TaxtirementState guides · GA
How Georgia taxes retirement income
- Georgia doesn't tax Social Security benefits.
- Exclusions and subtractions for retirement income (details below):
- Retirement income exclusion: from age 62, at most $65,000 per person.
- Military retirement income exclusion: at most $35,000 per person.
- Rates for 2026: 4.99% flat rate.
At a glance
| Income tax | Yes |
|---|---|
| Rates (2026) | 4.99% flat rate |
| Starts from | Federal adjusted gross income (AGI) |
| Standard deduction | $15,000 single, $30,000 married filing jointly |
| Social Security | Not taxed |
| Retirement income exclusions | 2 (see below) |
| Roth conversions | Taxable |
| Capital gains | Taxed like other income |
| Local income tax | None |
Social Security
Georgia doesn't tax Social Security benefits.
Pensions, IRAs and 401(k)s
Retirement income exclusion (Form 500 Schedule 1, retirement income worksheet)
Per person: up to $35,000 if age 62-64 (or under 62 and totally and permanently disabled), up to $65,000 if 65 or older. Each spouse qualifies separately and claims against income he or she owns; jointly owned property income is split 50/50. Retirement income = interest, dividends, alimony, capital gains (net of losses), other income, taxable IRA distributions, taxable pensions/annuities, net rental/royalty/partnership/S-corp income, plus earned income (wages, self-employment) capped at $5,000 per person. The exclusion is the lesser of total retirement income (earned portion capped at $5,000; unearned total floored at zero) and the age cap. Social Security/Railroad Retirement (already fully subtracted separately), tax-exempt interest and other income not taxable to Georgia are not counted and do not use up the cap. Gambling/lottery income does not qualify. No income/AGI limit.
Military retirement income exclusion (under 62)
Under age 62: up to $17,500 of military retirement income, plus an additional $17,500 if the taxpayer has more than $17,500 of Georgia earned income. At 62+ the general retirement exclusion applies instead.
Roth conversions
A Roth conversion counts as taxable income for Georgia. Whether a retirement income exclusion can cover part of it depends on the rules above.
Capital gains
Taxed like other income, at the rates above.
Credits and relief for older residents
- Low Income Credit (Form 500 line 17): available only if federal AGI is under $20,000 and not claimable as a dependent; small per-exemption credit with additional exemption counted for age 65+ (date of birth required). Worksheet amounts not captured — immaterial for most planned households.
More detail from our research notes
HB 463 (signed May 11, 2026) cut the flat rate from 5.19% to 4.99% for tax years beginning January 1, 2026 and raised the standard deduction to $15,000 (single, HOH, MFS) / $30,000 (MFJ) and the dependent deduction to $5,000 for 2026. Future rate cuts of 0.125 point per year (to a 3.99% floor) and standard deduction steps of +$375 single/HOH/MFS and +$750 joint per year from 2027 (caps $18,000/$36,000) are each delayed a year whenever an OPB test fails as of December 1 (HB 463 text). From TY2027 the 65+ retirement exclusion is $70,000 (unconditional), and military retirement under 65 is excluded up to $65,000 (HB 266 of 2025). Georgia no longer has personal exemptions for taxpayer/spouse or an extra deduction for age 65/blind (2025 Form 500 shows only the flat standard deduction). If the taxpayer itemizes federally, they must itemize for Georgia (state income taxes are added back). Georgia starts from federal AGI, so the federal $6,000 senior deduction and federal standard deduction do not flow through. 2026-2028: up to $1,750 each of overtime pay and cash tips may be excluded (not relevant for retirees). Tax = Georgia taxable income x 4.99%, rounded to the nearest dollar. Roth conversions: a conversion is reported as a taxable IRA distribution (federal 1040 line 4b) and the worksheet counts 'Taxable IRA Distributions', so conversion income counts as retirement income for a qualifying 62+ person (inferred; no explicit DOR statement found). Practical effect: a married couple both 65+ can shelter up to $130,000 of pension/IRA/investment income plus all Social Security. Withholding at 4.99% began May 11, 2026.
