Liberty County voters have two sales tax initiatives on the Nov. 4 ballot: the Floating Local Option Sales Tax (FLOST) and Transportation Special Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST).
What are Special Purpose Sales Taxes?
Both FLOST and TSPLOST are “special purpose” taxes. That means Georgia law mandates those dollars can only be spent on specific projects presented before the election.
Each measure, if approved, establishes a 1% sales tax on all goods and services bought in the county. Each uses these revenues differently.
FLOST is a measure that counties can use to bring in money that does not come from property taxes, based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics formula that measures inflation. That money goes to defray the county budget before taxes are assessed for the rest.
If voters approve the measure, homeowners will get a new property tax exemption option. They would be able to apply for whichever option presents the most savings for their particular situation, whether that’s FLOST or another exemption.
TSPLOST raises money for transportation construction, acquisition (like right of ways), and related improvements. By law, TSPLOST cannot be spent on salaries or benefits.
Liberty County has collected TSPLOST for 5 years. Each month, the county reports to the public how it spent the previous month’s TSPLOST funds. You can read those reports for fiscal year 2025 on the county’s website or request previous years through the county’s Open Records portal.
That money stopped coming Oct. 1 because voters chose not to renew TSPLOST last year.
TSPLOST also unlocks federal and state transportation funding for projects like the Hinesville Bypass, which is already under construction to divert trucks off Hwy. 84. Repairs on Islands Highway and Charles Frasier Boulevard are also at stake.
How much sales tax do Liberty County residents pay now?
Liberty County currently has three 1% special purpose taxes:
- Local Option Sales Tax (LOST), which the state sends directly to counties’ and qualified cities’ general funds. “Qualified cities” provide at least three of these services: water, sewage, garbage collection, police, fire, or library. Local governments renegotiate this tax every 2 years.
- Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), which funds city and county programs, facilities, and upgrades, like rec centers and fire stations.
- Education Special Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST), which funds public school improvements like football stadiums and new school buildings.
If both FLOST and TSPLOST pass, Liberty County sales tax would increase to 9 cents on each $1 you spend.
What will the ballot say?
TSPLOST
The TSPLOST referendum asks whether you favor a 1% countywide sales tax, which would last a maximum of 6 years. That could raise $87.6 million to fund transportation in the county.
Approving this ballot question also gives Liberty County permission to issue $17 million, and the City of Hinesville $13 million, in general obligation bonds. Those bonds are like loans that offer short-term financing for the transportation projects on the county’s list until the tax money starts coming in.
Are some items exempt from TSPLOST?
Yes: Under Georgia law, you won’t pay the tax when you fill up your vehicle. Also exempt are fuel for off-road heavy-duty equipment, off-road farm or agricultural equipment, locomotives, jet fuel public mass transit, and energy that Georgia manufacturing plants use to make “tangible personal property.” In Liberty County, TSPLOST does not apply to motor vehicle sales.
However, that same law, as passed by the Georgia Assembly, does charge the tax on groceries or “the sale of food and food ingredients.”
FLOST
The vote on FLOST is the final step in a three-part process to offer a potentially new property tax exemption.
Last year, voters approved House Bill 581, which the Georgia Assembly passed to give local governments the chance to change their property tax calculations.
Those local governments then had to choose whether to adopt this new option, which is only available to cities with a millage rate.
Hinesville has passed a 9.99 mil rate for fiscal year 2026. Homeowners in Walthourville, which is considering a 12 mil property tax, and Flemington, which passed a millage rate of 0 to keep its options open, also would get a break on any future city property tax. Property owners in other cities that opted out won’t get FLOST if those cities impose a property tax later.
Now, voters will decide whether they want this new 1% sales tax.
If they do, homeowners in jurisdictions that opted in — including Liberty County, Flemington, Hinesville, and Walthourville — would be able to choose that property tax exemption if it is more advantageous.
The idea behind FLOST is that the sales tax revenues offset potential property tax increases by the amount equal to inflation. That could ease the burden of higher monthly mortgage payments for many Liberty County homeowners.
Who would pay the FLOST sales tax?
Everyone who buys groceries, dines in restaurants, or shops in stores in a given jurisdiction would pay the 1% sales tax. Liberty County estimates about 35% of its sales tax revenues come from people who live in other counties.