Updated October 16, 2026. Quick answer: Georgia lets residents exclude retirement income up to $35,000 (ages 62 to 64) or $65,000 (age 65 or older); the booklet’s retirement exclusion worksheet names taxable pensions and taxable IRA distributions among its income lines but does not name 403(b) or 457(b) plans, so it does not say how those withdrawals are classified.
State retirement-income forms, line by line: Georgia retirement income exclusion.
Georgia at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| How the state treats 403(b) and 457(b) withdrawals | The documents read do not say |
| Do the state’s documents name these plans? | The documents read name neither 403(b) nor 457(b) plans |
| Retirement exclusion or credit | Retirement income exclusion: $35,000 at ages 62 to 64 (or under 62 and permanently disabled), $65,000 at age 65 or older |
| Public-employee pension rule | No separate public-employee exclusion described |
| Rate in the documents read | Flat 4.99% for 2026 (5.19% for tax year 2025) |
| Changed for 2026? | The rate was reduced to a flat 4.99% for 2026 |
What the Georgia documents say
The Department of Revenue’s 2025 IT-511 booklet says “The maximum retirement income exclusion is $65,000”, for taxpayers 65 or older, and the exclusion is available to each spouse who qualifies separately. Up to $5,000 of the maximum may be earned income. The Schedule 1 worksheet totals Lines 6 through 13, which include interest, dividends, alimony, capital gains, other income, Taxable IRA Distributions, Taxable Pensions, and rental, royalty and partnership income.
For 2026 the Department’s tax-changes page says the Georgia income tax rate “has been reduced to a flat rate of 4.99%”
Withholding and federal tax
Whether a state withholds is a separate rule: see state withholding on retirement withdrawals. Federal rules: 403(b) withdrawal rules and 457(b) withdrawal rules. The IRS says pension and annuity payments from a qualified employer plan have “all or some portion of the amounts you receive may be taxable”.
What the documents do not say
- The booklet does not name 403(b) or 457(b) plans, so it does not say whether a withdrawal from one is a taxable pension under the exclusion.
- The booklet cites no statute section for the exclusion.
Common mistakes
- Assuming Georgia’s rule for a 401(k) or IRA also covers a 403(b) or 457(b): read whether its documents name the plan.
Related: whether Georgia taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals, Georgia retirement taxes, whether Georgia taxes pensions, 403(b) withdrawal rules, 457(b) withdrawal rules, and state withholding on retirement withdrawals.
Find the right next step for your situation
About how much do you have invested? Pick the range that fits; your next step appears immediately below.
Compare vetted advisors for retirement income
For U.S. investors with $250,000 or more in investable assets. WiserAdvisor is an independent service matching you with 2 to 3 vetted advisers. Its form asks for your ZIP code and answers to a few questions; a match is not guaranteed.
Free to request, with no obligation to hire. By submitting, you consent to calls, texts and emails from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisers. Advisers pay for introductions.
Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying completed form. An introduction is not a Clear Money Guide recommendation.
Opens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
See how an advisor plans your withdrawals
Price the destination before you decide. The matching service below introduces you to advisers who pay to meet you.
Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying submitted form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
The Kapitalwise form opens here; you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions: age, investable assets, location; then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Prefer flat-fee or hourly pricing instead? Compare ranges here.
Answer againSources
- 2025 IT-511 Georgia Individual Income Tax Forms and Instructions Booklet: https://dor.georgia.gov/document/document/2025-it-511-individual-income-tax-booklet/download
- Important Tax Updates (2026 Income Tax Changes): https://dor.georgia.gov/taxes/important-tax-updates
- IRS Tax Topic 410, Pensions and annuities: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc410
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 16, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a tax professional or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.