State Tax Revenues Up 8.3% in November

Staff Report

Thursday, December 10th, 2020

The State of Georgia’s net tax collections in November totaled nearly $1.96 billion, for an increase of $150.9 million, or 8.3 percent, compared to November 2019 when net tax collections approached $1.81 billion. Year-to-date, net tax revenue collections totaled $10.17 billion, for an increase of $551.1 million, or 5.7 percent, compared to FY 2020.

The changes within the following tax categories account for November’s overall net tax revenue increase:

Individual Income Tax: Individual Income Tax collections for November totaled nearly $1.03 billion, which was an increase of $128.7 million, or 14.3 percent, over last year when net Individual Tax revenues totaled $900.7 million. The following notable components within Individual Income Tax combine for the net increase. Individual Income Tax refunds issued (net of voided checks) increased by $3.4 million or 6.3 percent. Individual Withholding payments increased by $123.6 million, or 13.7 percent, compared to last year. Individual Income Tax Estimated Return payments were up nearly $3 million or 25.2 percent. All other Individual Tax categories, including Income Tax Return payments, were up a combined $5.5 million.

Sales and Use Tax: Gross Sales and Use Tax collections increased by $63 million, or 6 percent, to a total of $1.12 billion, up from last year's total of nearly $1.06 billion. Net Sales and Use Tax declined by approximately $6.6 million, or -1.3 percent, compared to last year, when net Sales Tax revenue totaled $522.3 million. The adjusted Sales Tax distribution to local governments totaled $596.6 million, for an increase of $65.6 million, or 12.4 percent, over FY 2020. Lastly, Sales Tax refunds increased by nearly $4 million, or 106.9 percent, compared to November 2019.

Corporate Income Tax: Net Corporate Income Tax collections increased by $11.5 million, or 284 percent, compared to FY 2020 when net Corporate Tax revenues totaled just over $4 million in November. The following notable components within Corporate Income Tax make up the net increase. Corporate Tax refunds issued (net of voided checks) decreased by $9.6 million or -31.1 percent. Corporate Income Tax Return payments were up $3.2 million, or 419.2 percent, over last year. All other Corporate Tax payments, including Estimated Tax payments, were down a combined $1.3 million.

Motor Fuel Taxes: Motor Fuel Tax collections for the month increased by roughly $2.5 million, or 1.6 percent, from last year's November total of $157.6 million.

Motor Vehicle - Tag & Title Fees: Motor Vehicle Tag & Title Fee collections for November were up $1.3 million, or 5.1 percent, compared to November 2019 when Motor Vehicle fees totaled $26.2 million. Title ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) collections also increased by nearly $0.6 million, or 1 percent, compared to last year's total of $56.9 million.