Georgia Department of Revenue issues tax guidance on new personhood definition

ATLANTA –The Georgia Department of Revenue issued new guidance Tuesday explaining how the state’s new abortion law will affect taxes.  
 
The “heartbeat law” bans most abortions in Georgia after about six weeks of pregnancy. It also redefines “person” to include an unborn child, with implications for a number of areas of Georgia law, including taxes.   
 
“The department will recognize any unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat … as eligible for the Georgia individual income tax dependent exemption,” the department said in a news release. 
 
Any taxpayer who is carrying an unborn child with a detectable heartbeat can claim the child as a dependent for the current tax year. The exemption is $3,000 for each unborn child. 
 
For the 2022 tax year, the law applies to any taxpayer carrying an unborn child with a detectable heartbeat between July 20, 2022, when the 11^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Georgia abortion law, and Dec. 31, 2022.
 
The revenue department said taxpayers could be asked to provide medical or other supporting documentation to prove the presence of an unborn child.   
  
The department said it will issue additional guidance on the new law later this year.   
 
Pro-life activists in Georgia see the new definition of personhood as a key victory and innovation.  
 
“Personhood … is extremely important because we are the first in the country to get this passed and  … upheld,” said Martha Zoller, executive director of the Georgia Life Alliance.