Kemp Suspends Gas Tax for Georgia

Staff Report

Gov. Brian Kemp suspended Georgia’s motor fuel excise tax for 30 days starting at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, offering immediate savings at the pump for drivers in Towns and Union counties and drawing shoppers from neighboring Clay and Cherokee counties in North Carolina.

The order, issued Monday after Kemp declared a state of emergency over global oil-market volatility and petroleum supply disruptions, pauses the state’s 33.3-cents-per-gallon tax on gasoline and 37.3-cents-per-gallon tax on diesel through 11:59 p.m. Oct. 29. Statewide averages stood at $4.19 a gallon for regular gasoline and $6.24 for diesel when the order was announced.

“We’ve remained committed to helping them and our small businesses fight through the tough times, and that’s why I’m taking this action today to give further relief,” Kemp said in a statement. The order also lifts state weight limits on commercial trucks, a step officials said is intended to lower shipping costs that flow into grocery and other retail prices.

The tax is collected at the distributor level and passed through to consumers. Officials cautioned that pump prices may not fall by the full amount overnight; stations typically need time to sell existing inventory bought under the old tax. Prepaid local sales taxes remain in place.

For mountain communities that straddle the Georgia-North Carolina line, the timing matters. Towns County (Hiawassee, Young Harris) and Union County (Blairsville) sit on the Georgia side of a region where residents routinely cross the state line for work, school, medical care, shopping and farm supplies. Clay County (Hayesville) and Cherokee County (Murphy) sit just over the line in North Carolina.

North Carolina’s state gasoline tax is higher than Georgia’s even before the suspension. With Georgia’s 33.3-cent levy paused, the price gap at stations along U.S. 76, Georgia 515 and U.S. 64 is expected to widen, giving North Carolina drivers a stronger incentive to fill up in Hiawassee, Young Harris or Blairsville. A typical 15-gallon fill-up in Georgia would cost about $5 less in state excise tax alone while the holiday is in effect.

Diesel users stand to save more. Farmers, loggers, contractors and school-bus fleets in the four-county area rely heavily on diesel, which had climbed above $6 a gallon. Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said the suspension offers “immediate relief for Georgia families struggling to afford gas and groceries and Georgia farmers facing diesel prices that have more than doubled in recent weeks.”

Commuters who drive mountain roads daily — teachers and staff traveling between Hayesville and Young Harris College, workers heading to jobs in Blairsville or Murphy, and families covering long distances for high school sports — will see the savings on every tank. Tourism traffic through the Appalachian foothills also tends to concentrate at the same border stations.

Kemp has used similar emergency orders earlier in 2026 as oil prices rose amid conflict in the Middle East. Previous holidays cost the state roughly $200 million a month in lost motor-fuel revenue, money normally dedicated to roads and bridges; officials have previously used surplus funds to cover the gap. The current order also prohibits price gouging on fuel and other emergency-related goods