---
title: O.C.G.A. § 48-8-109.31. Imposition of special sales and use tax within special district; limited time and purpose.
collection: code
id: 48-8-109.31
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 48-8-109.31 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/48-8-109.31
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/48-8-109.31.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/48-8-109.31/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t48-ch7-8-(v37)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=87f77070_0#page=284
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
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version: the only printed version
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current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: REVENUE AND TAXATION / SALES AND USE TAXES / SPECIAL DISTRICT OPTION SALES AND USE TAX
extraction_warnings:
  - bound_version_dropped:For effective date, see note.
---

# O.C.G.A. § 48-8-109.31. Imposition of special sales and use tax within special district; limited time and purpose.

(a) Subject to the requirement of approval by local referendum and the other requirements of this article, there may be imposed within any given special district a special sales and use tax for a limited period of time for the limited purpose of property tax relief.

(b) Except as to rate, a tax imposed under this part shall correspond to the tax imposed by Article 1 of this chapter. No item or transaction which is not subject to taxation under Article 1 of this chapter shall be subject to a tax imposed under this article, except that a tax imposed under this article shall apply to sales of motor fuels as prepaid local tax as defined in Code Section 48-8-2 and shall be applicable to the sale of food and food ingredients and alcoholic beverages as provided for in Code Section 48-8-3.

(c) The special sales and use tax provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section may be imposed by a special district in 0.05 percent increments, but in no event shall such tax exceed 1 percent in total. The levy of such tax upon sales of motor fuels as defined in Code Section 48-9-2 shall only be imposed on the retail sales price of the motor fuel which is not more than $3.00 per gallon.

(d) As conditions precedent to the issuance of the call for the referendum:

(1) The governing authority of the county whose geographical boundary is conterminous with that of the special district and the governing authority or authorities of all municipalities in such county that levy an ad valorem tax on property, other than those municipalities that are excluded from the special district pursuant to subsection (f) of this Code section, shall have in effect a base year value homestead exemption or adjusted base year value homestead exemption, except that such condition precedent shall not apply with respect to any municipality that levies an ad valorem tax on property and that represents no more than 5 percent of the special district’s residents of municipalities that levy an ad valorem tax on property; and

(2) The governing authority of the county whose geographical boundary is conterminous with that of the special district and the governing authority or authorities, if any, that represent at least 50 percent of the special district’s residents of municipalities that levy an ad valorem tax on property, other than those municipalities that are excluded from the special district pursuant to subsection (f) of this Code section, shall enter into an intergovernmental agreement calling for the tax authorized under this article and specifying the proposed rate of the tax, the proposed maximum period of time that the tax is to be levied, and the proposed distribution of the tax.

(e)(1) As used in this subsection, the term “absent municipality” means any municipality that levies an ad valorem tax on property, other than those municipalities that are excluded from the special district pursuant to subsection (f) of this Code section, and that did not enter into the intergovernmental agreement provided for in paragraph (2) of subsection (d) of this Code section.

(2) If the combined total of the populations of all absent municipalities is less than one-half of the aggregate population of all municipalities located within the special district that levy an ad valorem tax on property, the governing authorities entering into such intergovernmental agreement shall, in behalf of such absent municipalities, specify a percentage of that portion of the remaining proceeds which each municipality that levies an ad valorem tax on property shall receive, which percentage shall not be less than that proportion which each such absent municipality’s population bears to the total population of all municipalities that levy ad valorem taxes on property within the special district multiplied by that portion of the remaining proceeds which are received by all such municipalities within the special district. No portion of the tax shall be apportioned to counties or municipalities that do not levy an ad valorem tax on property or do not have a base year value homestead exemption or adjusted base year value homestead exemption in effect.

(f) Subject to the limitation provided for in Code Section 48-8-6, any special district which wholly or partially contains a jurisdiction levying the tax provided for under Article 4 of this chapter is authorized to levy the tax authorized under this article. Such tax authorized under this article may only be levied in the areas of the special district outside of the jurisdiction levying the tax provided for under Article 4 of this chapter. Any jurisdiction levying the tax provided for under Article 4 of this chapter shall not be considered within the procedure necessary to levy the tax under this article and shall not be entitled to any portion of said tax.

## History

Code 1981, § 48-8-109.31, enacted by Ga. L. 2024, p. 20, § 3-2/HB 581, effective January 1, 2025; Ga. L. 2025, p. 4, § 3-2/HB 92, effective April 1, 2025.

## Editor's Notes

Ga. L. 2024, p. 20, § 4-1/HB 581, not codified by the General Assembly, makes this Code section applicable to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025.

For information as to the effective date of this Code section, see the Effective date note at the beginning of this article.

Ga. L. 2025, p. 4, § 4-1(a)/HB 92, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment of subsections (a), (d), (e), and (f) of this Code section is applicable on and after April 1, 2025.

## Amendments

The 2025 amendment, effective April 1, 2025, substituted “there may be imposed” for “to impose” in the middle of subsection (a); redesignated former paragraph (d)(1) as subsection (d); redesignated former subparagraphs (d)(1)(A) and (d)(1)(B) as present paragraphs (d)(1) and (d)(2), respectively; redesignated former paragraph (d)(2) as present paragraph (e)(2); redesignated former paragraph (d)(3) as present subsection (f); in subsection (d), substituted “conditions” for “a condition”; in paragraphs (d)(1) and (d)(2), substituted “subsection (f) of this Code section” for “paragraph (3) of this subsection”; inserted “homestead exemption” in paragraphs (d)(1) and (e)(2); in paragraph (d)(1), inserted “in such county” near the beginning and inserted “except that such condition precedent shall not apply with respect to any municipality that levies an ad valorem tax on property and that represents no more than 5 percent of the special district’s residents of municipalities that levy an ad valorem tax on property” near the end; added paragraph (e)(1); and, in paragraph (e)(2), in the first sentence, deleted “such” following “of all”, and substituted “governing authorities entering into such intergovernmental agreement shall, in” for “political subdivisions entering into the intergovernmental agreement shall, on”, and substituted “or municipalities” for “and municipalities” in the second sentence.