Georgia vs Alabama: state income tax, 2025
For reference household P1 (single, $60,000 of wages), Georgia charges $2,491or less and Alabama charges $2,506or less. Both are bounded in the same direction, so the difference between them cannot be stated.
Both figures are a hypothetical full-year resident return for tax year 2025, over the same federal return, and count state income tax only. Neither is a relocation estimate: moving mid-year means two part-year returns, which this site does not figure. “Or less” means a mechanism the engine does not yet model would lower the figure; “or more” that it would raise it.
Six households, both states
| Household | Georgia | Alabama | Georgia minus Alabama |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 Single, $60,000 of wages | $2,491or less | $2,506or less | not bounded |
| P2 Married filing jointly, $150,000, two children | $6,124or less | $6,415or less | not bounded |
| P3 Single, $85,000 wages + $15,000 long-term gain + $3,000 qualified dividends | $4,723or less | $4,267or less | not bounded |
| P4 Married retirees, $40,000 Social Security + $30,000 pension + $20,000 IRA, both 65+ | $0or less | $1,255or less | not bounded |
| P5 Head of household, $45,000, one child | $1,505or less | $1,885or less | not bounded |
| P6 Single, $1,200,000 of wages + $500,000 long-term gain | $87,607or less | not figured | — |
Full-year resident figures for 2025, state income tax only, with the same federal return in every column. Every figure is provisional. “Not shown” and “not figured” mean the engine will not state a number it cannot stand behind; hover for why.
Where the difference comes from
Georgia
- Where the return starts. Starts from federal adjusted gross income.
- Rate. A flat 5.19% on taxable income.O.C.G.A. §48-7-20; 2025 IT-511 instructions, line 16: "Multiply the amount on Line 15c by 5.19%. Round to nearest dollar." (checked 2026-08-05)
- Standard deduction. $12,000 single, $24,000 married filing jointly.O.C.G.A. §48-7-27(a)(1); 2025 IT-511 line 11: $24,000 married filing jointly, $12,000 for single, married filing separately, head of household and qualifying surviving spouse. "If you use the standard deduction on your Federal return, you must use the Georgia standard deduction on your Georgia return." (checked 2026-08-05)
- Personal exemption. $4,000 per dependant.O.C.G.A. §48-7-26; 2025 IT-511 line 14: "Multiply the number of dependents on Line 7c by $4,000." There is no exemption for the taxpayer or spouse. (checked 2026-08-05)
- Excluded from income. Retirement income.O.C.G.A. §48-7-27(a)(5); 2025 IT-511, Retirement Income Exclusion: "The maximum retirement income exclusion is $35,000 for taxpayers who are 62–64 years of age, or less than 62 and permanently disabled … $65,000 for taxpayers who are 65 years of age or older. The exclusion is available for the taxpayer and their spouse; however, each must qualify on a separate basis … Up to $5,000 of the maximum allowable exclusion may be earned income." (checked 2026-08-05)
- Excluded from income. Social Security benefits.2025 IT-511, Schedule 1 subtraction 5: "Social Security or Railroad Retirement (Tier 1 and Tier 2) paid by the Railroad Retirement Board included in Federal adjusted gross income." (checked 2026-08-05)
Alabama
- Where the return starts. Builds its own base from classes of income rather than starting from a federal line.
