Georgia House Bill HB1159

Georgia 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/2/26
• Report Pass: 2/18/26
• Engrossed: 3/4/26
• Refer: 3/6/26
• Report Pass: 3/12/26
• Enrolled: 4/6/26
• Chaptered: 5/6/26
• Passed: 5/6/26

Caption

Income tax; all income received by individuals, corporations, and partnerships under the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program; exempt from taxation

Summary

HB 1159 amends Georgia’s income tax code to exempt certain federal farm-aid payments from state taxation. Specifically, the bill allows taxpayers to subtract from Georgia taxable income payments received under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmer Bridge Assistance Program and the Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers Program, so long as the payments relate to the specified 2025 acreage reporting deadlines. The exemption applies to individuals, corporations, partnerships, electing S corporations, and electing partnerships, and it applies to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025. The bill is structured as a targeted tax conformity measure for agricultural relief payments, ensuring that these USDA program payments are not counted as Georgia taxable income when they are included in federal income. It amends multiple sections of Title 48 governing corporate, partnership, and general income tax computation, and it takes effect immediately upon gubernatorial approval or becoming law without approval.

Impact

HB 1159 would reduce Georgia income tax liability for farmers and agricultural businesses receiving the covered USDA payments by creating state-level subtractions from taxable income. It affects the taxation of individuals, corporations, partnerships, electing S corporations, and electing partnerships under Georgia’s income tax statutes, while leaving federal tax treatment unchanged. The bill also repeals conflicting laws to the extent necessary to implement the exemption.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have broad support and little visible opposition. It passed the House overwhelmingly, 168-2, and later passed the Senate unanimously, 48-0, indicating strong bipartisan agreement on providing tax relief for agricultural assistance payments. The only notable resistance came at the Senate motion-to-engross stage, where the vote was closer, suggesting some procedural or drafting-related hesitation rather than substantive opposition to the underlying policy.

Contention

The main point of contention, to the extent one is visible in the voting record, is not the policy itself but the scope and mechanics of the exemption. The bill is narrowly tailored to specific USDA programs, acreage-reporting deadlines, and taxable years, which may raise questions about administrative complexity or whether the relief should extend more broadly to other farm assistance payments. No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded debate identifying specific objections or amendments.