Georgia has started sending out surplus tax refund checks to taxpayers this week, opening another round of state payments tied to a tax return rebate signed by Gov. Brian Kemp earlier this year. The checks follow HB 1000, which Kemp signed into law on March 20, 2026.
Kemp said Georgians would begin receiving their refunds within five to six weeks of that signing, a window that has now arrived. The governor said the rebate would return or save the average filer $250 and a married couple up to $500.
The money is the latest installment in a pattern Kemp has used repeatedly since taking office. Special refunds were issued in 2022, 2023 and 2025, and HB 1000 marks the fourth time he has signed a tax rebate. The Department of Revenue’s move this week means checks are now moving from paper law to money in bank accounts and mailboxes.
That is not the only rebate Kemp wants on the table. In his final state of the state address earlier this year, he proposed a separate $1 billion tax rebate, keeping pressure on lawmakers to continue returning surplus money to taxpayers.
The timing gives the announcement immediate weight for households watching state finances and their own bills. It also underscores the split between what has already been enacted and what Kemp still wants: one round of payments is now underway, while another $1 billion proposal remains only an ask. For readers trying to track where the state’s extra revenue is going, the answer today is simple: some of it is already on its way back.
For more on the long history of tax refunds and what they can mean to households, see Warren Buffett First Tax Return: $7 Bill in 1944 Foreshadowed a Life of Taxes.
