---
title: O.C.G.A. § 48-5-33.1. Temporary tax relief for standing timber; procedure; certification form; cooperation with State Forestry Commission; regulations.
collection: code
id: 48-5-33.1
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 48-5-33.1 (2025)
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md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/48-5-33.1.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/48-5-33.1/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t48-ch1-6-(v36)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=3fc8d300_0#page=93
date: 2025
status: active
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current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: REVENUE AND TAXATION / AD VALOREM TAXATION OF PROPERTY / GENERAL PROVISIONS
extraction_warnings:
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---

# O.C.G.A. § 48-5-33.1. Temporary tax relief for standing timber; procedure; certification form; cooperation with State Forestry Commission; regulations.

(a) As used in this Code section, the term:

(1) “Disaster area” means any county designated for public assistance or individual and public assistance pursuant to the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA-4830-DR Georgia disaster declaration as of November 4, 2024.

(2) “Eligible governing authority” means the governing authority of any county, consolidated government, or municipality or the governing body of any county or independent board of education that is located in whole or in part in the disaster area.

(3) “Eligible standing timber” means any timber which is subject to taxation pursuant to Code Section 48-5-7.5 that is on eligible timber property.

(4) “Eligible timber property” means any parcel, tract, stand, or other identifiable unit of property that:

(A) Contains standing timber which would, in the ordinary course of business, be sold or harvested;

(B) Is timberland property as such term is defined in Code Section 48-5-600;

(C) Is located within the disaster area; and

(D) Was severely damaged or destroyed as a result of the natural disaster.

(5) “Severely damaged or destroyed” means damaged to the extent which would require salvage thinning, a salvage operation, or clearcut of eligible standing timber based on criteria established by the State Forestry Commission pursuant to subsection (k) of this Code section.

(b) Pursuant to Article VII, Section I, Paragraph III(h) of the Constitution of Georgia and in accordance with the provisions of this Code section, an eligible governing authority may grant temporary tax relief from taxes levied for eligible standing timber pursuant to Code Section 48-5-7.5 during:

(1) The final quarter of 2024; and

(2) Each quarter of 2025.

(c) To grant the temporary tax relief authorized by subsection (b) of this Code section, an eligible governing authority shall adopt a resolution or ordinance that:

(1) Declares that its jurisdiction contains eligible timber property;

(2) Consents to grant the tax relief provided under this Code section;

(3) Requires that taxpayers seeking such tax relief submit the certification established pursuant to subsection (f) of this Code section and that such certification shall be accepted by the eligible governing authority; and

(4) Waives the levy and collection of payment of taxes otherwise due pursuant to Code Section 48-5-7.5 for the final quarter of 2024 and during each quarter of 2025.

(d) Upon adoption of the resolution or ordinance provided under subsection (c) of this Code section, no taxpayer who submits the certification established pursuant to subsection (f) of this Code section shall be required to pay taxes otherwise levied pursuant to Code Section 48-5-7.5 for eligible standing timber during the final quarter of 2024 or during any quarter of 2025.

(e) In the event taxes were levied and paid by a taxpayer pursuant to Code Section 48-5-7.5 for eligible standing timber during the final quarter of 2024 or during any quarter of 2025, the eligible governing authority to which such taxes were payable or collected shall provide that a refund be issued to such taxpayer for the total amount paid in the same manner as otherwise provided under Code Section 48-5-380. If such taxes were levied but unpaid, the eligible governing authority to which such taxes are payable or collected shall waive payment and collection as provided in the resolution or ordinance adopted pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section, and shall be provided by the tax collector or tax commissioner an updated tax bill reflecting that the amount is no longer due.

(f)(1) A certification form shall be established by the State Forestry Commission in consultation with the commissioner and Association County Commissioners of Georgia within ten days of May 8, 2025. In addition to requiring necessary identification and location information, such certification shall:

(A) Require such taxpayer to declare that their otherwise taxable property is eligible standing timber;

(B) Require such taxpayer to declare that they are making a claim for temporary tax relief for eligible standing timber pursuant to this Code section; and

(C) Allow the taxpayer to attach photographs of their eligible timber property, verification by a registered forester that the otherwise taxable property is eligible timber property, or other supporting documentation.

(2) Such certification shall be completed by the taxpayer and shall be submitted to the eligible governing authority as provided in the resolution or ordinance adopted pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section.

(3) The State Forestry Commission shall distribute or otherwise make available such certification form to taxpayers.

