Cross GEL 100,000 of taxable turnover and your obligations change overnight. Miss the moment and the Revenue Service can come back for 18% on invoices you already issued without it, plus interest. Most guides quote the number and stop there. VAT registration in Georgia turns on what counts as taxable turnover, not on what lands in your bank account, and that gap is where the money is won or lost.
The threshold, stated plainly
Georgia charges VAT at a standard rate of 18%. A person carrying out economic activity in Georgia must register as a VAT payer once taxable turnover exceeds GEL 100,000 in any continuous 12 month period.
The rule lives in the Tax Code of Georgia, whose consolidated text the Ministry of Finance publishes, and PwC's Georgia tax summary, reviewed in January 2026, states it the same way.
The 12 months are continuous, not a tax year. A quiet January does not reset anything. The window moves with you, so a strong autumn can push you over in February even though the calendar year barely started.
When the obligation actually attaches
The duty attaches to the transaction that takes you across the line, not to the end of the month and not to the end of the year. You are treated as a VAT payer from that supply onward whether or not the application has been filed.
The filing window itself is short and has been amended more than once, so confirm the current wording with the Revenue Service or with one of the vetted Tbilisi tax advisors. Treat the crossing date as the deadline and you will not be wrong.
Turnover is not the only trigger
Producing or importing certain excisable goods brings a registration duty of its own, independent of how much you sell, and some reorganisations pull a successor entity in as well. Neither is common among the remote workers and small service companies we deal with, but if either sounds like you, get it checked.
What actually counts toward the GEL 100,000
Taxable turnover is not revenue. Only supplies whose place of supply is Georgia count, and for services the place of supply follows a set of rules that frequently puts the supply outside the country entirely.
The general business to business rule places a service where the customer is established. A Tbilisi developer invoicing a company in Berlin is, under that rule, supplying Berlin. A Tbilisi developer invoicing a bank on Chavchavadze Avenue is supplying Georgia. Same desk, same laptop, two different answers.
That is why an IT contractor billing a six figure sum in dollars to foreign clients can sit far below the VAT threshold while a cafe doing a fraction of that revenue crosses it inside a year. Business to consumer supplies and certain named categories follow different rules, so run your actual invoice mix past an advisor before assuming you are safe.
Small business status does not raise your VAT threshold
This is the single most common misreading we see. The 1% regime and the VAT regime are separate systems with separate ceilings, and clearing one tells you nothing about the other.
| Regime | Turnover ceiling | Tax on business income | Changes the VAT threshold? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro business status | GEL 30,000, no employees | Exempt | No |
| Small business status (IE) | GEL 500,000 | 1% of turnover, 3% above the ceiling | No |
| Individual entrepreneur, no status | None | 20% personal income tax | No |
| Georgian LLC | None | Corporate tax charged on distribution | No |
The micro and small business figures above come from PwC's Georgia summary. The practical consequence: an individual entrepreneur on 1% small business status with GEL 300,000 of Georgian-sourced turnover is well inside the 1% ceiling and well past the VAT threshold at the same time. Both regimes apply. Neither cancels the other.
If you are still choosing a wrapper, settle that alongside personal income tax for expats and corporate and dividend tax before you incorporate, not after.
Reverse charge: the bill you get without registering
Reverse charge is where unregistered businesses get hurt. When a non-resident supplies services and the place of supply is Georgia, the VAT accounting duty moves to the Georgian side of the transaction. PwC records it as reverse-charge VAT on services provided by a non-resident to a Georgian VAT payer, and the mechanism reaches further than most founders expect.
In practice this means foreign advertising platforms, cloud and software subscriptions, offshore contractors and overseas consultants. If you are already registered, the charge and the deduction usually land in the same return and net out. If you are not registered, there is nothing to deduct against.
Spend GEL 60,000 a year on foreign ad platforms and cloud tools and the reverse charge sits on top of it, not inside it. Unregistered businesses cannot recover that. Model it before you decide registration is something to avoid.
Registering, step by step
1. Track the rolling window monthly
Add one line to your monthly bookkeeping: taxable turnover for the last 12 months, ending this month. Not revenue, not receipts, taxable turnover. If your bookkeeping for a Georgian LLC already runs monthly, this costs nothing to add.
2. File the application with the Revenue Service
Registration goes through the Revenue Service, either in the taxpayer portal or at a service hall. You need the company or IE already registered, an active taxpayer account, and a power of attorney on file if a local representative submits it for you.
3. Switch your invoicing over
From your first day as a VAT payer, taxable supplies need tax invoices issued through the Revenue Service system rather than a PDF from your accounting app. Get this configured before your first VAT-period sale, not after.
4. File monthly, by the 15th
VAT in Georgia runs on a monthly cycle, with the return and the payment for a month falling due by the 15th of the following month. Georgian monthly corporate tax filings run to the same 15th day rhythm, which is why local accountants in Tbilisi bundle the two. Check the due date on your own portal calendar each month, because holidays shift it.
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Voluntary registration: when it pays and when it hurts
You can register before you have to. Whether that is smart depends almost entirely on who your customers are.
