2022 Georgia Code
Title 48 - Revenue and Taxation
Chapter 2 - State Administrative Organization, Administration, and Enforcement
Article 2 - Administration
§ 48-2-56. Liens for Taxes; Priority

1. Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, liens for all taxes due the state or any county or municipality in the state shall arise as of the time the taxes become due and unpaid and all tax liens shall cover all property in which the taxpayer has any interest from the date the lien arises until such taxes are paid.
2. Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, liens for taxes are superior to all other liens and shall be paid before any other debt, lien, or claim of any kind. Liens for taxes shall rank among themselves as follows:
   1. Taxes due the state;
   2. Taxes due counties of the state;
   3. Taxes due school and other special tax districts of the state; and
   4. Taxes due municipal corporations of the state.
3. The lien for taxes imposed by Article 1 of Chapter 9 of this title, relating to motor fuel taxes, shall not have priority as against:
   1. Any bona fide mortgagee, holder, or transferee of a deed to secure debt; or
   2. Any pledgee, judgment creditor, or purchaser of or from persons liable for the tax imposed by Article 1 of Chapter 9 of this title

      where the rights of such mortgagee, holder, or transferee of a deed to secure debt, pledgee, judgment creditor, or purchaser have attached prior to the time the lien has been filed by the commissioner in the office of the clerk of superior court of the county in which the principal place of business is located.

4. 1. Liens for any ad valorem taxes shall cover the property of taxpayers liable to tax from the time fixed by law for valuation of the property in each year until such taxes are paid and shall cover the property of tax collectors or tax commissioners and their sureties from the time of giving bond until all the taxes for which they are responsible are paid.
   2. The lien for any ad valorem tax shall not be superior to the title and operation of a security deed when the tax represents an assessment upon property of the taxpayer other than property specifically covered by the title and operation of the security deed.
   3. When real property located within this state is transferred between the date on which any ad valorem tax lien on the property vests and the date on which the tax evidenced by the tax lien becomes due and payable, the ad valorem tax lien on the transferred property shall not extend to cover any other real property of the transferor.
5. The lien for taxes imposed by the provisions of Article 2 of Chapter 7 of this title, relating to certain income taxes, shall:
   1. Arise and attach to all property of the taxpayer as of the time a tax execution for these taxes is filed with the clerk of superior court of the county of the last known address of the taxpayer appearing on the records of the department at the time the state tax execution is filed; and
   2. Not be superior to the lien of a prior recorded instrument securing a bona fide debt.

      Before the lien provided for in this subsection shall attach to real property, an execution shall be filed with the clerk of superior court in the county where the real property is located.

6. The lien for taxes imposed by the provisions of Article 5 of Chapter 7 of this title, relating to withholding taxes, shall:
   1. Arise and attach to all property of the defaulting employer or other person required to deduct and withhold on the date of the assessment of the taxes by operation of law or by action of the commissioner;
   2. Not be superior to the lien of a prior recorded instrument securing a bona fide debt; and
   3. Not attach to the interest of a subsequent bona fide purchaser nor be superior to the lien of a lender for value recorded prior to the time the execution for the tax has been filed in the office of the clerk of superior court of the county of the last known address of the taxpayer appearing on the records of the department at the time the state tax execution is filed.

      Before the lien provided for in this subsection shall attach to real property, an execution shall be filed with the clerk of superior court in the county where the real property is located.

7. 1. The lien of a specific or occupation tax shall not be superior to the title and operation of a security deed recorded prior to the time the execution for the tax has been filed in the office of the clerk of superior court of the county of the last known address of the taxpayer appearing on the records of the department at the time the state tax execution is filed.
   2. As used in this subsection, the term “specific or occupation tax” means all state, county, and municipal taxes and all state licenses and fees except:
      1. The taxes imposed by Article 1 of Chapter 9 of this title;
      2. Ad valorem taxes;
      3. The taxes imposed by Article 2 of Chapter 7 of this title; and
      4. The taxes imposed by Article 5 of Chapter 7 of this title.

