On November 4, 2025, voters across Georgia approved 32 of the 36 Floating Local Option Sales Tax (FLOST) referendums on the ballot, marking a major step in the rollout of this new property tax relief tool. FLOST was created by House Bill 581 in 2024 as part of a broader effort to give homeowners more predictable property taxes while giving local governments another way to fund property tax relief.
How FLOST Works
FLOST allows a county and its cities to collect a 1% sales tax and use the revenue to lower property tax bills. To move forward, local governments must meet certain eligibility rules, agree on how revenue will be shared, and secure voter approval through a referendum.
2025 Referendum Results
While November brought the largest wave of votes, the first two referendums took place earlier in the year. In May, Washington and Thomas counties both approved FLOST. The November election continued that trend and brought the total number of counties adopting FLOST to 34, or about 21% of all counties in the state.
A few highlights from 2025 include:
- 34 counties have approved FLOST.
- 32 of 36 November 2025 referendums passed.
- Average support in communities where FLOST passed was 71%.
Support and Impact
Even in counties where the measure did not pass, support averaged nearly 47%, showing broad interest in the new tax relief option. Based on current approvals, FLOST is projected to generate about $1.2 billion in property tax relief over its first five years for participating cities and counties. Several additional counties are expected to consider FLOST again on the May 2026 ballot.