Millions of Georgians may soon get a tax rebate of up to $500 from the state’s record budget surplus. Governor Brian Kemp has proposed sending a one-time tax rebate from Georgia of up to $500 using $1 billion of the state’s $6.6 billion budget surplus.

One-Time Tax Rebate From Georgia: Who Could Get It?

Last week, the Georgia state House approved the tax rebate proposal with a vote of 170 to 1, and now the proposal needs to be approved by the state Senate.

As of now, not many details are known about this one-time tax rebate from Georgia. However, we do know that the tax rebate is based on House Bill 1302, which gave Georgians a rebate of up to $500 last year.

Last year’s bill provided married couples (filing together) with a rebate of up to $500, heads of households with up to $375, and single adults with up to $250. The rebate was available to Georgians who filed their tax returns in 2020 and 2021. Those who filed the return electronically got a direct deposit, while others received a paper check.

Apart from the one-time tax rebate from Georgia, Gov. Kemp also talked about a $1 billion property tax relief scheme that has already been approved by the state House. The property tax relief scheme, if it becomes law, would provide homeowners with $500 in property tax rebate.

“These actions will put real money back in the pockets of hardworking Georgians facing unforeseen jumps in property values and record-high inflation,” Gov. Kemp said at the time of introducing the proposal last month.

Spare Cash May Not Be Needed For Tax Rebates

Georgia witnessed an increase in revenue of $36.6 billion for the year ending June 30, up from the initial projection of $30.2 billion. However, as per the numbers released last month, the tax receipts were about $1 billion above that projection. Now, the state expects to collect $32.6 billion this year, i.e., a surplus of $2.4 billion.

Georgia’s projected surplus would add to the state’s $6.6 billion in spare cash. Thus, it could mean that Gov. Kemp won’t need to use the spare cash to send $1 billion in income tax rebates and $1.1 billion in property tax rebates to homeowners.

In addition to tax rebates, Gov. Kemp also wants to provide new $50,000 safety grants to every public school, totaling $115.7 million. Also, the governor wants to set aside $25 million in the form of one-time grants to offset learning loss and $15 million to encourage classroom aides to become teachers.

Separately, Gov. Kemp also plans to use $1.1 billion from the budget surplus to pay for road maintenance and $166.7 million on the Regional Economic Business Assistance program. The proposal also calls for using $100 million to help regional school districts in covering the increasing cost of employee health insurance.

This article originally appeared on ValueWalk

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.