Atlanta, Georgia – With net receipts of slightly under $3.73 billion, Georgia’s tax income for April fell short of previous year’s numbers. This is a drop of $230.4 million, or 5.8%, from April 2024, when the state gathered $3.96 billion.
The decline occurs at a time when a hurricane-related extension significantly affected both individual and corporate income tax payments, pushing filing and payment dates to May 1, 2025. State authorities claim that many filers utlized this delay, hence increasing payments that appeared in early May relative to the same time previous year.
Georgia’s net tax revenue for the fiscal year so far, when considered in the larger context, is $27.77 billion—an increase of $312.2 million from last year. That increase, meanwhile, is mostly caused by the state’s collection of the motor fuel excise tax, which was delayed for around two and a half months during fiscal year 2024. When you compare apples to apples and account for that one-time shift, the state’s year-to-date net tax receipts actually went down by $154.2 million—approximately 0.6%.
Examining April’s figures more closely shows a mix of successes and failures across several sectors. The largest portion of tax income, Individual Income Tax, generated $1.91 billion for the month—a decline of $55.9 million, or 2.8%, from last year. This drop was caused by several elements. Although refunds given were actually $115.1 million less (indicating the state paid out less in refunds), both withholding payments and return payments were down as well. Withholding payments decreased by $35.9 million (2.7%) and tax return payments by $102.3 million (9.4%). Other categories inside personal income tax, such as projected payments, also fell by a total of $32.8 million.
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Sales and Use Tax, on the other hand, showed a more favorable outlook. Gross receipts climbed $70.4 million, or 4.5%, to around $1.65 billion compared to April 2024. Net sales tax income rose by $40.5 million (5.1%). Local governments also benefited; their portion of sales tax income grew by $33.8 million (4.4%). The state also sent out less sales tax refunds, which contributed to the uptick.
Collections of Corporate Income Tax fell significantly to $540.2 million, a drop of $207.9 million, or 27.8%, from last year. Lower return payments, down $84.5 million (29.2%), and a decline in expected payments of $112.1 million (30.8%) caused this decrease. Other corporation tax categories, notably S-corporation payments, also experienced a decline.
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Other tax categories revealed slight rises. Motor Fuel Tax collections were up by $6.6 million (3.4%). While the Title Ad Valorem Tax generated an extra $3.4 million, up 4.7% from last year, Motor Vehicle Tag and Title Fees climbed by $2.8 million (7.4%).
All things considered, although some sectors like sales tax and motor fuel tax reported increases, the general April picture was characterized by significant drops—mostly in individual and corporate income tax receipts, affected by both deadline extensions and year-over-year changes. Georgia’s year-to-date tax receipts, after accounting for temporary circumstances, are just slightly below last year’s level, down 0.6% as of the end of April.
