Crypto and moving abroad in 2026: where coins stay tax-free (and who reports them now)
DAC8 reports your exchange, Austria taxes your bag at the border, Germany may not tax it at all. Who should move with crypto in 2026 – and who shouldn’t.
Georgia
Georgia combines a 1% turnover tax for small individual entrepreneurs, an Estonian-style company tax and no tax on foreign-source income for residents. Cheap, fast and friendly – but since 2026 foreigners need a work permit, and politics and banks have become harder to predict.
Our verdict
One of the best deals around for service freelancers and small founders who will really live in Tbilisi or Batumi for 183+ days and want low costs and low tax without paperwork drama. Skip it if you need EU access, a passport path or a structure that impresses conservative banks.
Great for
- Freelancers and solo service businesses under GEL 500,000 turnover
- Founders who reinvest profits and want 0% until payout
- Nomads who want a cheap, real home base rather than a paper address
Skip it if
- Anyone who needs EU residence, an EU company or Schengen access
- People who want to live in Georgia on paper only
- Businesses in licensed or excluded activities that can’t use the 1% status
Key numbers at a glance.
- Small business status
- 1% of turnover
- up to GEL 500,000 a year, 3% above
- Corporate tax
- 0% / 15%
- 0% retained, 15% on distributed profits
- Dividend WHT
- 5%
- treaties can reduce it
- Personal income tax
- 20%
- flat, Georgian-source income only
- VAT
- 18%
- registration from GEL 100,000 turnover
- Setup time
- 1–2 days
- Public Service Hall, also by power of attorney
- Running cost
- ≈ €2,000 / year
- LLC with outsourced accounting
- Minimum stay
- 183 days
- for tax residency (HNWI route: 0 days)
- Currency
- GEL (lari)
The Nerdy Index.
15 criteria, each scored 0–10 by a published formula or rubric. Pick who you are – the index re-weights what matters for you.
75Nerdy IndexFounder, moving with the company
77Company
74Residence
CompanyResidence
Company 77/100
Tax on distributed profits19.3% 5.2/10
Corporate tax plus dividend withholding on €100,000 profit paid out to a non-resident owner. Transparent entities (US LLC) pay nothing at company level – the owner pays at home, so they get a neutral 5.
Tax on reinvested profits0% 10/10
Tax while profits stay in the company (Estonia and Georgia: 0%).
Running cost≈ €2,000 / year 9.3/10
Typical yearly cost to keep a small trading company compliant: registered office, accounting, tax filings, audit if mandatory, government fees. Excludes local staff and office rent.
Context: Outsourced accounting for a small LLC runs about GEL 200–400 a month, plus legal address and bank fees; an individual entrepreneur with small business status costs less than half that.
Setup speed & remote formation1–2 working days 10/10
Typical working days from signed documents to a registered company. +1 point (max 10) if it can be done fully remotely.
Context: The Public Service Hall registers LLCs and individual entrepreneurs within one or two days, also through a representative with power of attorney.
Banking accessNerdy assessment 6/10
How easy it is for a foreign-owned company to open and keep a business account (local bank or regulated EMI) that works for international payments.
Our assessment: TBC and Bank of Georgia open accounts in person within days, with modern apps and multi-currency; KYC has become strict, some nationalities are refused and non-resident companies struggle.
Reputation & treaty network58 treaties · no list 8.4/10
Number of double tax treaties in force, minus penalties for blacklists that make banks and tax offices nervous: EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions (Annex I), EU watchlist (Annex II), FATF grey list.
Context: Treaties with most of Europe including Germany, Austria and Switzerland; not on the EU lists or the FATF grey list.
Substance burdenNerdy assessment 8/10
How much real presence (director, office, staff, board meetings) the company needs locally to be respected as tax resident there and to keep the bank happy. Higher score = lighter burden.
Our assessment: A legal address and the owner running it from Georgia are enough; no local director or office rules. Managed from abroad, the company won’t be respected by your home country.
Residence 74/100
Personal tax for a new resident1% of turnover 9.8/10
Effective tax a newly arrived resident pays on €100,000 of income from their own (foreign or local) company, using the best regime realistically available to an entrepreneur (non-dom, flat tax, territorial, special regime). Social security excluded.
Context: Freelancer or consultant registered as an individual entrepreneur with small business status: 1% on €100,000 turnover. Dividends from a Georgian LLC cost 15% plus 5% instead.
