--- title: O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.34. Tax credits for Class III railroads; reporting. collection: code id: 48-7-40.34 cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.34 (2025) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/48-7-40.34 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/48-7-40.34.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/48-7-40.34/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t48-ch7-8-(v37)-2024-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=1ff964a3_0#page=521 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/48-7.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/48-7-40.33.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/code/48-7-40.35.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md version: Effective January 1, 2025. Repealed effective January 1, 2027. in_force: true other_versions: - version: Effective until January 1, 2025. in_force: false md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/48-7-40.34.md?version=until+January+1%2C+2025 current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly heading_path: REVENUE AND TAXATION / INCOME TAXES / IMPOSITION, RATE, COMPUTATION, EXEMPTIONS, AND CREDITS --- # O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.34. Tax credits for Class III railroads; reporting. (a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) “Class III railroad” means a rail carrier classified as a Class III railroad by the United States Surface Transportation Board in accordance with Section 1-1 of 49 C.F.R. 1201, as it existed on January 1, 2018. (2) “Qualified railroad track maintenance expenditures” means gross expenditures for maintaining railroad track, including roadbed, bridges, and related track structures, owned or leased as of January 1, 2018, by a Class III railroad. (b) A Class III railroad shall be given a credit against the tax imposed under this article for a taxable year in the amount of 50 percent of the qualified railroad track maintenance expenditures paid or incurred by such Class III railroad during the taxable year, provided that such credit shall not exceed $3,500.00 multiplied by each mile of railroad track owned or leased in this state as of the close of the taxable year by such Class III railroad. (c)(1) The credit given under this Code section shall only be allowed once for each mile of railroad track in each taxable year. (2) Such credit shall be given for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2019, and ending on or before December 30, 2026, in which the conditions of this Code section have been met. (d) If a credit is given under this Code section with respect to any railroad track, the basis of such railroad track shall be reduced by the amount of the credit so allowed. (e)(1) The tax credits given to a Class III railroad by this Code section that are not used by such Class III railroad shall be freely assignable one time between January 1, 2019, and January 1, 2027, by written agreement to a taxpayer subject to the tax imposed by this chapter. (2) In no event shall tax credits allowed under this Code section for a taxable year exceed any taxpayer’s state income tax liability. Any credit allowed to any taxpayer under this Code section but not used in a taxable year may be carried forward for up to three years from the close of the taxable year in which the credit was first claimed. No such tax credit shall be allowed by the taxpayer against prior years’ tax liability. (f) On or before September 1 of 2020 and annually thereafter until 2027, the commissioner shall issue a report to the chairpersons of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Committee on Ways and Means concerning the tax credit created by this Code section, which shall include the following statistics for the preceding taxable year: (1) The total number of taxpayers that claimed a credit provided by this Code section; and (2) The number and total value of all credits earned and all credits applied during such tax year pursuant to this Code section. (g) The commissioner shall promulgate such forms, rules, and regulations as are necessary to implement and administer the provisions of this Code section. (h) This Code section shall be automatically repealed on January 1, 2027. ## History Code 1981, § 48-7-40.34, enacted by Ga. L. 2018, p. 944, § 2/HB 735; Ga. L. 2021, p. 289, § 4-1/SB 6; Ga. L. 2024, p. 794, § 1-37/HB 1181, effective January 1, 2025. ## Editor's Notes Ga. L. 2024, p. 794, § 4-1/HB 1181, not codified by the General Assembly, makes the amendments to this Code section by Part I applicable only to the unused tax credits generated during the taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025. ## Amendments The 2024 amendment, effective January 1, 2025, designated the existing provisions of subsection (e) as paragraph (e)(1) and added paragraph (e)(2). See Editor’s notes for applicability. ## Delayed Effective Date Code Section 48-7-40.34 is set out twice in this Code. This version is effective January 1, 2025. For version effective until January 1, 2025, see the preceding version.