Georgia changed its state tax in the middle of 2026 and backdated the change to the start of the year, which makes it the state in this batch where the date of a source matters most. A guide quoting the January figures would give the wrong rate and the wrong deduction for the whole year. The current figures are a flat 4.99 percent and a $15,000 single standard deduction, and both come from a law signed in May.
Enter your salary and filing status to see the Georgia line at the current rate beside federal tax and FICA.
The law change, and why January sources are stale
HB 463 was signed on 11 May 2026 and is retroactive to 1 January 2026. It cut the flat rate from 5.19 percent to 4.99 percent and raised the standard deduction from $12,000 single and $24,000 joint to $15,000 single and $30,000 joint. The Tax Foundation January 2026 table still showed the older figures, and that table is superseded for 2026. Any Georgia figure built from the January table alone will overstate the tax.
Retroactivity has a practical consequence for withholding. Paychecks issued before the May signing may have been withheld using the older rate and deduction, with the difference reconciled when the return is filed. A reader comparing a full-year withholding total with this guide's annual figure should therefore expect a gap for the early months, not assume the guide is wrong.
Worked example: $80,000 single, current figures
Take a single filer with an $80,000 salary and no pre-tax deductions. Taxable income is $80,000 minus the $15,000 standard deduction, which is $65,000. At the flat 4.99 percent rate, the state tax is $3,243.50. Paid biweekly, that is about $124.75 per paycheck. The effective rate on gross pay is about 4.05 percent, with the whole gap from 4.99 percent explained by the deduction.
Under the superseded January figures, the same filer would have had taxable income of $68,000 and tax of $3,529.20 at 5.19 percent. The 2026 change is therefore worth $285.70 on this example: $130 from the lower rate applied to the new taxable income, and $155.70 from the larger deduction taxed at the old rate. A joint household earning $80,000 has taxable income of $50,000 after the $30,000 joint deduction, and state tax of $2,495 at 4.99 percent.
As with any flat rate, a raise is priced at the same rate. Every extra dollar of taxable income adds 4.99 cents of Georgia tax, at $80,000 or at higher incomes, with no bracket threshold to cross.
What has not changed
Georgia remains a flat-rate state, so there are still no brackets to identify and no marginal rate distinct from the flat rate on taxable income. Federal tax is still progressive, Social Security still has its wage base, and Medicare still has its extra threshold, so the total stub still changes shape as pay rises even though the Georgia line does not.
This guide gives general information only, not a determination for an individual return. For the federal side of the same stub, see the federal brackets guide linked from the paycheck hub.
FAQs
Is Georgia's 2026 rate 5.19 or 4.99 percent?
4.99 percent. HB 463, signed 11 May 2026 and retroactive to 1 January 2026, cut the rate from 5.19 percent. The 5.19 percent figure is the superseded January figure.
Why is my Georgia withholding higher than this guide's annual figure?
Withholding from before the May signing may have used the older rate and deduction. Compare the full-year total after filing, not the early paychecks, with the worked figure.
Does filing jointly change Georgia's rate?
No, the rate stays 4.99 percent. Joint filers get the larger $30,000 standard deduction instead of $15,000, which is what lowers their tax on the same salary.