# Georgia HB 266: Income tax; exempt income received as personal compensation for full-time duty in the active military service of the United States Georgia HB 266, Income tax; exempt income received as personal compensation for full-time duty in the active military service of the United States, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Bethany Ballard (Republican), Josh Bonner (Republican), David Clark (Republican) and 3 others; status signed, last action 2025-07-01 (Effective Date); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB266-2025-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Georgia HB 266 - State: Georgia - Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session - Title: Income tax; exempt income received as personal compensation for full-time duty in the active military service of the United States - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-02-04 - Last action: 2025-07-01, Effective Date - Sponsors: Bethany Ballard (Republican), Josh Bonner (Republican), David Clark (Republican), Karen Mathiak (Republican), Jesse Petrea (Republican), Steven Sainz (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Ways & Means, Finance, General Bill - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 6 (639 yes, 24 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 2 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Military retirees under 65 get tax relief: benefit, high. For tax years beginning January 1, 2027, Georgia raises the military retirement exclusion’s age cutoff from 62 to 65. Eligible people under 65 can exclude up to $65,000 in retirement benefits from U.S. armed forces or reserve service. Each eligible spouse filing jointly can claim a separate exclusi… - Tax credits for police donations face limits: mixed, high. The law creates a Georgia income tax credit for qualified donations to qualified law enforcement foundations. The program takes effect July 1, 2025, and applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. Your annual credit cannot exceed your income tax owed; unused credits cannot cover pas… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Bethany Ballard (Republican), House - Sponsor: Josh Bonner (Republican), House - Sponsor: David Clark (Republican), House - Sponsor: Karen Mathiak (Republican), House - Sponsor: Jesse Petrea (Republican), House - Sponsor: Steven Sainz (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Greg Dolezal (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-04 | House | Agree to Senate Amend to HAm to SSub | pass | 167 | 0 | 3 | | 2025-04-02 | Senate | AGREE TO HOUSE AMENDMENT TO SENATE SUBSTITUTE AS AMENDED | pass | 52 | 0 | 4 | | 2025-03-31 | House | Agree to Senate Sub as Am | pass | 164 | 0 | 5 | | 2025-03-21 | Senate | MOTION TO ENGROSS: HB 266, HB 426 | pass | 32 | 22 | 1 | | 2025-03-21 | Senate | PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE | pass | 53 | 2 | | | 2025-03-06 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 171 | 0 | 2 | ## Actions (19) - 2025-07-01: Effective Date - 2025-05-13: House Date Signed by Governor (House) - 2025-05-13: Act 181 - 2025-04-10: House Sent to Governor (House) - 2025-04-04: House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House) - 2025-04-02: Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub As Amended (Senate) - 2025-03-31: House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub As Amended (House) - 2025-03-21: Senate Engrossed (Senate) - 2025-03-21: Senate Third Read (Senate) - 2025-03-21: Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate) - 2025-03-18: Senate Read Second Time (Senate) - 2025-03-13: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate) - 2025-03-10: Senate Read and Referred (Senate) - 2025-03-06: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House) - 2025-03-06: House Third Readers (House) - 2025-03-06: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House) - 2025-02-06: House Second Readers (House) - 2025-02-05: House First Readers (House) - 2025-02-04: House Hopper (House) ## Bill text - HB 266/AP* (v13): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/239329) ## Related bills - SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed) - SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed) - SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed) - SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed) - HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed) - HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed) ## Sources - [HB 266/AP* (v13) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/239329) ## Related - [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026) - [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026) - [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026) - [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026) - [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026) - [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026) - [Georgia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia/bills) - [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB266-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).