Georgia Offers Dependent Exemption for Unborn Children (1)

Taxpayers in Georgia can claim a dependent personal exemption for unborn children on their state income tax returns under the state’s “fetal heartbeat law,” the state Department of Revenue said Monday.

The department issued guidance under the Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act (H.B. 481), which specified that “an unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat is a dependent minor for income tax purposes.”

Georgia created a national furor in 2019 when it approved H.B. 481, which prohibited abortions after a heartbeat is detected. The law never became effective and was ruled unconstitutional in 2020 by a federal ...