(g) The State Forestry Commission is authorized to conduct audits of property for compliance with this Code section at the request of the tax collector or tax commissioner for an eligible governing authority. In the event the State Forestry Commission conducts an audit and finds that the temporary tax relief granted to a taxpayer pursuant to this Code section was improper, the State Forestry Commission shall report such findings to the tax collector or tax commissioner who may pursue all remedies available by law as necessary to recapture the tax that would have been due but for being wrongfully claimed by a taxpayer.

(h) Any temporary tax relief approved or allowed under this Code section shall be paid from funds of the eligible governing authority to which the taxes were or were to have been paid.

(i)(1) For the purpose of offsetting an eligible governing authority’s revenue loss in the final quarter of 2024 and any quarter of 2025 due to the destruction of eligible standing timber in the disaster area and the temporary tax relief authorized pursuant to this Code section, the commissioner shall, subject to an appropriation by the General Assembly specifically referencing the provisions of this Code section, provide a grant to each eligible governing authority that has consented to grant the temporary tax relief authorized pursuant to this Code section.

(2) A grant provided for in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be allotted to each eligible governing authority based on:

(A) The governing authority’s estimated revenue loss as described in paragraph (1) of this subsection;

(B) The revenue received by such governing authority pursuant to Code Section 48-5-7.5 in each of the preceding three years; and

(C) The estimated damage to eligible standing timber in the jurisdiction as provided in the Hurricane Helene Timber Damage Assessment published by the State Forestry Commission on November 5, 2024, or other reliable data from the State Forestry Commission.

(3) No grant to an eligible governing authority provided pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall exceed the average of the total revenue received by such governing authority pursuant to Code Section 48-5-7.5 in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

(j)(1) The grants provided pursuant to subsection (i) of this Code section shall not be included in the calculation of the equalized adjusted property tax digest under Code Section 48-5-274 for the purpose of calculating the required local five mill share for school funding purposes under Code Section 20-2-164.

(2) The temporary tax relief authorized pursuant to this Code section shall not affect the requirement provided for in paragraph (2) of subsection (m) of Code Section 48-5-7.5 that the fair market value of timber harvested or sold be added to a digest and be included in the calculation of the equalized adjusted property tax digest under Code Section 48-5-274 for the purpose of calculating the required local five mill share for school funding purposes under Code Section 20-2-164.

(k)(1) The commissioner, tax collectors, and tax commissioners shall be authorized to consult with the State Forestry Commission to implement the provisions of this Code section.

(2) The State Forestry Commission shall establish criteria for determining whether timber property is severely damaged or destroyed. In establishing such criteria, such commission may consider:

(A) The average damage sustained throughout the timber property;

(B) Whether the timber property has adequate remaining trees per acre to maintain viable timber property; and

(C) The risk of insect and disease damage to the timber property as a result of the disaster.

(l) The commissioner may promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to implement and administer the provisions this Code section.

## History

Code 1981, § 48-5-33.1, enacted by Ga. L. 2025, p. 231, § 1-3/HB 223, effective May 8, 2025.

## Code Commission Notes

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2025, “May 8, 2025” was substituted for “the effective of this Code section” at the end of the first sentence of paragraph (f)(1).

## Editor's Notes

Ga. L. 2025, p. 231, § 1/HB 223, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This part shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Timberlands Recovery, Exemption, and Earnings Stability (TREES) Act.’”

Ga. L. 2025, p. 231, § 1-2/HB 223, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “The General Assembly finds that:

“(1) Hurricane Helene has had a catastrophic impact on the citizens and the economy of many areas in this state, has particularly devastated the timber industry on which the citizens of southwest Georgia are heavily dependent for their livelihood by reducing or eliminating the long-held investments in standing timber and timberlands of businesses and families, and has created both a public fire hazard and a danger of insect infestations due to the massive amounts of downed timber caused by the severity of this natural disaster;

“(2) As of November, 2024, the estimated losses to standing timber caused by Hurricane Helene as measured by the State Forestry Commission were nearly $1.3 billion;

“(3) Timberlands as investments are unique as an agriculture product in this state, as timber products often take ten years or longer to realize any return on the investment;

“(4) Many counties, municipalities, and local school districts rely on the taxes levied at the time of timber’s harvest or sale pursuant to Code Section 48-5-7.5, but with the destruction of timberlands throughout this state, that tax revenue will likely not be realized; and

“(5) It is the intent of the General Assembly to authorize local governing authorities to provide temporary tax relief from the taxes levied pursuant to Code 48-5-7.5 so that the timber industry, and the businesses and families that provide timber products to such industry, will realize a reduced cost for growing new product and recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene. These reduced costs will help stabilize the market and allow for quicker harvesting and recovery of lands where some timber is still salvageable.”

## Effective Date

This Code section became effective May 8, 2025.