Georgia’s personal exemption for individual filers no longer exists as a separate line. Starting with the 2024 tax year, the state folded it into a larger standard deduction of $12,000 for single filers and $24,000 for married couples filing jointly, and kept a per-dependent deduction that now sits at $4,000.1Justia. Georgia Code 48-7-26 – Personal Exemptions If you’re filing a Georgia return and looking for the old personal exemption box, you won’t find one for yourself. You’ll find a bigger standard deduction instead, and a dependent exemption that has increased.
What Replaced the Old Personal Exemption
Before 2024, Georgia gave single filers a $2,700 personal exemption, joint filers $7,400, and $3,000 per dependent, on top of a smaller standard deduction and graduated rates from 1% to 5.75%. The Tax Reduction and Reform Act of 2022 (House Bill 1437) scrapped that structure. Graduated brackets became a single flat rate, and the personal exemption for filers themselves was merged into a larger standard deduction.2Justia. Georgia Code 48-7-20 – Tax Rate
The flat rate started at 5.49% in 2024, dropped to 5.39% in 2025, and the Georgia Department of Revenue has confirmed 5.19% for 2025.3Georgia Department of Revenue. Important Tax Updates The legislature has passed additional measures to accelerate the reduction to 4.99% for 2026, with a longer-term target of 3.99%.
What this means in practice: your Georgia taxable income is calculated differently now than it was two years ago. Comparing an older return to a current one, the personal exemption line for yourself is gone, but you’re shielding more income overall.
Standard Deduction Amounts
The standard deduction is now the main reduction to your Georgia adjusted gross income:4Justia. Georgia Code 48-7-27 – Computation of Taxable Income
- Single filer: $12,000
- Married filing jointly: $24,000
- Married filing separately: $12,000
- Head of household: $12,000
A single filer now shields $9,300 more in income than under the pre-2024 rules once you compare the new standard deduction to the old $2,700 personal exemption. These amounts also set your filing threshold: if your Georgia income falls below the standard deduction for your filing status, you generally don’t need to file a state return.
Dependent Exemption
The dependent exemption is where the old “personal exemption” concept survives in Georgia law. Each qualifying dependent reduces your Georgia taxable income by $4,000, up from $3,000 before 2024.1Justia. Georgia Code 48-7-26 – Personal Exemptions
Georgia follows the federal definition of a dependent, which means a person must qualify as either a qualifying child or qualifying relative under IRS rules. The core tests are that a qualifying child lived with you for more than half the year, or that you provided more than half of a qualifying relative’s total support.5Internal Revenue Service. Dependents A dependent cannot file a joint return with a spouse and claim exemptions of their own.1Justia. Georgia Code 48-7-26 – Personal Exemptions
At a 5.19% flat rate, each $4,000 dependent exemption saves you roughly $208 in Georgia income tax. A family with three qualifying dependents reduces their taxable income by $12,000 beyond the standard deduction, cutting the state tax bill by about $623. The dollar savings will shift again if the rate drops to 4.99% for 2026.
Unborn Dependents Under the LIFE Act
Georgia is one of the few states that allows a dependent exemption for an unborn child. Under the LIFE Act (House Bill 481), a taxpayer can claim a $3,000 exemption (the amount set when the provision first took effect in 2022) for each unborn child with a detectable heartbeat, which can occur as early as six weeks of gestation. No Social Security number is required for this claim.6Georgia Department of Revenue. Life Act Guidance The Georgia Department of Revenue has stated that medical records or other supporting documentation should be available if requested.7Georgia Department of Revenue. Guidance Related to House Bill 481, Living Infants and Fairness Equality Life
Who Can Claim These Amounts
You can claim Georgia’s standard deduction and dependent exemptions only if you’re a Georgia resident or earned income in the state. Georgia defines a resident three ways: you’re a legal resident of Georgia on tax day, you live in the state on a regular basis (not as a temporary visitor) on tax day, or you’ve been present in Georgia for at least 183 days during the preceding 365-day period.8Justia. Georgia Code 48-7-1 – Definitions
The 183-day rule matters if you split time between Georgia and another state. Georgia counts partial days, and the 365-day lookback period doesn’t align neatly with the calendar year. If you moved into or out of Georgia mid-year, you may owe tax as a part-year resident and should prorate your deductions accordingly.
Whether a Separate Personal Exemption Comes Back
The long-term reform plan envisions eventually replacing the standard deduction with higher personal exemption amounts in future years, which would bring back a separate personal exemption line for filers themselves. Whether and when that transition happens depends on Georgia hitting three revenue triggers each year: the governor’s revenue estimate for the next fiscal year must exceed the current year’s by at least 3%, net revenue collections must be higher than each of the five prior years, and the state’s Revenue Shortfall Reserve must hold enough to cover the projected revenue loss from the next rate cut. If any condition isn’t met, the next scheduled reduction is delayed by one year.2Justia. Georgia Code 48-7-20 – Tax Rate
For now, and for the 2026 filing year unless further legislation takes effect, the standard deduction described above is what you’ll use in place of a personal exemption for yourself, with the $4,000 dependent exemption sitting alongside it.