Georgia calendar and forms

Georgia runs on the federal calendar. Form 500 is due April 15, 2027, the same day as the Form 1040; the four estimated payments fall on the federal dates; and a federal extension carries Georgia along automatically to October 15, 2027, with nothing to file but a copy of Form 4868 when the return finally goes in. The two places Georgia parts from the federal pattern both favor the filer. The estimated-tax safe harbor is 70% of this year’s tax, not 90%. And the Department of Revenue tells first-time Georgia filers something the IRS does not: the refund will come as a paper check no matter how the return was filed.

The form side is one return, Form 500, and a set of schedules that attach only when they apply. Form 500EZ was discontinued after 2024, so everyone files the long form. Because Georgia starts from federal AGI and has its own standard deduction, a wage earner with no retirement income and no credits touches only Form 500 itself. Retirees add Schedule 1 for the retirement exclusion and Social Security. Families with a care credit add IND-CR. People who moved add Schedule 3. The 2026 versions of Form 500 and the IT-511 instruction booklet had not been posted when this was written; the Department publishes them in January, and the new lines for the tips and overtime subtractions and the $250 child credit will appear then.

The 2027 filing season, dated

How the extension works

Anyone with a federal extension has a Georgia extension of the same six months; there is nothing to request. When the Georgia return is filed, attach a copy of federal Form 4868 or the IRS confirmation. Someone who did not extend federally but needs more time for Georgia mails Form IT-303, Application for Extension of Time for Filing State Income Tax Returns, by April 15 and attaches a copy to the return; the Department replies only if it says no. No extension can run past six months.

Neither route extends the time to pay. Tax not paid by April 15 draws a late-payment penalty of 0.5% a month, and interest at the prime rate plus 3%, from April 15 regardless of the extension. The remedy is to send the expected balance by April 15 with Form IT-560, Individual Extension Payment Voucher, or to make the same payment on Georgia Tax Center and enter it on the return as a payment with extension. The late-filing penalty is separate, 5% a month on tax unpaid at the original due date, and the two penalties together cannot exceed 25%; a return filed within the extension period avoids the late-filing penalty entirely.

Estimated payments

Georgia requires estimated payments when a filer expects more than $1,000 of income not covered by withholding, after the dependent exemption and deductions, so the people caught are the self-employed, landlords, owners of pass-through businesses, and anyone with a large capital gain, a Roth conversion or an IRA distribution with no Georgia withholding. Retirees are caught less often than in most states, because the retirement exclusion and the Social Security subtraction take so much income out before the tax is figured.

The safe harbor is generous. Pay the lesser of 100% of last year’s Georgia tax or 70% of this year’s in four equal, timely installments and there is no penalty. There is no 110% tier for higher incomes. Farmers and fishermen with two-thirds of gross income from farming or fishing are excused if they file and pay by March 1. The penalty for a short or late installment is 9% a year, figured by the day on Form 500 UET. Payments go in on Form 500-ES vouchers by check, or on Georgia Tax Center by bank draft with no voucher at all. Someone who made 2026 payments and cannot find the records can see every payment the Department has recorded by logging in to Georgia Tax Center.

The forms, in the order a filer meets them

Filing free, paying, and checking a refund

Georgia has no state-built free filing program of its own. The Department links Free File Alliance offers from five vendors, each with its own income ceiling; for 2025 returns the ceilings ran from $32,000 to $89,000 of AGI, with higher limits for active-duty military, and the offers include the federal return. The IRS Direct File program was not offered for the 2026 filing season and Georgia was never a Direct File state, and the IRS has since ended the program. Anyone can also fill in Form 500 online on the Department’s site, print it and mail it, which is free but slow; the Department says handwritten and paper returns take longest to process.

Georgia Tax Center, at gtc.dor.ga.gov, is the Department’s portal for everything except preparing the return: estimated and extension payments by bank draft at no charge, balance-due payments, a list of payments already made, 1099-G for last year’s refund, letters from the Department, and the refund tracker. Creating an account requires a previously filed Georgia return; checking a refund does not. The tracker, also reachable from georgia.gov, asks for a Social Security number or ITIN and the exact refund amount. The Department says most refunds issue within 21 days of receipt and some take up to 90, and the IT-511 booklet says to allow 12 weeks before calling. Two groups wait longer and get paper: first-time Georgia filers and anyone who has not filed in five years receive a check even if they asked for direct deposit.

Taxpayer Services is at 877-423-6711, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern, with an automated refund line on the same number. Paper returns with a refund or no tax due go to Georgia Department of Revenue, Processing Center, PO Box 740392, Atlanta, GA 30374-0392; returns with a payment go to PO Box 740399, Atlanta, GA 30374-0399. Checks are payable to Georgia Department of Revenue.