Georgia's 183-Day Rule Is a Rolling Window, Not a Calendar Year (2026)

Georgia's residency test does not follow the standard 183-day pattern, and getting it wrong is expensive. This guide covers exactly what the rule says, how it differs from the tests most articles describe, and how to keep the evidence that settles arguments. Citation: O.C.G.A. 48-7-1(10). Updated August 2026.

The rule, precisely: 183 days in any 365

Almost every state measures its day count against the tax year. Georgia does not: under O.C.G.A. 48-7-1(10), the test looks at 183 days or part-days within the immediately preceding 365 days, a rolling window closer in spirit to the Schengen 90/180 rule than to any other state test. A pattern of stays that never crosses 183 days in a calendar year can still cross it inside some 365-day window spanning two years.

The safe maximum is 182 days in any rolling 365, and the statute explicitly counts part-days. Because the window moves every day, this is the one state test that is genuinely hard to track on paper: every day that drops out of the window changes the arithmetic.

The day count is usually only half the test

Statutory residency tests in most states pair the day count with a second condition, commonly maintaining a permanent place of abode in the state, and they operate alongside the separate concept of domicile. You can be taxed as a resident because Georgia is your domicile (your true home) even on very few days of presence, or as a statutory resident because you crossed the day threshold while keeping a home there, even though you are domiciled somewhere else. Check the cited authority for Georgia's exact formulation of both limbs.

How days are counted

Most states treat any part of a day as a full day, so an evening arrival or a morning departure typically burns a whole day, though several states carve out narrow exceptions (medical stays, or pure travel through the state). Two practical consequences: count conservatively, and keep evidence granular enough to prove part days, because in a residency audit the burden of showing where you were generally falls on you.

What statutory residency costs you

A resident is typically taxed on worldwide income, not just in-state income. Cross the threshold accidentally and you can owe resident tax in Georgia while also owing tax where you are domiciled; credits between states blunt some, but not always all, of the double hit. The margin for error is small: one miscounted week can change your filing status for the whole year.

Count the days before Georgia counts them for you

Every test on this page comes down to the same evidence: a day-by-day record of where you were. Auditors ask for it, advisers build cases on it, and reconstructing it after the fact from bank statements is exactly the misery a contemporaneous log avoids.

The Days Monitor iPhone app was built for this problem: it logs your days automatically in the background, ships a ready-made day-count template for Georgia sourced from O.C.G.A. 48-7-1(10) (one of 35 statute-sourced state templates, every one editable), alerts you before you reach the threshold, and exports timestamped PDF and CSV reports your accountant can actually use. Your data stays on your device and in your own iCloud. Download it on the App Store or see how it compares with the other state residency trackers.

Related: every state's day-count threshold in one table and dual state residency.

This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. Residency statutes and their interpretation change, thresholds interact with domicile rules and permanent-place-of-abode conditions that vary by state, and your facts matter enormously. Verify the current text of the cited authority with the state tax department and confirm your position with a qualified tax professional before making decisions.