SB 588: Labor and Industrial Relations, Revenue and Taxation, and Social Services; certain protections of caregivers; provide

Georgia law currently lets employees use up to five days of employer-provided sick leave per year to care for an immediate family member, and it offers a tax credit for people paying for a relative's caregiving expenses. This bill changes several parts of that framework. It raises the sick leave cap from five to 15 days per calendar year for caring for an immediate family member, though employers still are not required to offer sick leave at all. The bill also broadens who counts as a 'qualifying family member' for the caregiving tax credit by explicitly including spouses, and lowers the minimum age for a qualifying relative from 62 to 55. It increases the credit from 10 percent to 30 percent of qualified caregiving expenses, and raises the maximum credit from $150 to $750. Finally, it adds a rule to the Georgia Family Caregiver Support Act saying a spouse who is a primary caregiver and receives state-funded caregiver support cannot be ruled ineligible for other benefits just because they are the care recipient's spouse.

• Raises the annual cap on employer-provided sick leave usable for caring for an immediate family member from 5 days to 15 days (O.C.G.A. § 34-1-10).
• Expands the definition of 'qualifying family member' for the caregiving tax credit to explicitly include the taxpayer's spouse (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.2).
• Lowers the minimum age threshold for a qualifying family member from 62 to 55 years old.
• Increases the caregiving tax credit rate from 10 percent to 30 percent of qualified caregiving expenses.
• Raises the maximum dollar amount of the tax credit from $150 to $750.
• Adds a protection so a spousal primary caregiver in a state-funded caregiver program cannot be deemed ineligible for other benefits solely due to being the care recipient's spouse (O.C.G.A. § 49-6-76).

Georgia employees who need sick leave to care for family members, employers who already offer sick leave, family caregivers claiming the state caregiving tax credit (including spouses caring for each other), older Georgians aged 55 to 61 who were previously excluded, and participants in state-funded caregiver support programs.

Caregivers, including spouses, could take more paid sick time and claim a larger tax credit for costs like home health aides or adult day care. Spousal caregivers would also be protected from losing other public benefits simply because of their marital relationship to the person they care for.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 34-1-10(b) to raise the yearly sick leave usage cap for caring for an immediate family member from five days to 15 days, without requiring employers to offer sick leave.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.2 to add spouses to the definition of 'qualifying family member,' lower the qualifying age from 62 to 55, raise the credit rate from 10% to 30% of expenses, and raise the maximum credit from $150 to $750.
• Section 2 keeps in place existing rules barring the credit for expenses already deducted elsewhere and barring carryforward of unused credit to future tax years.
• Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 49-6-76 to add a new subsection (b) protecting spousal primary caregivers in state-funded programs from being deemed ineligible for other benefits solely due to their spousal relationship.
• Section 4 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-02-26Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
2. 2026-02-25Senate Hopper (Senado)

• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)Patrocinador principal
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
• Gail Davenport (D, SD-017)
• Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)
• Jaha Howard (D, SD-035)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
• Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)
• Randal Mangham (D, SD-055)
• David Lucas (D, SD-026)
• Josh McLaurin (D, SD-014)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)

• caregiver rights
• sick leave laws
• tax credits
• family caregiving
• Georgia tax law