House Unanimously Passes Tax Cut

Under current federal tax law the standard deduction is $12,400 for single or separately filing individuals and $24,800 for married couples filing jointly. With the amount that high at the federal level the vast majority of tax payers in Georgia opt to use the standard deduction. The law also stipulates that if you use the federal standard deduction you must also use the standard deduction for state tax returns.

And while the federal standard deduction is tied to inflation, Georgia’s is not, so legislation is required in order to raise it. So HB 593, authored by the Chairman of The House Ways and Means Committee, Shaw Blackmon (R) – Bonaire is that effort.

From the bill: In the case of a single taxpayer or a head of household, the deduction would go from $4,600.00 to $5,400.00.  In the case of a married taxpayer filing a separate return, it would go from $3,000.00 to $3,550.00. In the case of a married couple filing a joint return, it goes from $6,000.00 to $7,100.00.

Some estimates have shown that this would be less than $100 for the average married couple filing jointly, but hey, a tax cut is a tax cut.

The bill passed the House today 171-0 and will move on to the Senate for consideration.

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