         The term includes, but is not limited to, sales and use taxes, corporate net worth taxes, estate taxes, real estate transfer taxes, taxes on financial institutions, alcohol and tobacco taxes, road taxes on motor carriers, excise taxes, license fees, tax liabilities of corporate officers and business successors, and tax collections of a person who is a dealer under Chapter 8 of this title relating to sales and use taxation.

8. Liens for taxes existing prior to July 1, 1983, shall not be changed by this Code section. On and after July 1, 1983, this Code section shall govern the time of creation of all tax liens and the priority of all tax liens.
9. All executions, liens, releases, cancellations, or other related documents issued by the department to be filed with a superior court clerk shall be presented and filed electronically pursuant to Code Section 48-3-42 and the appropriate filing fees shall be paid by the department as provided in subsection (f) of Code Section 15-6-77.

History. Ga. L. 1873, p. 42, § 2; Code 1873, § 1973; Code 1882, § 1973; Civil Code 1895, § 2791; Civil Code 1910, § 3333; Code 1933, § 92-5708; Ga. L. 1937-38, Ex. Sess., p. 77, § 42; Ga. L. 1937-38, Ex. Sess., p. 156, § 10; Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 168, §§ 2, 3; Ga. L. 1968, p. 360, § 15; Ga. L. 1978, p. 1778, § 1; Code 1933, § 91A-252, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 309, § 2; Ga. L. 1979, p. 5, § 13; Ga. L. 1983, p. 1834, § 4; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 48; Ga. L. 1988, p. 13, § 48; Ga. L. 1993, p. 768, § 1; Ga. L. 2017, p. 723, § 2/HB 337; Ga. L. 2018, p. 1, § 1/HB 661.

The 2017 amendment, effective January 1, 2018, in the ending undesignated paragraph of subsection (c), in the middle, deleted “notice of” preceding “the lien has been filed”, inserted “clerk of”, and deleted “or in the county where property of the person liable for payment of the motor fuel tax is located” following “is located” at the end; rewrote subsections (e), (f), and (g); and added subsection (i).

The 2018 amendment, effective February 20, 2018, deleted “within the state” following “property of the taxpayer” in paragraph (e)(1); substituted the present provisions of paragraph (e)(2) for the former provisions, which read: “Not attach to the interest of a prior bona fide purchaser where a certificate of clearance is required and has been obtained or where a certificate of clearance is not required pursuant to Code Section 44-1-18, nor be superior to the lien of a prior recorded instrument securing a bona fide debt.”; added the undesignated paragraph in subsection (e); deleted “attach to the interest of a prior bona fide purchaser where a certificate of clearance is required and has been obtained or where a certificate of clearance is not required pursuant to Code Section 44-1-18, nor” following “Not” in paragraph (f)(2); in paragraph (f)(3), deleted “where a certificate of clearance is required and has been obtained or where a certificate of clearance is not required pursuant to Code Section 44-1-18,” following “bona fide purchaser” in the first sentence; and added the undesignated paragraph in subsection (f).

Cross references.

Registration of federal tax liens, § 44-14-570 et seq.

Priority of claims against decedents’ estates, § 53-7-40.

Code Commission notes.

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1987, a semicolon was deleted following “title” in paragraph (c)(2) and a comma was inserted following “subsection” in paragraph (g)(2).

Editor’s notes.

Ga. L. 2017, p. 723, § 1/HB 337, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘State Tax Execution Modernization Act.’ ”

Law reviews.

For comment on Brown v. Nash, 216 Ga. 303 , 116 S.E.2d 227 (1960), see 12 Mercer L. Rev. 425 (1961).

For article surveying recent legislative and judicial developments in Georgia’s real property laws, see 31 Mercer L. Rev. 187 (1979).

For annual survey of state and local tax law, see 35 Mercer L. Rev. 281 (1983).

For note on the 1993 amendment of this Code section, see 10 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 218 (1993).

For annual survey of real property law, see 56 Mercer L. Rev. 395 (2004).

For annual survey on bankruptcy law, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 1033 (2018).