Updated October 7, 2026. Quick answer: Not on a one-time withdrawal unless you ask. The Department of Revenue’s guide says that “Upon the election by a payee of any non-periodic payment or distribution” from a pension, annuity or similar fund the payor withholds the amount the payee specifies; regular payments are different and are withheld “unless the recipient elects not to have tax withheld”.
Drawing a pension? Whether the state withholds tax from it, from its own documents: Georgia tax withholding on pension payments.
Georgia withholding at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Is it required? | Periodic pension and annuity payments are withheld unless the recipient elects not to; a non-periodic distribution is withheld when the payee elects |
| Rate or amount | The amount the payee specifies on an election, not less than wage withholding would require; payors use the wage withholding tables |
| How to start or stop it | Form G-4P, given to the payor |
| Direct rollover | Not stated in the documents read |
| Changed for 2026? | No change stated; Form G-4P read is the 2026 version |
What the Georgia documents say
The Department of Revenue’s Employer’s Withholding Tax Guide separates the two kinds of payment. Of periodic payments it says they are subject to withholding “unless the recipient elects not to have tax withheld”, and that recipients should submit Form G-4P to the payer. For a one-time payment, the guide says that “Upon the election by a payee of any non-periodic payment or distribution” from a pension, annuity or similar fund, the payor withholds the amount the payee specifies.
Form G-4P gives the payee three choices: check the box saying “I elect not to have Georgia income tax withheld”, ask for withholding by allowances and marital status (payors use “the same withholding tables that are used for wages”), or add a dollar amount to each payment. The guide cites O.C.G.A. 48-7-101.
A $50,000 withdrawal: cash in hand or a direct rollover
Take a $50,000 401(k) withdrawal paid to you. The IRS says a taxable eligible rollover distribution paid to you from an employer plan is subject to “mandatory income tax withholding (generally at a rate of 20%)”, which on $50,000 is $10,000 (computed as $50,000 times 20%) held back for federal tax. Because it is a one-time distribution, Georgia withholds only if you elect it, so the Georgia amount withheld is $0 unless you give the payor a Form G-4P with an amount. The guide sets a floor for an election: the amount withheld is not less than wage withholding would require on the same payment. The documents read give no flat percentage.
The other path is a direct rollover to an IRA or another plan. For federal tax the IRS says “The mandatory withholding doesn’t apply in a direct rollover”. The Georgia documents read do not say how a direct rollover is treated for state withholding, so confirm it with the payer before choosing.
What a mover should know
This page is about Georgia as a state of residence. An instruction line written for a nonresident or part-year filer is not the rule for a resident, and none of the documents read settles a part-year or two-state case, so check each state’s own rule. The federal side is the same everywhere; CMG’s federal 20% withholding on a pension lump sum page covers it, and state withholding on retirement withdrawals lists the other states checked.
What the documents do not say
- The 2026 employer guide was not available; the 2025 Employer’s Withholding Tax Guide is the document read. The documents read do not address a direct rollover or describe a 2026 change.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a one-time Georgia withdrawal is withheld by default; the guide ties it to the payee’s election.
- Filing a Form G-4P that checks the no-withholding box and expecting an estimated payment to be unnecessary.
- Assuming the answer for one state applies to another, or that state withholding settles the state tax owed at filing.
Related: state withholding on retirement withdrawals, how Georgia taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals, Georgia retirement taxes, and retirement withholding calculator.
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Answer againSources
- Employer’s Withholding Tax Guide 2025: https://dor.georgia.gov/document/document-document/2025-employers-tax-guide-updated-june-2025/download
- Form G-4P Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments (Rev. 06/03/26): https://dor.georgia.gov/document/form/withholdingcertificateforpensionorannuitypaymentsg-4ppdf/download
- IRS Tax Topic 413, Rollovers from retirement plans: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc413
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 7, 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.