Brian Kemp Begins $1 Billion Tax Return Rollout in Georgia
Georgia has begun issuing surplus tax refund checks, and eligible taxpayers should start seeing their tax return payments this week. Gov. Brian Kemp signed HB 1000 into law on March 20, 2026, and said Georgians would begin receiving refunds within five to six weeks.
The refund plan covers another $1 billion in state money. Kemp said it would “will return or save the average filer $250 and a married couple up to $500.”
HB 1000 and Kemp
The Georgia Department of Revenue has started the rollout after Kemp signed HB 1000. That makes this the fourth time he has signed a tax rebate, following special refunds issued in 2022, 2023 and 2025.
Kemp also proposed a budget that includes another $1 billion tax rebate. For households that qualify, the practical question now is simple: the first round is starting, and the payment amounts are already set at $250 for the average filer and up to $500 for a married couple.
Georgia Department of Revenue
The department’s move turns the law into payments rather than a future promise. Kemp tied the timing to a five-to-six-week window after he signed HB 1000, and this week falls inside that range.
For taxpayers expecting a rebate, the key change is that the process has moved from announcement to distribution. The remaining steps are administrative, not legislative, because the state has already authorized the refunds and begun issuing them.
2022, 2023, 2025
The current rollout follows three earlier special refunds in 2022, 2023 and 2025. Kemp’s use of another rebate this year shows the program has become a repeated part of state budgeting under his administration, with HB 1000 marking the fourth such measure he has signed.
That leaves eligible filers with a clear takeaway this week: the money is now moving, and the refund amount should fit within the $250-to-$500 range Kemp laid out in his state of the state address earlier this year.
