Kemp Signs Georgia Tax Cuts to 4.99% and Expands Property Relief

8 articles · Updated · CBS New York · May 12

House Bill 463 cuts Georgia's income tax rate to 4.99% from 5.19% for tax year 2026, reaching below 5% three years early and allowing future annual reductions to 3.99% if conditions permit.
The law also raises standard deductions to $30,000 for joint filers and $15,000 for single filers, boosts the per-dependent deduction to $5,000, and exempts up to $1,750 each in overtime pay and cash tips from state tax through 2028.
Senate Bill 33 targets rising home assessments by creating a Local Homestead Option Sales Tax for voter approval starting in 2028, making the base-year homestead exemption mandatory statewide, and tightening protections against erroneous tax bills.
Republican leaders cast the package as affordability relief, while Democrats and other opponents warned the cuts could favor higher earners and squeeze local government, school, and public-service funding.
The measures stop short of proposals to eliminate Georgia's income tax by 2032; most tax changes start Jan. 1, 2026, while property-tax provisions phase in over several years.

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