---
title: O.C.G.A. § 13-7-1. Nature of setoff generally.
collection: code
id: 13-7-1
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 13-7-1 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/13-7-1
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/13-7-1.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/13-7-1/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t13-(v11)-2010-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=e4dbdcfd_0#page=480
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/13-7.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/13-6-15.md
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index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: CONTRACTS / SETOFF AND RECOUPMENT
---

# O.C.G.A. § 13-7-1. Nature of setoff generally.

Setoff does not operate as a denial of the plaintiff’s claim; rather it allows the defendant to set off a debt owed him by the plaintiff against the claim of the plaintiff.

## History

Orig. Code 1863, § 2840; Code 1868, § 2848; Code 1873, § 2899; Code 1882, § 2899; Civil Code 1895, § 3745; Civil Code 1910, § 4339; Code 1933, § 20-1301.

## Cross References

Applicability of statute of limitation to setoff, § 9-3-6. Counterclaim and cross-claim, § 9-11-13. Effect of counterclaim exceeding opposing claim under Civil Practice Act, § 9-11-13. Joinder of claims and remedies under Civil Practice Act, § 9-11-18. Setoff of judgment, § 9-13-75. Equitable setoff, § 23-2-76.

## Law Reviews

For article, ‘‘Appeals, Interlocutory and Discretionary Applications, and Post-Judgment Motions in the Georgia Courts: The Current Practice and the Need for Reform Legislation,’’ see 44 Mercer L. Rev. 17 (1992).