ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgia drivers will go through Thanksgiving without paying the state fuel tax. Gov. Brian Kemp has stretched the state of emergency that waives the levy until Monday, Nov. 30.
The order keeps 33.3 cents off each gallon of gasoline and 37.3 cents off each gallon of diesel. The waiver has been in force since Sept. 28.
The governor announced the extension in consultation with House Speaker Jon Burns and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, pointing to unsettled global fuel markets that have kept gas and diesel prices high. In his announcement, the governor tied the move to holiday travel and credited conservative state budgeting, along with earlier income tax refunds and property tax relief, for giving Georgia room to act.
AAA figures cited in the governor’s release show pump prices in Georgia staying well under the rest of the country since the tax came off. Regular gas averages about $3.66 a gallon statewide, roughly 63 cents under the national figure, while diesel sits near $5.72, about 61 cents below the national average.
Only the state excise tax is covered. Fuel sales taxes charged by individual cities and counties are still being collected.
The emergency orders behind the waiver have done more than cut the tax. Earlier orders lifted state weight limits on commercial trucks and dropped penalties for running off-road dyed diesel on public roads.
For a family car with a 15-gallon tank, the waived state tax works out to roughly $5 saved on every fill-up, and the savings are larger for diesel trucks that haul freight across the state.
The timing lines up with one of the busiest driving stretches of the year. The governor framed the extension as relief for Georgians heading out for Thanksgiving, when many families drive to see relatives across the state and the Southeast.
State leaders have not said whether the suspension could run into December if fuel markets stay volatile. Any further extension would require another executive order before the current one lapses at the end of November.
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