Pending confirmation
These points were still being confirmed against Georgia's published 2026 forms when this page was built. Most are waiting on forms the state publishes around the turn of the year.
6 items
- 2026 Form 500/IT-511 not yet published (expected December 2026-January 2027 at https://dor.georgia.gov/it-511-individual-income-tax-instruction-booklet). The 4.99% rate and $15,000/$30,000 standard deduction are now confirmed from the statute text (HB 463 as passed, O.C.G.A. 48-7-20(a.1)(1) and 48-7-27(a)(1)(B)) and the DOR 2026 Summary of Enacted Legislation ; only the form layout is still unconfirmed.
- Standard deduction for qualifying surviving spouse in 2026: 48-7-27(a)(1)(B) as amended names only MFJ ($30,000) and single/HOH/MFS ($15,000); QSS assumed $15,000 as in the 2025 IT-511 (single amount). Confirm on the 2026 IT-511.
- Age test for the retirement exclusion: DOR says '62 years of age or older'; whether age is measured at December 31 (vs. any time during the year) not confirmed. Proration for the year a taxpayer turns 62/65 not addressed.
- Roth conversion counting as retirement income is inferred from worksheet line 11 'Taxable IRA Distributions'.
- Low Income Credit worksheet amounts not captured.
- 2027+: the 0.125-pt rate cut (4.99% -> 4.865%) and the +$375/+$750 standard deduction step for TY2027 depend on the OPB trigger determinations due by December 1, 2026 (48-7-20(a.1)(2)-(3), 48-7-27(a)(1.1)); not determined yet, so 2027 keeps 4.99% and $15,000/$30,000 in the rules (contingent in scheduled.json).
Sources
Every figure comes from these documents, mostly the state's own forms, instructions and statutes.
- 2026 rate 4.99%, standard deduction $15,000/$30,000, tips/overtime $1,750https://dor.georgia.gov/taxes/important-tax-updates
- 2026 Employer's Withholding Tax Guide (revised June 2026): rate 4.99%, standard deductions, dependent $5,000, HB 463 / HB 1199https://dor.georgia.gov/document/document-document/2026-employers-tax-guide-updated-june-2026/download
- 2025 IT-511 booklet: retirement income exclusion ($35,000 age 62-64 or disabled, $65,000 age 65+, $5,000 earned income cap, income types, joint property 50/50, SS excluded from computation), SS subtraction, military exclusion, Form 500 lines, low income credit; Itemized deductions and the $10,000 SALT limit (Form 500 lines 11-12c) and the Eligible Itemizer Tax Credit up to $300 per taxpayer (line 19): 2025 IT-511 pp. 9, 16-18 ; HB 1437 fiscal note p. 3https://dor.georgia.gov/document/document/2025-it-511-individual-income-tax-booklet/download
- DOR Retirees FAQ (each spouse qualifies separately)https://dor.georgia.gov/retirees-faq
- HB 463 enactment coverage (secondary)https://www.bdo.com/insights/tax/georgia-enacts-income-tax-reduction-bill
- HB 463 (2026) as passed: 48-7-20(a.1) 4.99% for 2026, -0.125 pt per year from 2027 to 3.99% subject to Dec-1 OPB tests; 48-7-27(a)(1) $15,000/$30,000 standard deduction, +$375/+$750 per year from 2027 to $18,000/$36,000 subject to the same tests;…https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/249080
- DOR 2026 Summary of Enacted Legislation: HB 463 effective May 11, 2026, all of the abovehttps://dor.georgia.gov
- HB 266 (2025) as passed, signed (Governor 2025 signed legislation): from TY2027 military retirement under age 65 excluded up to $65,000, no earned-income testhttps://gov.georgia.gov/document/2025-signed-legislation/hb-266/download
Taxtirement's Georgia calculation is also checked against a second, independent implementation on 1,000 random households. How we check our numbers.
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This page summarizes Georgia's 2026 rules as Taxtirement applies them, for education and planning. It isn't tax advice, and it doesn't cover every situation (for example part-year residents, businesses or military-only provisions). Rules change; check the state's current instructions, or a tax professional, before you act. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.