Residency accessNerdy assessment 9/10
How realistic it is for a non-EU entrepreneur to get a residence permit that also gives tax residency: requirements, cost, time, approval odds. EU citizens usually have it easier – noted in the reason.
Our assessment: Many passports can simply live there for a year visa-free and become tax resident by days; since 2026 you add a work permit for GEL 200. Longer permits via property from USD 150,000.
Minimum stay183 days 4/10
Days per year you need to spend there to keep your permit and your tax residency (whichever is stricter, using the most flexible programme).
Context: Tax residency needs 183 days in a 12-month period. The HNWI route skips the days but needs USD 500,000 in Georgian property.
Cost of living39.2 (Tbilisi) · Tbilisi 8.6/10
Numbeo Cost of Living Index (excl. rent, New York = 100) for the city most expats choose.
Context: Numbeo cost of living excluding rent for Tbilisi – about 40% of New York; Batumi is cheaper still.
Safety73.7 (Tbilisi) · Tbilisi 7.4/10
Numbeo Safety Index for the same city (0–100, higher is safer).
Context: Low street crime; the main risks are traffic and political protests.
Rule of law & stability53rd percentile 5.3/10
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, Rule of Law percentile rank (0–100). Measures how predictable courts, contracts and property rights are.
Context: World Bank WGI 2025, Rule of Law: Georgia ranks above about 53% of 215 economies and has slipped since 2023 as judicial independence became a political issue.
English in daily life & businessEF EPI 541 5.6/10
EF English Proficiency Index score. Countries where English is an official or everyday business language count as 700.
Context: EF EPI 2025: 541 (rank 35), Tbilisi 550 – fine with younger people and in business, rare in government offices.
Mobility & long-term optionsNerdy assessment 4/10
What the residence gives you beyond the country: Schengen/EU access, permanent residence and citizenship path, passport strength of a future citizenship, dual citizenship allowed.
Our assessment: Permanent residence takes years, citizenship about ten years and generally means giving up your old passport; the residence gives no rights in the EU, and the EU has started suspending visa-free travel for some Georgian passports.
Numbers checked October 2026. Click any row for the formula, our reasoning and the source. How the Nerdy Index works
Residency & visa routes.
Visa-free stay + work permit
Citizens of the EU, UK, US and around 95 other countries can stay up to a year visa-free (health insurance of at least GEL 30,000 required since January 2026). Since 1 March 2026, working or running a business in Georgia needs a right-to-work permit: GEL 200 and 30 days, or GEL 400 and 10 working days. After getting the right to work you also have to apply for a work residence permit within 10 days (Labour Migration Law, Art. 13⁵). Foreigners who were already registered as labour migrants on 1 March 2026 have until 1 January 2027 to get both.
Tax residency (183 days)
183 days of presence in any continuous 12-month period ending in the tax year. Foreign-source income stays untaxed.
Residence permit via property
Property worth at least USD 150,000 (raised from USD 100,000 on 1 March 2026) gives a renewable one-year temporary residence permit for you and your family.
Investment residence
USD 300,000 invested in a Georgian business or property gives a five-year permit and later permanent residence, with turnover conditions for business investments.
HNWI tax residency
Tax residency without the 183 days for people with GEL 3 million in assets or GEL 200,000 income a year, plus Georgian property of USD 500,000 and a permit or GEL 25,000 Georgian income.
Why Georgia6
- 1% turnover tax for qualifying individual entrepreneurs
- 0% on retained company profits
- No tax on foreign-source income for residents
- Visa-free entry for a year for many passports
- Registration in a day or two, low running costs
- Very low cost of living and food and wine worth the move on their own
Watch out for6
- Work permit required for foreigners doing business since March 2026
- Not in the EU; EU accession frozen and relations tense
- Banks are cautious with non-residents and some nationalities
- Small business status excludes some activities and taxes turnover, not profit
- Running a foreign company from Georgia can move its tax home there
- Paperwork often in Georgian; English is patchy outside business circles
Georgia – the country in the Caucasus, not the US state with the peaches – has become the favourite tax address of freelancers and remote founders, and not because of the peaches. The pitch fits on a napkin: 1% tax on turnover for small individual entrepreneurs, 0% on company profits you keep in the business, and no tax on foreign-source income for residents. Add a year visa-free for many passports and food and wine good enough to make you forget you came for the tax rate.
The napkin has a back side, and lately someone has been writing on it. Since March 2026 foreigners need a work permit to do business, the property threshold for residence permits went up, banks ask more questions, and relations with the EU have soured. Here’s the honest picture as of September 2026.
