Michigan to Georgia Retirement Taxes (2026): Every Tax That Changes

Updated July 26, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Moving from Michigan to Georgia in retirement, the change is narrower than the headline rate comparison suggests. Four separate taxes change when you move — state income tax on withdrawals, state estate tax, state inheritance tax, and what probate costs your heirs. Most comparisons only price the first one.

Michigan vs Georgia: every tax that changes

Every cell is quoted from our statute-cited 51-jurisdiction dataset. Download the full dataset as CSV.

1. What changes on your annual tax bill

Michigan: TY2026 completes the 4-year phase-in under PA 4 of 2023 (HB 4001): ALL taxpayers regardless of birth year may deduct retirement and pension income (pensions, IRA distributions taken at age 59 1/2 or later with limited exceptions, and 401(k) distributions only to the extent attributable to employer contributions or employee contributions mandated by the plan) up to the Tier-1 cap — approximately $67,610 single / $135,220 joint for 2026 (indexed annually), reduced by any military, railroad retirement or Michigan National Guard deduction. Georgia: Retirement income exclusion (pensions, 401(k), IRA, interest, dividends, capital gains, rental, plus max $5,000 earned income): up to $35,000 per person ages 62-64, and up to $65,000 per person at 65 or older (Ga. DOR Form IT-511, Schedule 1). Compare the two schedules directly rather than the headline top rates, because exclusions and age thresholds usually matter more than the rate.

2. What changes at death: state estate tax

Neither state levies an estate tax. Michigan: none Georgia: none Only the federal estate tax applies.

3. What changes at death: state inheritance tax

Neither state levies an inheritance tax. Michigan: none Georgia: none

4. The one nobody prices: what probate costs your heirs

Michigan uses a reasonable-fee fee model (EPIC: reasonable compensation for PR and attorneys (MCL 700.3719); no compensation percentage schedule. NOTE: Michigan does levy a value-scaled probate court ‘inventory fee’ on every estate (MCL 600.871) — see filing fees.); Georgia uses a hybrid model (PR: default statutory commission absent will/agreement (O.C.G.A. §53-6-60) — 2.5% of all sums of money received + 2.5% of all sums paid out, plus 10% commission on interest earned on loans made by the PR; separate provisions for in-kind property. Attorney fees: reasonable (no schedule).). Filing fees — Michigan: $150 to commence probate proceedings (MCL 600.880(1)), plus the value-based inventory fee under MCL 600.871 (e.g., $68.75 + 0.5% of the amount over $10,000 for estates $10k-$25k; continues scaling with estate value) — official Michigan Courts fee tables Georgia: $175 base for initial petition for letters (O.C.G.A. §15-9-60); with county charges set locally (for a petition for letters of administration, Cobb County lists $200 and Gwinnett County lists $202), plus newspaper publication that Cobb County lists at $120 for four weeks and Gwinnett County lists at $120 to $180 depending on the proceeding

Full detail: probate cost by state and small-estate limits by state.

Probate cost in each state, specifically

Michigan uses a “reasonable fee” standard with no schedule, and its statute does not say whether that route reaches real property. Georgia uses a hybrid standard — a statutory bound with reasonableness inside it, and its statute does not say whether that route reaches real property. Both states land in the same bucket on that question. Full figures with the governing statute, the court filing fee and the small-estate threshold: Michigan probate cost and Georgia probate cost.

Four taxes, two states, one order of operations

Everything above changes together: what Michigan stops taking on withdrawals, what Georgia does not take at death, and what probate costs in each. The order you do things in — when you establish domicile, when you convert, when you retitle property — changes the total, and some of it cannot be undone afterwards. If a move is genuinely on the table, here is what to look for in an advisor who knows both Michigan and Georgia. If you would rather price it yourself first, the two-state comparison tool is free and asks for no email.

Will Michigan still tax me after I move to Georgia?

Not on your retirement withdrawals, once you genuinely change domicile — but that is a harder test than a change of address, and what you leave behind stays in reach.

• Domicile is a test, not a mailing address. A departing state can and does audit residency. Days present, voter registration, driver’s licence, where your doctors and advisers are, and where you keep what you value all count.
• A Roth conversion is taxed where you live in the year you convert. Sequencing a conversion after establishing the new domicile is often worth more than the annual saving — see how all 51 jurisdictions tax Roth conversions.

Full state detail

Every figure above is summarized. The complete statute-cited breakdown for each state: Michigan retirement taxes and Georgia retirement taxes. To compare any other pair, start at the retirement tax relocation hub.

Widen the comparison

This page prices one corridor. To see every destination Michigan retirees consider and every origin state moving to Georgia, start there instead. For any pair not covered, the retirement tax comparison tool runs all 51 jurisdictions, and the probate cost calculator works out what settling the estate costs in each.

Talking this through

Relocation timing, Roth conversion sequencing and estate exposure interact, and the order you do them in changes the total. If you want a second opinion, understand what it should cost first — see our advisor cost guide.

Figures verified against MCL 206.30, 206.51, 600.871, 600.880, 700.1210 and 700.3982, Michigan Treasury RAB 2026-1 and retirement and pension benefits page, the Office of Retirement Services PA 4 of 2023 FAQ and the January 30, 2026 cost-of-living notice, the 2025 Georgia IT-511 booklet and summaries of HB 463 (BDO, EY and a May 11, 2026 Capitol Beat report) on September 30, 2026; the HB 463 rate and signing date rest on secondary summaries, and the Michigan Social Security treatment, the absence of Michigan estate and inheritance taxes, the O.C.G.A. §48-7-27, §53-6-60, §7-1-239 and §15-9-60 statute texts, the county surcharge estimates and the Georgia no-estate-tax statement were not re-checked.

Primary sources

• MCL 206.30
• PA 4 of 2023 (HB 4001)
• Michigan Treasury: Retirement and Pension Benefits guidance
• RAB 2026-1
• O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27(a)(5), (a)(5.1)
• Georgia DOR: Retirement Income Exclusion
• MCL 700.3719
• MCL 700.3982
• MCL 700.1210
• MCL 600.871
• O.C.G.A. §53-6-60
• O.C.G.A. §7-1-239
• O.C.G.A. §15-9-60

Methodology: every figure is quoted from Clear Money Guide’s statute-cited 51-jurisdiction datasets, compiled from state statutes, session laws and revenue-department publications and adversarially verified in July 2026. Nothing here is personalized tax or legal advice. Confirm your own facts with a qualified adviser before you move.