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Mark and Tracy Esquenazi walk near the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, a fully functioning historic depot in Blue Ridge, Georgia.
Audra Melton
When Larry Thomas, a veteran of the Los Angeles entertainment industry, and his wife, Tamara, visited Duluth, Georgia, it was love at first sight.
They were already tiring of the rush of Southern California when they traveled east in 2019 to see a friend of Larry’s who worked in the movie business in the Atlanta area. Mere weeks later, they made the move to Duluth permanent.
Larry, 60, says Duluth’s friendliness and slower pace echo what he experienced growing up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb.
“I’ve found that Georgia shares quite a bit of the hospitality and family-centric values that I was raised with,” he says. “You can see children playing in the streets or people going on walks with their family more commonly out here than California.”
As a destination state for retirees, Georgia may not get as much attention as its neighbor to the south. Nearly 12 percent of the 234,000 retirees who relocated to a new state in 2022 landed in Florida, according to a study by moving-services marketplace Hire A Helper.
But the Peach State is no slouch, drawing 5.5 percent of those retirees, making it the fifth most popular destination. Financial services site Bankrate ranked Georgia second only to Florida in its 2022 list of the best states for retirement, citing its affordability and climate.
“We are seeing an influx of buyers, specifically retirees,” says Karen Smyth, a real estate agent with Keller Williams in Atlanta. Georgia’s mild weather and friendly tax structure for retirees are big draws, she says, as is Atlanta’s status as “a tremendously large travel hub, [with] Delta headquarters and a great connection point to anywhere in the United States and abroad.”
Curious? Here are 5 reasons you might want to retire in Georgia — and one reason to be wary.
The Atlanta skyline in autumn, viewed from Piedmont Park
Audra Melton
1. Tax breaks for retirees
Georgia is one of 19 states rated by Kiplinger as tax-friendly for retirees. Though it taxes annuities, pensions and money drawn from 401(k)s and IRAs, Georgia does not tax Social Security benefits, and there are no inheritance or estate taxes, sparing heirs what can be a hefty burden at a dark time.
The main upside is Georgia’s generous tax breaks for older residents. Those ages 62 to 64 can exclude up to $35,000 in retirement income (such as taxable annuities, pensions, interest, dividends and capital gains) from their state taxes. At 65, the deduction increases to $65,000.
Both spouses in a married couple who file a joint return can take up to the maximum retiree deduction, if they each qualify. Snowbirds who live part-time in Georgia can get it, too, prorated for how much of the year they spend in the state.
Sales taxes can bite in Georgia: Though the state rate is a relatively low 4 percent, local levies boost the average combined sales tax rate to 7.4 percent, 19th highest in the country, according to the Tax Foundation.
But depending on where you lived before moving, you might be pleasantly surprised at Georgia’s personal property tax on vehicles. You’ll take a hit the first time you file and face the transfer rate (which is based on the vehicle’s market value), but after that, instead of paying an annual tax on the car, you just renew your registration at a gentle $20 a year. In Virginia, where I live, the annual effective vehicle tax of nearly 4 percent is a big shock every fall, especially if you have a newer model.
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