Georgia paycheck guide
Georgia's 2026 tax cut: 4.99% and a $15,000 deduction
Georgia switched to a single flat rate starting with the 2024 tax year and has cut it each year since. HB 463, signed in May 2026, lowered the rate to 4.99% for the whole 2026 tax year, retroactive to January 1. The law also sets up further gradual cuts in later years, but only if state revenue meets targets written into the law, so do not count on another cut until it is announced.
The same law raised the standard deduction to $15,000 for single filers and heads of household and to $30,000 for married couples filing jointly, and it increased the separate deduction for each dependent, which our single-filer examples do not include. Because the deduction is a flat dollar amount, the effective rate climbs slowly toward 4.99% as income rises: 2.5% at $30,000, 3.99% at $75,000, and 4.69% at $250,000.
Georgia starts from federal adjusted gross income, so traditional 401(k), HSA, and pre-tax health premiums lower your Georgia taxable income as well as your federal. Contributions to Georgia's Path2College 529 plan are also deductible on the state return up to an annual limit per beneficiary.
Worked example: $75,000 in Georgia
Take $75,000 of wages, subtract the $15,000 standard deduction, and $60,000 is left for Georgia to tax. At 4.99%, that produces $2,994 of state income tax, an effective rate of 3.99%.
On the federal side, the $16,100 standard deduction leaves $58,900 of taxable income, which produces $7,670 of tax across the 10%, 12%, and 22% brackets. Social Security adds $4,650 and Medicare $1,088. Take-home pay is $58,598, roughly $4,883 a month. The Georgia $75,000 salary breakdown splits it by pay period.
Because the rate is flat, raises are easy to price: each extra dollar of salary costs the same 4.99% in Georgia tax. At $150,000, a single filer pays $6,737 to Georgia on $135,000 of taxable income.
Withholding catch-up after the mid-year rate change
Because HB 463 passed partway through the year, Georgia employers kept withholding at the old, higher rate until the law took effect. The Department of Revenue allowed them to switch to 4.99% from May 11, 2026, and issued revised withholding tables in June. Paychecks from the start of the year therefore carried slightly more Georgia tax than the full-year figures on this page.
You do not lose that money. The rate cut and the larger deduction apply to the whole 2026 year when you file, so the extra withholding comes back as a larger refund or a smaller balance due. HB 463 also created a smaller, temporary Georgia exclusion for tip and overtime income, separate from the federal deductions; it is claimed on the return and is not in our estimates.
Form G-4, border commuters, and no local tax
Georgia withholding is set by Form G-4, the state's own certificate, not by the federal W-4. On it you choose a filing status and claim allowances for dependents. If you never turned in a G-4, your employer withholds as if you were single with no allowances, which over-withholds for many married workers.
Georgia has no reciprocity agreements. A Tennessee resident commuting from Chattanooga to Dalton, or a South Carolina resident commuting from North Augusta to Augusta, owes Georgia tax on Georgia wages and files a nonresident Form 500. Tennessee has no income tax to give a credit, so those commuters simply pay Georgia. Alabama residents working in Columbus pay Georgia and then claim a credit at home.
Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, and Columbus do not tax wages, and neither does any Georgia county or school district. Georgia also has no state disability insurance or paid family leave payroll deduction for private-sector workers, so federal tax, FICA, and the 4.99% state tax are the whole government share of a typical stub.
How Georgia compares with its neighbors
Georgia lands 36th of 51 in our $75,000 take-home ranking. Florida and Tennessee have no income tax, so a single worker there keeps $2,994 more. North Carolina's flat 3.99% rate leaves $510 more, and South Carolina's new two-bracket system $337 more. Alabama now takes slightly more than Georgia, leaving a single worker $133 less, before the occupational taxes that Birmingham and some other Alabama cities add. Compare Florida vs Georgia or Georgia vs North Carolina.
Georgia does better at higher incomes, rising to 31st at $150,000, because a flat rate never reaches the double-digit top brackets of states like California or New York.
What to expect at your income
Earning under $50,000
The new $15,000 standard deduction shields a big share of low wages. A single filer earning $30,000 owes $749 to Georgia, an effective 2.5%, and takes home $25,536. At $50,000 the Georgia bill is $1,747 and take-home pay is $40,608, about $3,384 a month. A full-time worker at $41,600 a year keeps $34,279 after $1,327 of state tax. File a G-4 with your dependents listed, since the default withholding assumes none.
Earning $50,000 to $150,000
Every dollar in this range is taxed at Georgia's flat 4.99%, so a 401(k) contribution saves the same state rate whether you earn $50,000 or $150,000. Earning $100,000 as a single filer, you would owe Georgia $4,242 and keep $74,938, close to $6,245 a month. Married couples filing jointly at $100,000 owe $3,493, helped by the $30,000 joint deduction. Paired with a 22% federal bracket, that makes pre-tax saving one of the best raises you can give yourself.
Earning over $150,000
Georgia's flat rate is friendlier to high earners than to the middle class when ranked nationally. A single filer at $150,000 pays $6,737 and keeps $107,054, and at $250,000 pays $11,727, an effective 4.69%, and keeps $171,455. Bonuses and stock compensation are taxed at the same 4.99%, so the main planning lever is federal: maxing out the 401(k) and HSA, and checking whether supplemental withholding at 22% covers your 32% bracket.
Georgia paycheck tips
Turn in a Form G-4
Without a G-4 on file, Georgia employers withhold as if you were single with zero allowances. Married filers and parents often get too much taken out until they submit one.
Expect a bigger 2026 refund
Early-2026 paychecks were withheld at the old rate and tables. The 4.99% rate and $15,000 deduction apply to the full year when you file, so the difference comes back to you.
Tennessee commuters: budget for Georgia tax
Living in Tennessee does not exempt Georgia wages. You owe Georgia on what you earn there, and Tennessee has no income tax to offset it.
Use the Path2College 529 deduction
Georgia lets you deduct contributions to its 529 plan up to an annual limit per beneficiary. It lowers your state tax at filing time, not your paycheck withholding.
Price a raise at 4.99%
With one flat rate, a raise costs the same Georgia percentage at every salary. Combine 4.99% with your federal bracket and FICA to see what a raise is really worth.
Common mistakes
Comparing only with Florida
Moving across the Florida line saves $2,994 at $75,000, but Alabama, South Carolina, and North Carolina are all within a few hundred dollars of Georgia. Check the state you would actually move to, including Alabama city occupational taxes.
Planning with last year's rate
Budgets and offer comparisons built on the 2025 rate and the smaller 2025 deduction overstate 2026 Georgia tax. Use 4.99% and $15,000 for single filers.
Assuming Atlanta has a city income tax
Unlike some large cities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Kentucky, Atlanta does not tax wages. If you see a local line on a Georgia pay stub, ask payroll what it is.
Moving to or from Georgia
Moving to Georgia
Moving to Georgia from North Carolina or South Carolina costs a $75,000 earner a few hundred dollars a year in state tax: $510 versus North Carolina and $337 versus South Carolina. From Alabama it saves $133, and from Florida or Tennessee it costs $2,994. No Georgia city taxes wages. File a G-4 with your new employer and a part-year Georgia return for the year you arrive.
Leaving Georgia
Leaving Georgia for Florida or Tennessee removes the $2,994 a single $75,000 earner pays the state each year. Moving to North Carolina saves $510, while Alabama costs $133 more before any city occupational tax. Georgia taxes part-year residents on income earned while they lived in the state, so file a part-year Form 500 for the year you leave.