HB 1070: Income tax; increase and extend a credit for expenditures on maintenance of railroad track owned or leased by Class III railroads

Georgia currently gives small, short-line railroads known as Class III railroads a tax credit worth 50 percent of what they spend maintaining their track, capped at $3,500 per mile of track they own or lease. That credit was set to expire for tax years ending after December 30, 2026. This bill would raise the per-mile cap to $5,000 and push the expiration date to December 31, 2027, extending the program by one more tax year. The bill also narrows what counts as a qualifying expense: money spent to also claim a federal tax credit, or money that came from a state or federal grant, would no longer count toward the state credit. It extends by one year the deadline for railroads to assign unused credits to another taxpayer, and pushes the program's automatic repeal date from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028. The Governor vetoed the bill as of May 12, 2026.

• Raises the maximum tax credit a Class III railroad can claim from $3,500.00 to $5,000.00 per mile of railroad track it owns or leases in Georgia.
• Extends the tax credit program by one year, so it now applies to tax years ending on or before December 31, 2027 instead of December 30, 2026.
• Excludes from the credit any maintenance spending that is used to qualify for a federal tax credit or that was funded by a state or federal grant.
• Pushes back by one year the deadline for railroads to transfer unused credits to another taxpayer, from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028.
• Delays the program's automatic repeal date from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028.

Class III railroads (small, short-line freight railroads as classified by the federal Surface Transportation Board) operating in Georgia, and any other taxpayers who receive assigned but unused credits from those railroads. The Georgia Department of Revenue also administers and reports on the credit annually.

Short-line railroads that maintain their own track could recoup more of their maintenance costs through state taxes, potentially encouraging track upkeep for another year. The new exclusion for federally funded or grant-funded work means railroads cannot claim both a federal credit and this state credit, or a grant and this credit, for the same spending.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.34 to raise the per-mile credit cap from $3,500.00 to $5,000.00 for qualified railroad track maintenance expenditures.
• Section 1 adds language excluding expenditures used to qualify for a federal tax credit or funded by a state or federal grant from counting as qualified expenditures.
• Section 1 extends the tax years eligible for the credit through those ending on or before December 31, 2027, instead of December 30, 2026.
• Section 1 extends the one-time window for assigning unused credits to another taxpayer through January 1, 2028, instead of January 1, 2027.
• Section 1 moves the Code section's automatic repeal date from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028.
• Section 1 keeps the existing annual reporting requirement to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Committee on Ways and Means, due each September 1.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-05-12Veto V4
2. 2026-05-12House Date Vetoed by Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2026-04-07House Sent to Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2026-03-31House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (Cámara de Representantes)
5. 2026-03-27Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senado)
6. 2026-03-27Senate Third Read (Senado)
7. 2026-03-27Senate Taken from Table (Senado)
8. 2026-03-27Senate Tabled (Senado)

• Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)Patrocinador principal
• Rick Jasperse (R, HD-011)
• Steve Tarvin (R, HD-002)
• Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)
• Brent Cox (R, HD-028)
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)

1. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes25 de febrero de 2026

   167 a favor, 2 en contra (2 sin votar, 6 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #564

2. AprobadaVotación: Senado27 de marzo de 2026

   31 a favor, 18 en contra (4 sin votar, 1 ausentes)

   Motion To Engross: Hb 229, Hb 583, Hb 960, Hb 1070: Senate Vote #826

3. AprobadaVotación: Senado27 de marzo de 2026

   26 a favor, 22 en contra (3 sin votar, 3 ausentes)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #835

4. AprobadaVotación: Senado27 de marzo de 2026

   44 a favor, 3 en contra (2 sin votar, 5 ausentes)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #868

5. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes31 de marzo de 2026

   139 a favor, 26 en contra (3 sin votar, 8 ausentes)

   Agree To Senate Substitute: House Vote #810

• income tax credits
• railroads
• transportation infrastructure
• state tax policy