- Rate. 3 brackets for a single filer, from 2% to 5%; the top rate starts at $3,000 of taxable income.Ala. Code §40-18-5; 2025 Form 40 Tax Tables — confirmed at two independent rows: single taxable income $23,000–$23,100 gives $1,113 (2% × $500 + 4% × $2,500 + 5% × the rest at the band midpoint), and married filing jointly $23,300–$23,400 gives $1,088 (2% × $1,000 + 4% × $5,000 + 5% × the rest). (checked 2026-08-05)
- Standard deduction. $3,000 single, $8,500 married filing jointly.Ala. Code §40-18-15(b); 2025 Form 40 Standard Deduction chart, page 8 — $8,500 married filing joint, $4,250 married filing separate, $5,200 head of family and $3,000 single at the bottom band, each stepping down per band of Alabama adjusted gross income to a floor of $5,000 (joint) or $2,500. (checked 2026-08-05)
- Personal exemption. $1,000 per dependant.Ala. Code §40-18-19; 2025 Form 40, Filing Status/Exemptions: "1 $1,500 Single", "2 $3,000 Married filing joint", "3 $1,500 Married filing separate", "4 $3,000 Head of Family". (checked 2026-08-05)
- Added to income. Municipal bond interest from other states.Ala. Code §40-18-14(a)(3)d and f exclude only interest on obligations of the United States or its possessions and of Alabama and its subdivisions; 2025 Form 40 booklet, Schedule B Interest Income: "All interest you received in 2025 is taxable for Alabama purposes except interest on obligations of the United States or its possessions, and interest on obligations of the State of Alabama or any county, municipality, or other political subdivision of Alabama." Line 6: "Enter your TOTAL taxable income from interest and dividends." (checked 2026-10-20)
- Excluded from income. Federal income tax paid.Ala. Code §40-18-15(c); 2025 Form 40 Federal Income Tax Deduction Worksheet, page 31: "1 Enter the tax as shown on line 22 on 2025 Form 1040/Form 1040NR. 2 Net Investment Income Tax … 3 Federal Tax. Add Lines 1 and 2. 4a Earned Income Credit (EIC) … 4b Additional Child Tax Credit … 4c American Opportunity Credit … 4d Refundable Adoption Credit … 4e Credits from Forms 2439 … 6 Subtract line 5 from line 3. If amount is negative enter zero." (checked 2026-08-05)
- Excluded from income. Social Security benefits.2025 Form 40, "Examples of Income You DO NOT Report": "Federal Social Security benefits" and "Any “defined benefit” retirement plan". (checked 2026-08-05)
- Excluded from income. Retirement income.Ala. Code §40-18-19(a)(13): "the first six thousand dollars ($6,000) of taxable retirement income … may only be claimed by individual taxpayers who are 65 years of age or older"; 2025 Schedule RS, Parts II and III, line 10: "each taxpayer is eligible up to $6,000 not to exceed the Retirement Income Taxable to Alabama on line 9." (checked 2026-10-20)
- Excluded from income. Unemployment compensation.2025 Form 40 booklet, "Examples of Income You DO NOT Report": "Unemployment compensation." (checked 2026-10-20)
- Local income tax. Levied locally in parts of the state, and not included in the figures above.
What this comparison leaves out
Mechanisms the engine does not model yet. Each one is named with the direction it would move the figure, which is where every “or less” above comes from.
Georgia
- Retirement exclusion for a filer aged 62–64 whose birth year the return does not give O.C.G.A. §48-7-27(a)(5) — the figure is too high without it
- Retirement exclusion for a filer under 62 who is permanently disabled O.C.G.A. §48-7-27(a)(5)(B) — the figure is too high without it
- Per-person ownership of interest, dividends and capital gains on a joint return O.C.G.A. §48-7-27(a)(5); IT-511 "allocated to each taxpayer at 50%" — the figure is too high without it
- Georgia itemized deductions, the other-state-tax adjustment (lines 12a–12c) and the eligible itemizer credit (line 19) O.C.G.A. §48-7-27(a)(1) — the figure is too high without it
- Unborn dependent exemption (line 7b) O.C.G.A. §48-7-26(a)(3) — the figure is too high without it
- Credit for taxes paid to another state O.C.G.A. §48-7-28 — the figure is too high without it
Alabama
- Exempt pensions: defined-benefit plans and the listed government systems Ala. Code §40-18-19(a); 2025 Form 40 "Income You DO NOT Report" — the figure is too high without it
- Alabama itemized deductions the return does not carry Ala. Code §40-18-15(a) — the figure is too high without it
- Alabama-issued and U.S.-possession municipal interest inside the Form 40 line 6 addition of other states’ bond interest Ala. Code §40-18-14(a)(3)d, f — the figure is too high without it
- Credit for taxes paid to another state Ala. Code §40-18-21 — the figure is too high without it
Taxes that are not income tax. Property tax, sales and excise taxes, and state payroll levies such as disability or paid-leave contributions are not counted here, and none of them is small. Federal tax is excluded because it is the same in both columns. A state income tax comparison is not a total tax burden comparison; see methodology.
Data status
Georgia. 2025 rules are provisional; engine coverage is implemented, with 6 mechanisms declared as not yet modelled. See the 2025 rate table.
Alabama. 2025 rules are provisional; engine coverage is implemented, with 4 mechanisms declared as not yet modelled. See the 2025 rate table.
2026 state rules are not built yet, so this page compares 2025 only. Track status on the 2025 data status board.
Try it with your own return
The six households above are reference cases. Your own return will land differently. Compare Georgia and Alabama over your own return — it stays in your browser.