Georgia tips calculator: the new $1,750 state exclusion
Georgia wrote its own, much smaller version of no tax on tips: HB 463, signed May 11, 2026, excludes up to $1,750 of cash tips from Georgia income for 2026 through 2028 — with no income phase-out.
How HB 463 defines a Georgia cash tip
The new O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27(a)(17) copies the federal ideas — a tip must be voluntary, not negotiated and set by the payor, in an occupation that has a Treasury Tipped Occupation Code — but caps the exclusion at $1,750 and repeals it on December 31, 2028. The same act excludes up to $1,750 of overtime for hourly full-time workers, cut the flat rate from 5.19% to 4.99% for 2026, and requires employers to report qualified cash tips to the Department of Revenue. For 2025 Georgia had no tips exclusion at all.
Georgia figures
| Cash wage / minimum | $2.13 / $7.25 |
|---|---|
| In force | July 1, 2026 |
| Next change | none scheduled |
| Tipped threshold | More than $30 a month in tips |
| Tips on the 2025 return | tips stay taxable in this state. Georgia did not adopt the federal deduction for 2025; its own exclusion starts with 2026. Source: Georgia General Assembly / Office of the Governor |
| Tips on the 2026 return | first $1,750 excluded. HB 463 (signed May 11, 2026) excludes “any amount up to $1,750.00 received in cash tips” for 2026 through 2028, in occupations with a Treasury Tipped Occupation Code — no income phase-out. Source: Georgia General Assembly / Office of the Governor |
Georgia’s own minimum wage does not cover tipped workers
Georgia’s statute (O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3) still sets $5.15 an hour, and it does not apply to tipped employees; the Department of Labor points workers to the federal $7.25. For an FLSA-covered restaurant that means a $2.13 cash wage and a $5.12 tip credit.
An Atlanta server in 2026
The federal deduction is $18,000, saving $2,150. Georgia excludes only the first $1,750, worth about $87 at 4.99%, for $2,237 in total. The weekly floor is federal: 32 hours at $2.13 plus $150 of tips leaves $14 for the employer to make up.
Check a Georgia workweek under federal rules
Where these figures come from
- Georgia Department of Revenue · U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division (Georgia’s law excludes tipped employees)
- HB 463 (2026), as passed and signed May 11, 2026 — O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27(a)(17) (2026-05-11)
- Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (table by state) (2026-07-01)
Federal rules: how the deduction works. Nearby: Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina.
Figures verified against primary sources on