del> <ins>3.99</ins> percent occurs."
SECTION 2.
Said article is further amended by revising subsection (a) and division (b)(7)(C)(ii) of Code
Section 48-7-21, relating to taxation of corporations, as follows:
"(a) Every domestic corporation and every foreign corporation shall pay annually an
income tax <del>on</del> <ins>equivalent to 4.99 percent of</ins> its Georgia taxable net income <del>at the same rate
of the tax imposed on individuals under subsection (a.1) of Code Section 48-7-20 for the
corresponding taxable year.</del> Georgia taxable net income of a corporation shall be the
corporation's taxable income from property owned or from business done in this state. A
corporation's taxable income from property owned or from business done in this state shall
consist of the corporation's taxable income as defined in the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, with the adjustments provided for in subsection (b) of this Code section and
allocated and apportioned as provided in Code Section 48-7-31."
"(ii) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, an
electing Subchapter 'S' corporation, with respect to a taxable period, shall pay an
income tax <del>on</del> <ins>equivalent to 4.99 percent of</ins> its net income <del>at the same rate of the tax
imposed on individuals under subsection (a.1) of Code Section 48-7-20 for the
corresponding taxable year</del> as computed pursuant to this Code section, and allocated
and apportioned pursuant to Code Section 48-7-31, for such taxable period, and such
shareholders shall not recognize their respective share of the portion of income on
which tax was actually paid pursuant to this subparagraph."
SECTION 3.
Said article is further amended by revising paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of Code
Section 48-7-23, relating to taxation of partnerships, computation of net income,
disallowance of charitable contributions, individual liability of partners, individual returns
of distributive shares, taxable years, and elections, as follows:
"(3) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Code section, an electing partnership with
respect to a taxable period shall pay an income tax <del>on</del> <ins>equivalent to 4.99 percent of</ins> its net
income <del>at the same rate of the tax imposed on individuals under subsection (a.1) of Code
Section 48-7-20 for the corresponding taxable year</del> as computed pursuant to this Code
<del>Section</del> <ins>section,</ins> and allocated and apportioned pursuant to Code Section 48-7-31, for
such taxable period, and such partners shall not recognize their respective share of the
portion of income on which tax was actually paid pursuant to this subsection."
SECTION 4.
Said article is further amended by revising the introductory language and paragraph (1) of
subsection (a) of Code Section 48-7-27, relating to computation of taxable net income, as
follows:
"(a) Georgia taxable net income of an individual shall be the taxpayer's federal adjusted
gross income, as defined in the <del>United States</del> Internal Revenue Code of 1986, less:
(1) At the taxpayer's election, either:
(A) The sum of all itemized nonbusiness deductions used in computing such taxpayer's
federal taxable income; or
(B) A standard deduction in an amount as follows:
(i) In the case of a married couple filing a joint return, <del>$24,000.00</del> <ins>$32,000.00;</ins> or
(ii) In the case of a single taxpayer, head of household, or married taxpayer filing a
separate return, <del>$12,000.00</del> <ins>$16,000.00;"
</ins> SECTION 5.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026, and shall be applicable to all taxable years
beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
SECTION 6.
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.

Senate Bill 477 would cut Georgia's personal income tax rate in stages down to 3.99 percent, lower the corporate and partnership tax rate to 4.99 percent, and roughly double the standard deduction for individuals.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia currently taxes personal income at a flat rate that was set to gradually fall from 5.19 percent toward 4.99 percent over several years. This bill speeds up and extends that schedule: the rate would be 4.99 percent for the 2026 tax year, 4.49 percent for 2027, and 3.99 percent for 2028 and afterward. It also lowers the bar for delaying a scheduled cut, requiring the Governor's revenue estimate to rise by only 1 percent (instead of 3 percent) for the reduction to proceed on schedule.
The bill also sets the corporate income tax rate and the tax rate paid by electing S corporations and partnerships at 4.99 percent, rather than tying those rates to the individual rate. It raises the standard deduction from state taxable income to $32,000 for married couples filing jointly (up from $24,000) and to $16,000 for single filers or heads of household (up from $12,000). The changes would take effect July 1, 2026, and apply to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.

### What it does

- Sets the personal income tax rate at 4.99 percent for 2026, 4.49 percent for 2027, and 3.99 percent for 2028 and later years, replacing the prior gradual 0.10 percent annual reduction schedule.
- Lowers the revenue-growth threshold that can delay a scheduled tax cut, from requiring a 3 percent rise in the Governor's revenue estimate to only a 1 percent rise.
- Fixes the corporate income tax rate at 4.99 percent instead of tying it to whatever the individual income tax rate happens to be each year.
- Sets the tax rate for electing S corporations and partnerships at 4.99 percent of their net income, delinking it from the individual rate.
- Raises the standard deduction from state taxable income to $32,000 for married couples filing jointly and $16,000 for single filers, heads of household, or married people filing separately.
- Ends the annual rate-reduction review process once the individual rate reaches 3.99 percent instead of 4.99 percent.

### Who it affects

Georgia individual taxpayers who pay the state personal income tax, domestic and foreign corporations doing business in Georgia, owners of partnerships and S corporations that elect to pay entity-level tax, and state budget officials, including the Office of Planning and Budget, who track revenue triggers for the rate cuts.

### Why it matters

Most Georgia wage earners, business owners, and corporations would see lower state income tax bills as rates fall toward 3.99 percent for individuals and 4.99 percent for entities, while a bigger standard deduction would shrink taxable income further for people who don't itemize. The lowered revenue-growth trigger makes it easier for future scheduled cuts to actually take effect rather than being delayed.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 48-7-20 to set fixed personal income tax rates by year: 4.99 percent (2026), 4.49 percent (2027), and 3.99 percent (2028 onward), replacing the old incremental reduction formula.
- Section 1 also changes the delay trigger in paragraph (2), lowering the required revenue estimate growth from 3 percent to 1 percent above the prior year's estimate.
- Section 1 states the annual reporting and delay process ends once the rate reaches 3.99 percent rather than the previous 4.99 percent stopping point.
- Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-7-21 to set a flat 4.99 percent corporate income tax rate and the same rate for electing S corporations, instead of matching the individual rate.
- Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-7-23 to set the same 4.99 percent rate for electing partnerships' net income.
- Section 4 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27 to raise the standard deduction to $32,000 for joint filers and $16,000 for single filers, heads of household, or separate filers.
- Section 5 makes the Act effective July 1, 2026, applying to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.

## Status

- Status: Engrossed (2026-02-12)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-18)
- Sponsors: Blake Tillery, Larry Walker, Jason Anavitarte, Steve Gooch, Randy Robertson, Greg Dolezal, Shawn Still, Bo Hatchett, Chuck Hufstetler, Bill Cowsert, Ben Watson, Mike Hodges, Chuck Payne, Kay Kirkpatrick, Carden Summers, Russ Goodman, Max Burns, Ricky Williams, Drew Echols, Jason T. Dickerson, Timothy Bearden, Clint Dixon, Lee Anderson, Brian Strickland, Marty Harbin, Ed Setzler, Billy Hickman, Frank Ginn, Matt Brass, Sam Watson
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72976

> The history, votes, and amendments (720 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb477.md?full=1