ATLANTA — A bill that would give Georgia taxpayers another special refund cleared its first hurdle on Wednesday afternoon.
The Georgia House Ways and Means Committee approved House Bill 112 for the one-time special refund. The bill now heads to the rules committee to decide if it will get a full vote in the Georgia House.
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Gov. Brian Kemp first proposed the tax refunds back in October and spoke again about them during his State of the State address.
“Because at the end of the day, that’s your money — not the government’s,” Kemp said in January. “And here in Georgia, we believe you should keep more of it.”
The 2025 proposal mirrors the previous refunds that taxpayers received in 2022 and 2023. If the bill is passed, single tax filers would receive $250; single head-of-household filers $350; and joint tax filers $500.
Taxpayers who filed returns for 2023 and 2024 would be eligible. The previous rebates cost around $1.1 billion.
The Georgia House Ways and Means Committee also approve House Bill 111, which would reduce the state income tax rate. Kemp has consistently pushed to accelerate tax cuts, including a tax law he signed last year.
The current flat income tax rate dropped to 5.39% on Jan 1. Kemp has proposed the rate drops to 5.19% for 2025.
If HB 111 passes, it would also decrease the Georgia income tax rate to 4.99% over the next two years, with a 0.1% decrease each year, according to the legislative text.
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