The Georgia Retraining Tax Credit

The Georgia Retraining Tax Credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of your state income tax liability of up to $1,250 per employee per year.

This incentive rewards businesses for improving the skill sets of their existing employees when implementing new software, technology, or equipment.

$1,250/year

Max credit per employee

Annual Credit

Can be claimed every year

5 -10 Year

Credit carry forward period

15 Min

Qualification call

WHAT IS THE GEORGIA RETRAINING TAX CREDIT?

A Credit for Technology Improvements…

When you train your team to use new equipment, technology, or software, Georgia gives you half the cost back. The Georgia Retraining Tax Credit returns 50% of your direct retraining expenses — up to $500 per employee per approved program, and up to $1,250 per employee each year.

It’s one of the few incentives that rewards investing in the people you already have, not just hiring new ones. There’s no minimum company size, no industry restriction, and no revenue threshold — but the training does have to be approved by the Technical College System of Georgia, and that approval step is where most of the value is won or lost. Here’s how it works.

A Quick Example

A manufacturer rolls out a new inventory-management software system and needs to retrain 40 employees to use it. The direct cost of the approved training program — instruction, materials, and dedicated equipment — comes to $1,000 per employee, or $40,000.

At 50%, the credit is $500 per employee, for a total of $20,000 . If those same employees complete a second approved program that year — training on a new production line — the company can earn additional credit up to the $1,250-per-employee annual cap.

How it Works

What you get

  • 50% of direct retraining costs, credited against your Georgia income tax.
  • Capped at $500 per full-time employee, per approved retraining program.
  • Capped at $1,250 per employee, per year (so an employee who completes multiple approved programs in a year can reach the higher cap).
  • The credit can offset up to 50% of your Georgia corporate income tax liability, and unused credit carries forward up to 10 years.

What kind of training qualifies

The credit is built for retraining current employees to use something new — most commonly:

  • New equipment or machinery installed at your facility.
  • New technology or software — for example, a new ERP system, manufacturing software, or point-of-sale platform.
  • Quality and productivity programs that require employees to learn new operating techniques.

The training must help existing employees operate technology or equipment they didn’t use before. Routine onboarding, general soft-skills training, and standard continuing education typically don’t qualify.

What costs count

Eligible “direct costs” generally include the cost of instruction, instructors, instructional materials and supplies, and equipment used exclusively for the retraining. Employee wages during training are not included — the credit is about the cost of delivering the training, not the time spent in it.

Who’s eligible

Any business that files a Georgia income tax return can qualify. There is no minimum company size, no industry restriction, and no revenue threshold — a small manufacturer and a large distributor are on equal footing. The training must be for current full-time Georgia employees.

Credit Amount

  • 50% of direct retraining costs, credited against your Georgia income tax.
  • Capped at $500 per full-time employee, per approved retraining program.
  • Capped at $1,250 per employee, per year (so an employee who completes multiple approved programs in a year can reach the higher cap).
  • The credit can offset up to 50% of your Georgia corporate income tax liability, and unused credit carries forward up to 10 years.

Qualified Training

The credit is built for retraining current employees to use something new — most commonly:

  • New equipment or machinery newly installed at your facility.
  • New technology or software — for example, rolling out a new ERP system, manufacturing software, or point-of-sale platform.
  • Quality and productivity programs that require employees to learn new operating techniques.

Routine onboarding, general soft-skills training, off-the-shelf software (Microsoft Word, etc.), and standard continuing education typically don’t qualify.

Eligible Costs

The GA RTC is a wage based credit. The wages paid to employees for qualified training are generally considered eligible costs.

Other costs that are eligible are instructor salaries, development of the retraining program, materials and supplies, and reasonable travel costs.

Eligible Employers

Any business that files a Georgia income tax return can qualify. There is no minimum company size, no industry restriction, and no revenue threshold.

The training must be for current full-time (25+ hrs/week) Georgia employees.

Connect with us to learn more…

With a 15-minute discovery call, we can help you determine your eligibility across multiple credits and incentives.