7 Days Business Setup in Georgia: Tax Filing and Declarations
- Tinatin Tolordava
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Table of contents
Day 5 - File Your Taxes Correctly
Day 1 showed you the golden rule of Georgia: pay just 1% tax instead of the 30 or 40 percent you might lose in Europe or the US.
Day 2 gave you your structure: Individual Entrepreneur Georgia, LLC in Georgia, or the Georgia Virtual Zone.
Day 3 handed you the key: your Georgia taxpayer identification number (TIN).
Day 4 opened the door to money flow with your Georgian bank account.
Now Day 5 is where theory turns into routine.
The moment you start earning, the Georgia Revenue Service expects you to declare it. Filing monthly is not optional. Even if you earn nothing, you still report.
This is the step that keeps you inside the SBS Georgia 1% tax up to 500,000 GEL official Revenue Service regime. Miss it, and your income can suddenly be taxed at the Georgia self-employment tax rate of 20 percent.
Why Tax Filing Matters for SBS Georgia
Becoming an Individual Entrepreneur Georgia with Small Business Status is only half the story. You do not just get the Georgia 1% tax and then forget about it. You must file declarations every month to prove you qualify.
Think of SBS Georgia as a contract. The government offers you the lowest tax rate in the region. In return, you must file reports on time and show your income through your Georgia business bank account. That is how you keep the benefit of the 1% turnover tax up to 500,000 GEL.
Fail to file, and the Revenue Service has the right to default you to the Georgia country tax rate of 20 percent.
Monthly Declarations Explained
For SBS Georgia entrepreneurs, the system is simple. Every month you declare your turnover through the Georgia Revenue Service portal (rs.ge). The deadline is the 15th of the following month. You calculate 1 percent of your revenue and pay it through your Georgian bank account.
If you earned nothing, you file a zero declaration. It sounds pointless, but it matters. Submitting zero shows the tax office you are still compliant. Many foreigners forget this and lose their Georgia 1% tax just because they skipped months with no income.
LLCs also declare monthly, but the rules differ. They pay corporate taxes only when profits are distributed. For Georgia Virtual Zone companies, monthly filings prove you are operating within IT activities, which protects your 0 percent corporate tax status.
Deadlines You Cannot Miss
Georgia keeps deadlines consistent, which makes planning easier.
Monthly declarations: always due by the 15th of the following month.
Annual report: due by March 31 for the previous calendar year.
Payroll taxes: if you employ staff, you must withhold 20 percent personal income tax plus 2 percent + 2 percent pension contributions, declared monthly.
VAT: declarations are also monthly. If you are VAT registered, you must declare both standard VAT (18 percent) and reverse VAT on international purchases.
Miss a deadline, and the Revenue Service can cancel your SBS Georgia status or penalize you.
The Mistakes That Cost 1% Tax
Filing sounds easy, but here is where most newcomers make mistakes.
They forget to file during months with no income.
They invoice clients before registering their Georgia tax ID number, which makes the Revenue Service tax that income at 20 percent.
They confuse foreign income with local income, which ties into Georgia tax residency rules. Remember, Georgia uses a territorial tax system. Only income sourced inside Georgia is taxed under the Georgia country tax rate.
They do not file VAT declarations even when they are registered, so they miss their Georgia VAT refundopportunities.
They mix personal and business income in one account, which causes Revenue Service audits.
These errors are why compliance kills more SBS Georgia entrepreneurs than anything else.
The Cost of Missing Deadlines
The 1 percent system looks simple, but it punishes laziness.
Imagine a freelancer under SBS Georgia earns 5,000 USD in a month. On time, they owe just 50 USD. But if they fail to file, the Revenue Service taxes the same income at 20 percent. That is 1,000 USD. One missed deadline, and the tax bill jumps twenty times higher.
Miss several months, and penalties stack up. Some foreigners have lost their Georgia small business status 1% tax up to 500,000 GEL entirely because of repeated delays.
The difference between paying 1 percent and 20 percent is simply filing on time.
Tools That Make Filing Easier
The Georgia Revenue Service portal (rs.ge) is where everything happens. You log in with your Georgia taxpayer identification number, file your declaration, and pay directly from your bank account. The portal is in Georgian, but with the right accountant or partner, you can set it up quickly.
Many entrepreneurs prefer outsourcing filing to professionals. Firms like Gegidze manage monthly reporting, keep you compliant with Georgia tax filing deadlines, and prevent small errors that lead to big penalties.
Automation also helps. Set reminders for the 10th of every month so you file a few days early. If you leave it until the 15th, bank delays can still make you late.
Beyond 1%: Other Tax Obligations
The Georgia 1% tax is the star, but other taxes may apply depending on your business.
Payroll taxes: Employees in Georgia pay 20 percent income tax, plus 2 percent employer and 2 percent employee pension contributions. If you are running an LLC, you must declare these monthly.
VAT: Registration becomes mandatory once turnover exceeds 100,000 GEL. Even below that, registering for VAT can be useful if you want to claim a Georgia VAT refund.
Corporate tax: For LLCs, the Georgia country corporate tax rate is 15 percent, applied only when profits are distributed. Dividends then face an additional 5 percent.
Self-employment tax: If you do not register for SBS Georgia, you default to the Georgia self-employment tax at 20 percent.
This is why choosing the right structure in Day 2 and registering properly in Day 3 matters. Your obligations flow from those decisions.
Table: Georgia Tax Deadlines at a Glance
Tax Type | Deadline | Rate | Who It Applies To |
SBS Georgia 1% turnover tax | 15th of every month | 1% (up to 500,000 GEL) | Individual Entrepreneur Georgia under SBS |
Payroll tax | Monthly, by 15th | 20% + 2% + 2% pension | Employers with staff |
VAT declaration | Monthly, by 15th | 18% | VAT registered businesses |
Annual report | March 31 | Varies | All registered businesses |
Corporate tax (LLC) | Declared when profits distributed | 15% + 5% dividend | LLC Georgia and Virtual Zone companies |
Day 5 Action Step
Mark your calendar.
Tax deadlines in Georgia are consistent and strict.
Always file by the 15th. Do not forget zero months. Do not assume you can fix it later.
The difference between paying 1 percent and paying 20 percent is one missed filing.
If you want the Georgia 1% tax advantage to work for you, compliance is the price of entry.
What’s Next: Day 6 - The Mistakes That Kill the 1% Tax
Filing is the heart of compliance, but it is not the only way entrepreneurs lose the SBS Georgia benefit.
Many foreigners make avoidable mistakes when they register business in Georgia. They confuse residency rules, mix income sources, or operate in industries that are excluded from the Georgia 1% tax program.
On Day 6, we will walk through the most common mistakes, why they happen, and how to avoid them so your Georgia small business status stays safe.
Want to make sure you never miss a filing?
We handle your Georgia monthly tax declarations, keep you compliant with the Georgia Revenue Service, and protect your 1% status so you only pay what the law requires.
