Georgia

Georgia – the country in the Caucasus, not the US state with the peaches – has become a favourite of freelancers, remote founders and perpetual travellers. The reasons fit on a napkin: 1% tax on turnover for qualifying individual entrepreneurs, 0% corporate tax while profits stay in the company, and no tax on foreign-source income for individuals.

Add a year of visa-free stay for many passports, cheap living and excellent food, and the napkin gets crowded. It also has a back side: Georgia is not in the EU, banks have tightened up, and the political direction has been bumpy since 2024.

This guide covers how the system works as of 2026, what it costs, and who it really suits.

How the Georgian tax system works

Georgia has a simple, low-rate system with a few special regimes on top. The headline numbers:

Territorial taxation for individuals

Georgian tax residents are taxed on Georgian-source income. Income without a Georgian source is exempt. That is the feature that puts Georgia on so many shortlists: dividends from a foreign company, foreign interest or foreign rental income are not taxed in Georgia just because you live there.

“Georgian source” is the key phrase. Work you perform physically in Georgia, or income paid by a Georgian entity, is generally Georgian-source. So a remote consultant sitting in Tbilisi and invoicing foreign clients has Georgian-source service income – which is exactly where the individual entrepreneur regime comes in.

Individual entrepreneur with small business status

An individual entrepreneur (IE) is not a company. It is you, registered as a business person with the Revenue Service. With small business status on top, you pay:

• 1% of turnover up to GEL 500,000 in a calendar year.
• 3% on the excess if you go above GEL 500,000 in that year.

There are no deductions – 1% of what comes in, full stop. For a service business with low costs, that is about as simple and cheap as it gets anywhere.

Some activities are excluded, for example certain licensed professions, consulting in regulated areas and activities that require a permit. IT, marketing, design, e-commerce and similar services are the classic users. Check your specific activity code before you plan around the 1%.

Since 2026, small business status takes effect from the date you apply rather than the following month – a small but welcome fix.

Corporate tax: the Estonian model

Georgian companies (typically an LLC) have used the Estonian model since 2017. The company pays no tax on profits it keeps and reinvests. Tax of 15% applies when profits are distributed – and also on deemed distributions such as non-business expenses, gifts and certain transactions with related parties.

On top of that, dividends paid to individuals are subject to 5% withholding tax. So a fully distributed profit ends up at roughly 19% combined (15% at company level, then 5% on what is paid out). Several of Georgia’s tax treaties reduce the dividend withholding tax further.

Virtual Zone and International Company status

Two further statuses are worth knowing:

• Virtual Zone person. Georgian companies developing IT products can apply for this status. Profits from IT services supplied to customers outside Georgia are exempt from corporate income tax. The status is granted per company and only covers qualifying IT income.
• International Company status. Designed for IT and some other service businesses with real local presence. It comes with reduced rates but has substance requirements, such as experienced staff in Georgia.

Both are specialist tools. For a solo freelancer, the IE with small business status is usually the better fit.

Setting up a business in Georgia

Individual entrepreneur

Registration happens at the Public Service Hall and is typically done within a day or two. You need your passport, a Georgian address (a registered address service is fine) and, in practice, a local bank account. After registration, you apply for small business status online through the Revenue Service portal.

Running costs are low: a local accountant for monthly declarations typically costs a small, fixed monthly fee. Registration can be done through a power of attorney, but you’ll usually want to be in Georgia for the bank account.

Limited liability company (LLC)

An LLC is also registered at the Public Service Hall, usually within days. There is no meaningful minimum share capital. You need a legal address, a director (who can be a foreigner) and articles of association. Registration can be handled remotely with a power of attorney.

Rough costs for a simple LLC: a few hundred to about two thousand euros for setup including a registered address and assistance, plus ongoing accounting. Exact figures depend on the provider and on whether you register for VAT.

VAT

VAT is 18%. Registration becomes mandatory once your taxable turnover in Georgia passes the threshold (GEL 100,000 over a continuous 12-month period at the time of writing). Services supplied to foreign customers are often not subject to Georgian VAT, depending on the place of supply rules – worth a quick check with an accountant.

Residency options

Visa-free stay

Citizens of the EU, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and a number of other countries can enter Georgia visa-free and stay for up to one year. That makes Georgia one of the easiest places to simply show up and stay. Since 1 January 2026, visitors need travel health insurance valid for their stay.