Is it for you?#
Georgia rewards people who actually live there. Tax residency is decided by days – 183 in a 12-month period – and your old country will want proof that you really left. A Tbilisi flat you visit twice a year is a souvenir, not a residence.
It fits well if you’re a freelancer or run a small service business (software, design, marketing, e-commerce) with turnover under GEL 500,000 and can use the 1% regime. It also works for founders who reinvest: a Georgian company pays nothing until profits are distributed. And for nomads who want a cheap, real home rather than a paper residence, it beats most of the EU on price before you’ve unpacked.
It’s the wrong choice if you need an EU company or EU residence, want a clear path to a strong second passport, or plan to stay in Georgia on paper while living elsewhere. It’s also a bumpy fit for licensed or regulated activities, which can’t use small business status, and for anyone whose clients or bank reach for the risk questionnaire every time Georgia makes the evening news.
The company#
The vehicles#
- Individual entrepreneur (IE) – you, registered as a business person. With small business status you pay 1% of turnover up to GEL 500,000 a year and 3% on turnover above that. No deductions, no minimum. Some activities (for example those needing a licence or permit, and consulting in certain regulated fields) are excluded; IT, design and marketing services are typical users. Turnover under GEL 30,000 with no employees can even qualify as micro business at 0%.
- Limited liability company (LLC) – registered at the Public Service Hall in a day or two, no meaningful minimum capital, foreign directors allowed, possible by power of attorney.
How profits are taxed#
The LLC follows the Estonian model (since 2017): no corporate tax while profits stay in the company, 15% when they’re distributed or spent on non-business purposes. Dividends then carry 5% withholding tax. VAT is 18%, with registration once taxable turnover passes GEL 100,000; many services to foreign customers fall outside Georgian VAT.
Worked example: €100,000, two ways.
| IE with small business status | LLC, full payout | |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover / profit | €100,000 turnover | €100,000 profit |
| Tax at business level | 1% = €1,000 | 15% = €15,000 |
| Dividend tax (5%) | – | €4,250 |
| Net to you | €99,000 | €80,750 |
| Total tax | 1% | 19.25% |
Leave the profit in the LLC and the tax is 0% until you distribute. The 1% hits turnover, not profit: brilliant for a consultant with a laptop, brutal for a reseller living on thin margins. Play with the numbers in the tax calculator.
Costs#
Registration costs less than a decent dinner in Munich. Outsourced accounting for a small LLC runs roughly GEL 200–400 a month; add a legal address and bank fees and you’re at about €2,000 a year. An IE with small business status costs less than half of that.
Banking#
TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia offer good apps, multi-currency accounts and quick in-person onboarding. The era of “walk in with a passport, walk out with an account” is over. Expect questions about your source of funds and business, refusals for some nationalities, and a much harder time for non-resident companies. Show up in person with a registered IE or LLC, real clients and real invoices, and it becomes routine again. Georgian banks report under CRS – which is fine, because this is about avoidance, not hiding. More in our banking guide.
Substance#
Georgia itself asks for little: a legal address and someone running the business. The real substance question gets asked by your home country’s tax office, and it won’t be satisfied with a mailbox: a Georgian LLC managed from Berlin is a German taxpayer. And the reverse applies too – running your foreign company from Tbilisi can make it Georgian.
Living there#
Residency routes#
| Route | For | Key requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Visa-free stay | EU, UK, US and ~95 other passports | Up to 1 year; health insurance of at least GEL 30,000 since January 2026 |
| Right-to-work permit | Foreigners working or doing business | Since 1 March 2026; GEL 200 (30 days) or GEL 400 (10 working days) |
| Property residence | Property owners | Property worth USD 150,000+ (was USD 100,000 before March 2026); 1-year permit, renewable |
| Investment residence | Investors | USD 300,000 in a business or property; 5-year permit, then permanent residence |
| HNWI tax residency | Wealthy individuals | GEL 3 million assets or GEL 200,000 income a year, plus USD 500,000 Georgian property and a permit or local income; no minimum days |
For most people the practical combination is visa-free stay plus the new work permit – and 183 days in the country for tax residency. The permit is new, so expect the procedure to change a few times before every counter agrees on how it works.
Personal tax#
Georgia taxes residents only on Georgian-source income, at a flat 20% – or at 1% of turnover with small business status. Dividends from a foreign company, foreign interest and foreign rent are not taxed. Here’s where people trip: work you do while sitting in Tbilisi is Georgian-source, which is why freelancers use the IE regime rather than relying on the territorial rule.
