---
title: SB 522. Excise Taxes on Rental Motor Vehicles; fee on rental motor vehicles; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb522
cite_as: SB 522, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb522
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb522.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb522/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73328
date: 2026-02-19
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/sb522.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 522
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-18
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Drew Echols
- Russ Goodman
- Bo Hatchett
- Clint Dixon
- Billy Hickman
- Sonya Halpern
- Jason T. Dickerson
- Chuck Payne
- Randy Robertson
- Matt Brass
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB522/2025
upstream_id: 2119513
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- rental car fees
- tourism funding
- state taxes
- transportation costs
---
# SB 522. Excise Taxes on Rental Motor Vehicles; fee on rental motor vehicles; provide
## Text
Senate Bill 522
By: Senators Echols of the 49th, Goodman of the 8th, Hatchett of the 50th, Dixon of the
45th, Hickman of the 4th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 5 of Chapter 13 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to excise taxes on rental motor vehicles, so as to provide for a fee on rental motor
vehicles; to provide a definition; to provide for rules and regulations; to provide funding for
tourism; 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 5 of Chapter 13 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
excise taxes on rental motor vehicles, is amended by designating the existing provisions of
such article as Part 1 and adding a new part to read as follows:
"Part 2
48-13-100.
(a) As used in this part, the term 'temporary replacement motor vehicle' means a vehicle
rented or leased by a person temporarily to use while the vehicle that it is replacing is not
in use because of breakdown, repair, service, damage, or loss.
(b) On and after July 1, 2026, each rental motor vehicle concern renting or leasing motor
vehicles in this state shall charge a $5.00 per day fee to the customer for each calendar day
such vehicle is rented or leased; provided, however, that such fee shall not apply with
respect to a temporary replacement motor vehicle. The rental motor vehicle concern shall
collect the fee at the time the customer pays for the rental or lease of the vehicle. The
rental motor vehicle concern collecting the fee shall by the fifteenth day of each month
remit all fees collected during the prior month to the department.
(c) Nothing in this part shall be construed to impair any existing contract.
(d) The commissioner shall promulgate and make available forms for the use of rental
motor vehicle concerns to assist in compliance with this part. The commissioner may
promulgate rules and regulations as necessary to implement the provisions of this part.
(e) It is the intention of the General Assembly, subject to appropriations, that at least 20
percent of the fees collected pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section shall be made
available and used exclusively for tourism purposes in this state."
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 add a new $5-per-day fee on rental car and truck rentals statewide starting July 1, 2026, with at least 20 percent of the money intended for tourism promotion.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia already taxes rental motor vehicles under a separate part of state law. This bill adds a new part to that law creating an additional flat fee of $5.00 per calendar day on rental or leased motor vehicles, charged to the customer by the rental company. The fee would not apply to a 'temporary replacement motor vehicle,' defined as a vehicle rented while a person's own vehicle is out of service due to breakdown, repair, damage, or loss.
Rental companies would collect the fee at the time of payment and must send the money collected each month to the Georgia Department of Revenue by the 15th of the following month. The bill directs the state revenue commissioner to create compliance forms and issue any needed rules. It also states the General Assembly's intent, subject to future state funding decisions, that at least 20 percent of the fees collected go toward tourism purposes in Georgia. The fee would start July 1, 2026, and would not affect existing rental contracts.
### What it does
- Creates a new $5.00 per day fee on rental or leased motor vehicles in Georgia, charged to customers starting July 1, 2026.
- Exempts 'temporary replacement motor vehicles,' meaning cars rented while a customer's own vehicle is being repaired or replaced after loss.
- Requires rental motor vehicle companies to collect the fee at payment and remit it monthly to the Georgia Department of Revenue by the 15th.
- Directs the state revenue commissioner to create forms and rules to help rental companies comply with the new fee.
- States that at least 20 percent of the fee revenue is intended for tourism purposes, subject to future state funding decisions.
- Protects existing rental contracts from being affected by the new fee requirement.
### Who it affects
Rental car and truck companies operating in Georgia, which must collect and remit the new fee; everyday Georgians and visitors who rent vehicles for personal or business use; and the Georgia Department of Revenue, which processes the collected fees and oversees compliance.
### Why it matters
Anyone renting a car or truck in Georgia after July 1, 2026 would pay an extra $5.00 for each day of the rental, adding to the cost of travel and errands that require a rental vehicle. The added revenue is meant, in part, to help fund the state's tourism efforts, though that funding depends on future legislative appropriations.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds a new Part 2 to Article 5, Chapter 13, Title 48 of Georgia's tax code, alongside the existing rental vehicle excise tax provisions, now labeled Part 1.
- New Code Section 48-13-100(a) defines 'temporary replacement motor vehicle' as a vehicle rented while a person's own vehicle is unavailable due to breakdown, repair, service, damage, or loss.
- Subsection (b) sets the $5.00 per day fee effective July 1, 2026, requires rental companies to collect it at time of payment, and requires monthly remittance to the Department of Revenue by the 15th of the following month.
- Subsection (c) specifies the new fee does not affect or void any existing rental contracts already in place.
- Subsection (d) authorizes the state revenue commissioner to create compliance forms and issue rules to implement the fee.
- Subsection (e) states the General Assembly's intent that at least 20 percent of collected fees be used exclusively for tourism purposes, subject to state appropriations.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-18)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-02-19)
- Sponsors: Drew Echols, Russ Goodman, Bo Hatchett, Clint Dixon, Billy Hickman, Sonya Halpern, Jason T. Dickerson, Chuck Payne, Randy Robertson, Matt Brass
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73328
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb522.md?full=1