Before you start

Individual Entrepreneur (IE) registration at the Public Service Hall
Small Business Status application at the Revenue Service
A Georgian bank account and a local accountant (recommended)

Step-by-step

1
Register as an Individual Entrepreneur (IE)
Go to the Public Service Hall with your passport and register as an Individual Entrepreneur — same-day and free. This gives you a tax identification number and the legal status to invoice clients and apply for the small-business regime. It's the foundation for everything else, including a smoother bank-account opening.
In personWho: Freelancers / sole tradersSame dayFree
2
Apply for Small Business Status (the 1% rate)
At the Revenue Service (rs.ge), apply for Small Business Status. Once granted, you pay just 1% on gross turnover up to GEL 500,000 per year (rising to 3% on any amount over GEL 500,000 within a year; status is revoked to the standard 20% if you exceed the cap two years running). A separate Micro Business Status gives 0% under GEL 30,000/year. Confirm eligibility first — see the exclusions below.
OnlineWho: Eligible IEsA few daysFree to apply
3
Check whether your work is EXCLUDED from the 1%
This is the trap. Consulting, legal, medical, advisory and other licensed/professional services are specifically excluded from Small Business Status and taxed at the standard 20%. Many remote 'consultants' wrongly assume they get 1%. Software development, design, e-commerce and many other trades generally do qualify — but the line is fact-specific. Have a Georgian accountant confirm your activity codes before you rely on the 1%.
In personWho: Anyone in advisory/licensed fieldsBefore relying on the rateAccountant fee ~GEL 100-300/mo typical
4
File monthly — even at zero income
Small-business IEs must file a turnover declaration on rs.ge every month, including months with zero income (a 2026 requirement). It's simple but unforgiving of neglect — missed filings draw penalties. Most nomads pay a local accountant a small monthly fee to handle filings, VAT thresholds (18% VAT registration kicks in above GEL 100,000, though B2B services to non-residents are often out of scope) and compliance.
OnlineWho: All small-business IEsMonthly1% of turnover + accountant fee

Documents you’ll need

Passport
IE registration certificate
Small Business Status confirmation
Georgian bank account details
Invoices / turnover records for monthly filing

Things most newcomers don’t know

The headline '1% tax, 0% on foreign income' is the most over-simplified claim about Georgia. The 1% needs Small Business Status and excludes consulting/licensed work; and income from work you physically do in Georgia is Georgian-source, not exempt foreign income.

Influencer framing collapses several distinct rules — territorial taxation, the small-business regime, and source rules — into a slogan that misleads.

Source: Revenue Service (rs.ge)

Tax residency is the 183-day rule OR the High-Net-Worth route (GEL 3M in assets, or GEL 200k income for 3 years, plus a Georgian link). US citizens get no usable treaty relief (only a defunct 1973 USSR treaty) and still owe US tax — though the FEIE may apply.

Americans in particular must keep filing US returns; Georgia's low tax doesn't erase US obligations.

Source: rs.ge

Standard personal income tax is a flat 20%, dividends and interest 5%, and VAT 18% above GEL 100,000 turnover — so even outside the 1% regime, Georgia's rates are simple and moderate.

A flat, low-rate system is part of Georgia's deliberate pro-business positioning.

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming you qualify for 1% when you're a consultant/lawyer/medic — those activities are excluded and taxed at 20%
Believing 'foreign income is 0%' while physically working in Georgia — that income is Georgian-source
Skipping the monthly rs.ge filing in zero-income months — still required, penalties apply
Going without a local accountant — activity-code classification and VAT thresholds are where people get caught
For US citizens: thinking Georgian residency ends US tax obligations — it doesn't