Days#
You’re tax-resident with 183 days in any continuous 12-month period ending in the tax year. Keep proof: lease, utility bills, bank statements, entry stamps. Tax offices love a shoebox of receipts more than your word. Our day tracker helps with the counting, and the tax residency guide with the tie-breakers.
Daily life#
Numbeo’s cost of living (excluding rent) for Tbilisi is 39.2 – about 40% of New York – and rent is cheap by European standards. Tbilisi has cafés, co-working spaces and a big international crowd; Batumi offers the Black Sea; the mountains are close. Safety is good (Numbeo 73.7) – better than plenty of Western capitals. English works with younger people and in business (EF EPI 541), not so much at government desks, and paperwork is often in Georgian. Downsides: winter air pollution and traffic, uneven healthcare outside private clinics, and politics – since 2024 large protests, a frozen EU accession and, in March 2026, the EU suspending visa-free travel for Georgian official passports.
The catches#
What can go wrong
01
Work permit.
Since March 2026 you need a right to work before doing business. Visa-free stay alone is no longer enough.
02
Excluded activities.
Small business status doesn’t cover every activity. Check your activity code before planning around 1%.
03
Home country.
Exit tax, extended tax liability and CFC rules can eat the savings – see exit tax and CFC rules.
05
Politics.
Tense EU relations and a slipping rule-of-law score. Low taxes only help if they stay low – keep a Plan B.
06
Thin margins.
A turnover tax punishes low-margin businesses.
Step by step#
Moving your business to Georgia
Check your exit
Map exit tax, deregistration and CFC rules at home.
Arrive and find a home
Enter visa-free with health insurance, sign a lease, get a local SIM and address.
Register the business
IE or LLC at the Public Service Hall – one or two days, also by power of attorney.
Get your right to work
Apply online for the work permit; add small business status for the IE with the Revenue Service.
Open a bank account
In person, with your registration documents, contracts and invoices.
Count your days
183 days for tax residency, then request a residence certificate from the Revenue Service.
FAQ#
Is 1% really all I pay?
On turnover up to GEL 500,000 with small business status, yes – no deductions and no personal income tax on top. Above GEL 500,000 the excess is taxed at 3%.
Can I stay in Georgia without a residence permit?
Many passports can stay a year visa-free. To work or run a business you now also need the right-to-work permit.
Does Georgia tax my foreign dividends?
No, foreign-source income is exempt for residents. Dividends from a Georgian LLC carry 5% withholding.
Is Georgia still a good idea with the political situation?
For many people, yes – taxes and daily life have stayed stable. But keep your structure flexible and your home country exit clean.
For a freelancer who actually lives there, Georgia is one of the best deals we cover, provided you treat the politics as a risk to manage, not a footnote. Comparing it with Paraguay or Dubai? Try the Jurisdiction Finder or book a strategy session. This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice.
Sources#
- Revenue Service of Georgia
- Tax Code of Georgia – Legislative Herald
- Public Service Hall
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries – Georgia, individual
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries – Georgia, corporate
- KPMG – Georgia introduces mandatory work authorization (2026)
- Andersen Georgia – HNWI tax residency
- Erickson Immigration Group – property threshold from March 2026
- EEAS – EU suspends visa-free travel for Georgian official passports
- Numbeo – Tbilisi
Sources & fact check.
Every number on this page comes from one of these. Last checked October 2026. Tax law changes – confirm with a licensed advisor before acting. Nothing here is tax or legal advice.
- Official Revenue Service of Georgia small business status, HNWI residency, VAT rs.ge
- Official Public Service Hall registration, residence permits psh.gov.ge
- Official EEAS – EU suspends visa-free travel for Georgian official passports (March 2026) EU–Georgia relations eeas.europa.eu
- Law Tax Code of Georgia (Legislative Herald) tax rates and residency rules matsne.gov.ge
- Advisor PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries – Georgia CIT, PIT, WHT, residence, treaties taxsummaries.pwc.com
- Advisor KPMG – Georgia introduces mandatory work authorization (2026) work permit rules and fees kpmg.com
- Advisor Andersen Georgia – HNWI tax residency HNWI conditions ge.andersen.com
- Advisor Erickson Immigration Group – property threshold from 1 March 2026 USD 150,000 property permit eiglaw.com
- Index Numbeo – Tbilisi cost of living and safety cost of living, safety numbeo.com
- Index EF English Proficiency Index 2025 – Georgia English level ef.com
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