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The State of Georgia’s April net tax collections totaled more than $2.80 billion for an increase of $963.7 million, or 52.4 percent, compared to April 2020 when net tax collections totaled almost $1.84 billion.  Year-to-date, net tax collections totaled $21.74 billion for an increase of nearly $2.51 billion, or 13.1 percent, compared to the previous fiscal year when net tax revenues totaled $19.23 billion after ten months. 

Year-over-year comparisons of state net tax collections for the spring quarter of April-June are made difficult by the 2020 deferral of state tax filing deadlines for quarterly and annual income taxes to July 15, 2020 and the 2021 deferral of the annual individual income tax filing deadline to May 17th.  While annual totals as of June 30th will be comparable, monthly year-over-year comparisons may not be appropriate since financial results were impacted by the economic implications of the Coronavirus pandemic and the aforementioned shifting of return filing deadlines.

Individual Income Tax:  Net Individual Income Tax collections for the month totaled $1.22 billion, for an increase of $371 million, or 43.6 percent, compared to April 2020 when net Individual Tax revenues totaled $851.7 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 $128.9 million or 40.4 percent

•      Individual Withholding payments increased by $103.1 million, or 10.5 percent, compared to last year

•      Individual Income Tax Return payments were up $175.1 million, or 168.1 percent, over FY 2020

•      All other categories, including Estimated income tax payments, were up a combined $221.7 million

Sales and Use Tax:  Gross Sales and Use Tax collections for April increased by $355.3 million, or 35.7 percent, to a total of $1.35 billion for the month.  Net Sales and Use Tax increased by $220.5 million, or 44.8 percent, compared to last year, when net sales tax totaled $492.1 million.  The adjusted Sales Tax distribution to local governments totaled $624.2 million for an increase of $132.8 million, or 27 percent, while Sales Tax Refunds increased by nearly $2 million, or 16.2 percent, compared to FY 2020.

Corporate Income Tax:  Net Corporate Income Tax collections totaled $453.3 million in April, for an increase of $362 million, or 396.2 percent, over last year when net Corporate Tax revenues totaled $91.4 million.

The following notable components within Corporate Income Tax make up the net increase:
 
•      Corporate Income Tax refunds (net of voids) decreased by $5.5 million, or -50 percent, compared to FY 2020

•      Corporate Income Tax Estimated payments were up $188.3 million, or 279.4 percent, compared to last year

•      Corporate Income Tax Return payments increased by $157.9 million, or 572.9 percent, over April 2020  

•      All other Corporate Tax categories, including S-Corp tax payments, were up a combined $10.3 million

Motor Fuel Taxes:  Motor Fuel Tax collections were down $64.8 million, or -27.2 percent, compared to last year on account of a large, one-time settlement payment that resulted from ongoing audit activities during FY 2020.

Motor Vehicle - Tag & Title Fees:  Motor Vehicle Tag & Title Fees rose by $18.2 million, or 85.1 percent, in April, while Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) collections increased by $19.5 million, or 38 percent, compared to FY 2020.

The State of Georgia’s net tax collections for March totaled nearly $1.90 billion for an increase of almost $67 million, or 3.7 percent, compared to March 2020, when net tax collections totaled $1.83 billion.  Year-to-date, total net tax collections approached $18.94 billion, for an increase of roughly $1.55 billion, or 8.9 percent, compared to FY 2020 when net tax revenues totaled $17.39 billion after nine months.

The deferred commencement of Individual Income tax return processing – concurrent with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance that directed the acceptance and processing of 2020 Individual tax year returns beginning February 12, 2021 – delayed income tax refund processing and contributed significantly to the highly favorable net tax collection revenue variance reported in February.  Subsequently, an acceleration of refund processing in the March reporting period reduced the impact of the refund processing delay on year-to-date net revenue collections.