HB 723: Income tax; expenses incurred in the provision of a warming center to unsheltered individuals on certain days of inclement weather; provide tax credit

Georgia law currently offers no specific income tax break for people or businesses who open up space to shelter homeless individuals during cold weather emergencies. This bill would add a new section to Georgia's tax code (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.37) creating such a credit. A taxpayer who offers property they own or lease as a 'warming center,' kept at 60 degrees or warmer with room for people to lie down, for at least ten hours on a day when the wind chill drops below 45 degrees, could claim a tax credit equal to actual costs like utilities, security, food, water, blankets, and toiletries. The credit is capped at $75 per unsheltered individual, up to 20 people. Taxpayers must keep receipts and attendance logs, and anyone who misuses the credit is barred from claiming it for five years. Unused credit can carry forward three years but cannot offset past taxes owed. The change would take effect January 1, 2026.

• Creates a new state income tax credit for taxpayers who operate warming centers for unsheltered people during cold weather, effective January 1, 2026.
• Defines a qualifying warming center as space kept at or above 60 degrees Fahrenheit with room for people to lie down, offered for at least ten hours on days with wind chill under 45 degrees.
• Limits reimbursable expenses to energy for lighting and climate control, water and sewer charges, security personnel, and items like food, water, blankets, cots, and toiletries.
• Caps the credit at $75 per unsheltered individual sheltered, up to a maximum of 20 individuals per taxpayer.
• Requires taxpayers to keep itemized receipts and attendance logs, and bars anyone found to misuse the credit from claiming it again for five years.
• Allows unused credit to carry forward for three years but not to be applied against past tax liabilities.

Individuals or businesses who own or lease property and choose to operate warming centers, unsheltered individuals who use those centers during cold weather, and the Georgia Department of Revenue, which would write rules to administer and verify the credit.

The credit could offset costs for property owners willing to open emergency cold-weather shelters, potentially encouraging more warming centers to open during dangerous winter weather, while also creating new recordkeeping requirements and a penalty for taxpayers who misuse the credit.

• Section 1 adds new Code section 48-7-40.37 defining 'warming center' and setting minimum conditions of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and adequate lying-down space.
• Subsection (b) sets eligibility: the center must operate at least ten hours on a day with wind chill below 45 degrees Fahrenheit, starting January 1, 2026.
• Subsection (c) requires taxpayers to keep itemized receipts and imposes a five-year ban on claiming the credit again if it is misused.
• Subsection (d) caps the credit at $75 per unsheltered individual, for up to 20 individuals.
• Subsection (e) requires sign-in sheets or attendance logs documenting time each individual spent at the center.
• Subsection (f) limits the credit to the taxpayer's tax liability for the year, allows a three-year carryforward, and bars applying it to prior years' taxes.
• Section 2 sets the effective date and applicability as January 1, 2026, for that and later tax years.

1. 2025-03-10House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2025-03-06House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2025-03-04House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• El-Mahdi Holly (D, HD-116)Patrocinador principal
• Mekyah McQueen (D, HD-061)
• Lydia Glaize (D, HD-067)
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Karen Lupton (D, HD-083)
• Solomon Adesanya (D, HD-043)

• income tax credits
• homelessness
• winter weather shelter
• state tax policy