Updated September 5, 2026. Quick answer: Georgia does not tax Social Security at all, and separately allows a retirement income exclusion for filers 62 or older (or permanently and totally disabled at any age) of up to $35,000 per person for ages 62 to 64 and up to $65,000 per person at 65 and older, covering pensions, annuities, interest, dividends, capital gains, and a small amount of earned income, plus a separate exclusion specifically for military retirement pay available to filers under 62.
Confidence note: high. This page is scoped to pension, IRA and 401(k) taxation specifically. For the state’s full retirement-tax picture (Social Security, tax rates, estate and probate), see how Georgia taxes retirement income generally.
How pensions and retirement-account withdrawals are taxed
| Public (state/local government) pensions | Public (government) pensions are pooled with other unearned income (interest, dividends, capital gains, royalties, net rental income) under Georgia’s retirement income exclusion: up to $35,000 per person for taxpayers 62 to 64 or permanently and totally disabled, and up to $65,000 per person for taxpayers 65 and older, per O.C.G.A. sec. 48-7-27(a)(5) and Georgia Department of Revenue guidance. |
|---|---|
| Private (employer) pensions | Private employer pensions receive identical treatment to public pensions: pooled into the same $35,000 (ages 62-64) or $65,000 (age 65+) per-person retirement income exclusion, with each spouse on a joint return qualifying separately based on their own income. |
| Federal government pensions (FERS/CSRS) | Federal civil service pensions (FERS/CSRS) are treated the same as any other pension for purposes of the retirement income exclusion described above; Georgia’s guidance does not single out federal civilian pensions for different treatment. |
| Military retirement pay | Beginning January 1, 2022, Georgia allows a separate military retirement income exclusion of up to $17,500 for taxpayers under 62, with an additional $17,500 (up to $35,000 total) available to those who also have more than $17,500 of Georgia earned income; each spouse may claim this separately. Military retirees 62 and older instead use the general retirement income exclusion described above. |
| IRA and 401(k)/403(b) distributions | IRA and 401(k)/403(b) distributions are unearned retirement income and are pooled into the same $35,000 (ages 62-64) or $65,000 (65+) per-person retirement income exclusion as pensions; Georgia’s published guidance does not describe them differently from pension and annuity income. |
| General retirement-income exclusion | The retirement income exclusion described above is itself Georgia’s general, age-based exclusion: up to $35,000 per person for ages 62 to 64 (or any age if permanently and totally disabled), and up to $65,000 per person at 65 and older, covering pensions, annuities, interest, dividends, capital gains, royalties, net rental income, and up to $5,000 of earned income, per the official 2025 Form IT-511 Individual Income Tax Booklet; a Cornell LII mirror of the underlying administrative rule (last amended 2011) still prints an older $4,000 figure that the current DOR booklet has since superseded. |
Coordinate this with your overall retirement plan
An adviser can help weigh how much of a pension or IRA withdrawal to take this year, whether a Roth conversion makes sense before or after a move, and how state tax interacts with the rest of your plan, but that does not replace the numbers in your own return.
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Social Security
Georgia fully exempts Social Security and Railroad Retirement income from state income tax; see the sibling Social Security page for details. Social Security has its own rules in every state; see the full breakdown in how Georgia taxes retirement income generally.
Statute and sources
Governing citation: O.C.G.A. sec. 48-7-27(a)(5); Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 560-7-4-.02.
- Georgia Department of Revenue, Retirement Income Exclusion
- Georgia Department of Revenue, Retirees FAQ
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 560-7-4-.02, Procedures Governing Retirement Income Exclusion (Cornell LII mirror)
- Georgia Department of Revenue, 2025 IT-511 Individual Income Tax Booklet (confirms current $5,000 earned-income sub-cap, superseding the 2011 admin-rule text)
Read September 5, 2026.
Related: how Georgia taxes retirement income generally · does Georgia tax Roth conversions? · Roth conversion taxes, all 51 jurisdictions.
General information drawn from each state’s own published statutes and revenue-department guidance, not legal, tax or financial advice. Figures and exemption amounts are current as of the date in the quick answer, are set by state law, and can change by future legislation; any pending bill named on this page is not yet law. This page cannot see your own return, which governs. We are not a law firm, a tax adviser, or a fiduciary, and this is not personalized advice.