Visa-free stay is not a residence permit. It is, however, enough to become tax resident – which is decided by days, not by paperwork.

Tax residency: the 183-day rule

You become a Georgian tax resident if you are physically present in Georgia for 183 days or more in any continuous 12-month period ending in the tax year. Days are counted per tax period, and there is no minimum income or special application.

Being Georgian tax resident on paper is one thing. Convincing your old country that you have left is another – you need to break residency there according to its rules. Our day tracker helps you keep count.

Residence permits

If you want more than visa-free stay, Georgia offers several permit types, including:

• Property owners. Owning real estate in Georgia above a set market value can qualify you for a temporary residence permit. The threshold was raised in 2026; check the current figure with the Public Service Hall before buying.
• Business and work. Permits for people running a business or employed in Georgia, typically with turnover or salary conditions.
• Investment. An investment of USD 300,000 or more can lead to a five-year residence permit and, after that, permanent residence, provided the investment and turnover conditions are met.

Banking

TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia are the two big names, and both offer modern online banking and multi-currency accounts. Opening an account used to be a walk-in affair for almost anyone. That has changed: banks now ask detailed questions about your source of funds and business, and some nationalities face extra hurdles or refusals.

In practice, being in Georgia in person helps a lot, as does a clear story: registered IE or company, clients, invoices, and a local address. Georgian banks participate in the automatic exchange of financial account information, so don’t treat a Georgian account as invisible – it isn’t, and it shouldn’t need to be.

Living in Georgia: the honest version

The good

• Cost of living. Rent, food and services are cheap by Western European standards, even in Tbilisi and Batumi.
• Food and wine. Georgia claims to be the birthplace of wine, and nobody at the table will argue.
• Hospitality. Georgians are famously generous hosts.
• Nature. Mountains, the Black Sea coast and good skiing within a few hours.
• Fast, digital administration. Registrations that take weeks elsewhere take a day here.
• Time zone. GMT+4 works for both European mornings and Asian afternoons.

The less good

• Politics. Georgia’s EU accession process has stalled since 2024, and there have been large protests. For you, that mainly means uncertainty about the long-term direction.
• Language. Georgian has its own alphabet. Younger people and businesses often speak English, but official paperwork is in Georgian.
• Infrastructure. Traffic in Tbilisi, variable building quality and air pollution in winter.
• Distance. Direct flights to many European cities exist, but it is not a quick hop.
• Healthcare. Private clinics are decent in the big cities; outside them, less so. Get good international health insurance.

Key considerations before you move

• Georgian source vs foreign source. Your freelance income earned while living in Georgia is Georgian-source. The 1% regime is how you keep it cheap – not the territorial rule.
• Your old home country. If you keep a home, family or business ties in your previous country, it may still consider you resident. Leaving properly matters more than arriving.
• Your company abroad. Running a foreign company from Georgia can make it tax resident in Georgia through management. Georgia’s rules are friendly, but think it through.
• Exit and treaties. Georgia has a tax treaty network including many European countries, which helps with withholding taxes and residency disputes.
• Stability. Low taxes are only useful if they stay low. The core regimes have been stable for years, but plan with some flexibility.

Who Georgia suits – and who it doesn’t

Georgia works well for

• Freelancers and solo service businesses who can use the 1% small business status.
• Founders who reinvest and like the idea of 0% on retained profits.
• Investors with foreign-source income who want a low-cost base where that income isn’t taxed.
• Perpetual travellers looking for a real home base that is cheap and easy to enter. See our guide to perpetual travel.

Georgia is probably not for you if

• You need an EU company or EU residence. Look at Estonia, Cyprus or Bulgaria instead.
• Your activity is excluded from small business status and your margins are high – the Estonian-model company still works, but the 1% magic is gone.
• You want banking without questions. That era is over.
• You don’t plan to actually live there. Georgian residency on paper won’t impress your home tax office.

Compare Georgia with other options in the country comparison or start with the jurisdiction finder.

Rates and rules in this guide were checked in September 2026. This is general information, not tax or legal advice – get your setup reviewed by a qualified advisor before you act.

Sources

• Revenue Service of Georgia
• Tax Code of Georgia – Legislative Herald of Georgia
• Public Service Hall
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia – consular information
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries – Georgia