April Net Tax Revenues Down 16.5%

The State of Georgia’s net tax collections for April totaled $4.19 billion for a decrease of $829.5 million, or -16.5 percent, compared to April 2022, when net tax collections totaled $5.01 billion. Year-to-date, net tax collections totaled $27.79 billion for an increase of $256.9 million, or 0.9 percent, compared to the previous fiscal year, when net tax revenues totaled $27.54 billion at the end of April 2022.

The changes within the following tax categories help further explain April’s overall net tax revenue decrease:

Individual Income Tax: Individual Income Tax (IIT) collections decreased by roughly $1.02 billion, or -32.4 percent, to a total of $2.14 billion compared to last year, when Income Tax collections totaled $3.16 billion.

The sharp year-over-year decline in IIT revenues is due in large part to the first-year implementation of HB 149, passed in 2021, that permits certain pass-through entities such as S-Corporation and partnerships to make entity-level tax elections on behalf of their individual partners, beginning with tax year 2022 returns filed in 2023. In addition, the impact of HB 149 is reflected in the significant year-to-date increases in corporate income tax revenue throughout the current fiscal year.

The following notable components within Individual Income Tax combine for the net decrease:

• Individual Income Tax refunds issued (net of voided checks) were down $379.7 million, or -37.9 percent.
• Individual Withholding payments increased by $84.2 million, or 7.2 percent, compared to FY 2022.
• Individual Income Tax Return payments were down roughly $1.21 billion, or -49.4 percent, from last year.
• All other Individual Tax categories, including Non-Resident payments, were down a combined $281.3 million.

Sales and Use Tax: Gross Sales and Use Tax collections for the month totaled almost $1.59 billion, for an increase of $47.1 million, or 3.1 percent, over FY 2022. Net Sales and Use Tax increased by $19 million, or 2.4 percent, from April 2022, when net sales tax totaled $804.4 million. The adjusted Sales Tax distribution to local governments totaled $756.4 million for an increase of $26.7 million, or 3.7 percent, over last year, while sales tax refunds increased by $1.4 million, or 34.5 percent, compared to April 2022.

Corporate Income Tax: Corporate Income Tax collections increased by $33.2 million, or 4.7 percent, compared to the previous year, when Corporate Tax collections totaled $711.2 million for the month.

The following notable components within Corporate Income Tax make up the net increase:

• Corporate Income Tax refunds issued (net of voided checks) were up $40.4 million, or 254.8 percent.
• Corporate Income Tax Return payments increased by $66 million, or 27.4 percent, over April 2022.
• Corporate Income Tax Estimated payments decreased by $68.4 million, or -15.3 percent, from last year.
• All other Corporate Tax types, including S-Corp and Partnership payments, were up a combined $76 million.

Motor Fuel Taxes: Motor Fuel Tax collections increased by $87.5 million, or 83.5 percent, over FY 2022.

Motor Vehicle - Tag & Title Fees: Motor Vehicle Tag & Title Fees increased by nearly $1.4 million, or 4.1 percent, while Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) collections increased by $2.3 million, or 3 percent, compared to last year, when TAVT collections totaled almost $77 million.