GA State Taxes for Retirees

If good internet is important to you, Hamilton County (TN-Chattanooga area) has the best. They included the fiber optic lines when they upgraded their electrical grid. Another benefit of their system, according to my daughter, is that they rarely if ever have a power outage.

The traffic on I-24 is awful!

Chattanooga is hemmed in by the Tennessee river and mountains, so driving into/out of is already restricted.

Coming home to Alabama from Chattanooga in February was a nightmare. I only had to go ten miles on 24 before I hit I-59. Those ten miles took 2 hours. I-59 was virtually empty.

I love the stretch of I-59 from Duck Springs to Fort Payne all the way up to Rising Fawn. Very pretty country. Alabama has some of the lowest property taxes in the USA, and very unlikely to go Purple—> Blue ever.

Hi, FtrPilot. Thanks for the info. You seem to break down the $65K income deduction for married retirees as though it applies to them individually. In your example the $10K that's taxable one spouse's income is $75K.

That makes me want to convert all of mine and my wife's 401K money to Roth IRA's before I move to Georgia if I do move there in retirement. Since my wife and I will retire in different years, she before me, I plan to convert a huge chunk of her 401k each year to her Roth IRA -- as much as I can each year w/o going into a higher federal tax bracket. Then later when I retire do the same with my 401K.

But that means the first few years I'm retired I'll have a large taxable income for myself -- well past $65K. Hmmmm...of course I plan to retire in my late '50's anyway so I guess it won't matter. By the time my wife and I are 65 the only taxable income we'll have will be two pensions (which are taxable in Georgia, but neither over $65K) and each of us having SS (which is not taxable in Georgia). I should be done with Roth conversions even before we turn 62 (the lower Georgia income reduction for seniors).

Yours is an excellent, well thought out, strategy. I wish I had done the same with my Roths...20-20 hindsight.

The Georgia exemption is applied individually, even when filing a joint return. This includes the age of the individual. From age 62 to 64, the exemption is $35K. At age 65 and older, the exemption is $65K. Also, it only applies to retirement income, listed on a 1099. Income listed on a W2 is taxed, no matter what your age.

So, if you are 65, your exemption would be $65K and then if your wife is 62, then her exemption would be $35K. Turbo Tax handles this perfectly.

The school tax exemption that I mentioned in my previous post is done at the county level. Prior to getting the exemption, my annual property tax was around $4500. This year, it is $950. Should you decide to move to Georgia, the county you move to is important. I am in Cherokee County, about 35 minutes northwest of downtown Atlanta.

If you have specific questions, you can send me a PM.

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