How does Georgia’s tax code compare? Georgia has a flat 5.49 percent individual income tax rate. Georgia has a 5.75 percent corporate income tax rate. Georgia also has a 4.00 percent state sales tax rate and an average combined state and local sales tax rate of 7.38 percent. Georgia has a 0.72 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value.
Georgia does not have an estate tax or inheritance tax. Georgia also has a 33.05 cents per gallon gas tax rate and a $0.37 cigarette excise tax rate. The State of Georgia collects $4,551 in state and local tax collections per capita. Georgia has $5,730 in state and local debt per capita and has a 76 percent funded ratio of public pension plans. Georgia’s tax system ranks 26th overall on the 2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index.
Each state’s tax code is a multifaceted system with many moving parts, and Georgia is no exception. The first step towards understanding Georgia’s tax code is knowing the basics. How does Georgia collect tax revenue? Click the tabs below to learn more! You can also explore our state tax maps, which are compiled from our annual publication, Facts & Figures 2024: How Does Your State Compare?
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The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
115 min read
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
Tax burdens rose across the country as pandemic-era economic changes caused taxable income, activities, and property values to rise faster than net national product. Tax burdens in 2020, 2021, and 2022 are all higher than in any other year since 1978.
24 min read
Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
8 min read
Graduated corporate rates are inequitable—that is, the size of a corporation bears no necessary relation to the income levels of the owners.
7 min read
Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for 32 percent of state tax collections and 13 percent of local tax collections (24 percent of combined collections).
9 min read
By shifting to a flat income tax, Georgia has already made an important commitment to tax competitiveness. Although the state’s top rate threshold is already very low, a true single-rate income tax will help protect taxpayers from inflation-related tax increases and provide a buffer against rising tax rates in the future. To combine responsible rate reductions with these benefits, Georgia should create tax triggers that empower the state to keep pace with its competition.
3 min read
The pandemic has accelerated changes to the way we live and work, making it far easier for people to move—and they have. As states work to maintain their competitive advantage, they should pay attention to where people are moving, and try to understand why.
5 min read
Most of the 2023 state tax changes represent net tax reductions, the result of an unprecedented wave of rate reductions and other tax cuts in the past two years as states respond to burgeoning revenues, greater tax competition in an era of enhanced mobility, and the impact of high inflation on residents.
20 min read
While the wireless market has become increasingly competitive in recent years, resulting in steady declines in the average price for wireless services, the price reduction for consumers has been partially offset by higher taxes.
41 min read
The logic that has prevailed for local sales taxes should apply equally to other taxes that localities impose on multijurisdictional businesses, including local tourism taxes. The evidence is clear that central administration of local taxes reduces compliance costs without sacrificing local revenue.
15 min read
People respond to incentives. As tax rates increase or products are banned from sale, consumers and producers search for ways around these penalties and restrictions.
19 min read
In times of high inflation, states should consider adopting permanent full expensing because it boosts long-run productivity, economic output, and wages.
7 min read
All corporate income taxes fall on capital investment, but the structure should not make matters worse, and policymakers should take care not to distort investment decisions through the use of targeted incentives for select firms or activities instead of a lower rate for all businesses.
2 min read
Remote and flexible work opportunities are here to stay, whether states like it or not. With enhanced opportunities to take their job with them wherever they please, more workers can factor tax burdens into their decision of where to live.
15 min read
While there are many ways to show how much is collected in taxes by state governments, our Index is designed to show how well states structure their tax systems by focusing on the how more than the how much in recognition of the fact that there are better and worse ways to raise revenue.
129 min read