Selling to Georgian VAT-registered businesses, registration is close to neutral for them, because they deduct what you charge, and positive for you, because you start recovering input VAT on rent, equipment and services. Selling to consumers, or into exempt sectors such as financial, medical and education services, the 18% either comes out of your margin or goes onto your price. There is no third option.
Registration also makes sense ahead of a heavy spending year: an office fit-out, imported equipment, a large software build. Input VAT on that spending is recoverable only if you were registered when you incurred it. The cost side is monthly returns, invoice discipline and an accountant who knows the portal, so bring company registration specialists and a tax advisor into the same conversation rather than sequential ones.
Non-resident suppliers of digital services
Georgia has run a separate regime for foreign suppliers of digital services to Georgian consumers since 1 October 2021. Registration happens through a dedicated Revenue Service portal for non-residents, not the standard taxpayer system.
Two details matter. There is no domestic turnover threshold sheltering you: the obligation is tied to supplying Georgian consumers, not to a GEL figure. And the cycle is quarterly rather than monthly, with reporting due by the 20th day of the month following the reporting period and payment by the end of that month, per PwC's summary of the regime. Sales to Georgian businesses run through the reverse charge on the customer's side instead, so a supplier selling both ways needs both mechanics mapped.
What changes the day you become a VAT payer
Your filing cadence goes monthly and stays there. Every taxable sale needs a compliant tax invoice, and every purchase needs its input VAT captured, because unclaimed input VAT is money left with the state.
Where input VAT exceeds output VAT the balance does not vanish. It carries forward, can be set against other tax liabilities, or can be reclaimed, though refunds attract scrutiny and take time. Fold the new cadence into your annual reporting deadlines, and if your time in the country is also changing, check how it interacts with Georgian tax residency rules.
Key takeaways
- Registration is compulsory once taxable turnover exceeds GEL 100,000 in any continuous 12 month period. The standard rate is 18%.
- The 12 months roll continuously. They are not a calendar or tax year.
- Taxable turnover is not revenue. Place of supply decides what counts, and services to foreign business customers often fall outside Georgia.
- The 1% small business ceiling of GEL 500,000 has nothing to do with the VAT threshold. Both can apply at once.
- Reverse charge can create a Georgian VAT cost on foreign services even for businesses that never registered.
- Registered payers file monthly, by the 15th of the following month.
- Tax rules here move. Confirm current figures with the Revenue Service or a Georgian tax advisor before acting.
Frequently asked questions
What is the VAT registration threshold in Georgia?
GEL 100,000 of taxable turnover in any continuous 12 month period. Once you pass it, registration is compulsory rather than optional. The standard VAT rate applied on registration is 18%. The threshold is set in the Tax Code and has held at this level for years, but confirm it before you rely on it.
Is the GEL 100,000 threshold measured over a calendar year?
No. It is measured over any continuous 12 month period, which means the window moves forward every month. A business that was comfortably under the line last December can be over it in March without a single unusual month. Track it as a rolling figure in your bookkeeping, not as an annual total.
What is the VAT rate in Georgia?
The standard rate is 18%, applied to taxable supplies of goods and services in Georgia. Certain supplies are exempt, including financial services, some medical and education services, and goods and services for oil and gas operations. Which exemption category a supply falls into affects whether you can still deduct input VAT, so check the classification rather than guessing.
Does 1% small business status exempt me from VAT?
No. Small business status caps turnover at GEL 500,000 and taxes business income at 1%, rising to 3% above that ceiling, but it does not touch the VAT threshold. An individual entrepreneur on 1% status with GEL 200,000 of Georgian taxable turnover is a VAT payer as well. The two regimes run in parallel.
Do services I sell to clients abroad count toward the VAT threshold?
Usually not, because the general business to business rule places a service where the customer is established, which puts it outside Georgia. That is why many exporting freelancers and IT companies never approach the threshold despite substantial revenue. Business to consumer sales and several named service categories follow different rules. Have your actual invoice mix reviewed rather than assuming the general rule covers everything you do.
When do I have to file the VAT registration application?
Treat the day of the transaction that takes you over GEL 100,000 as your deadline. You are treated as a VAT payer from that supply onward regardless of when the paperwork is submitted, so waiting achieves nothing except exposure. The precise statutory window has been amended before, so confirm it with the Revenue Service or an advisor.
How often do Georgian VAT payers file returns?
Monthly. The return and the payment for a given month are due by the 15th of the following month. This lines up with Georgia's monthly corporate tax filings, which is why most local accountants handle both in one pass. Public holidays can shift the effective date, so check your portal calendar.
What is reverse charge VAT in Georgia?
Reverse charge moves the VAT accounting duty from a non-resident supplier to the Georgian recipient when the place of supply is Georgia. It commonly applies to foreign advertising, cloud and software subscriptions, and overseas contractors. Registered payers usually charge and deduct in the same return so the effect is neutral. Unregistered businesses have nothing to deduct against, which turns it into a real cost.
Can I register for VAT voluntarily before hitting the threshold?
Yes, and it can be sensible. Voluntary registration works well when your customers are themselves VAT-registered Georgian businesses, or when you are about to spend heavily on rent, equipment or an office fit-out and want that input VAT recoverable. It works badly when you sell to consumers, because the 18% has to come out of your price or your margin.
Do foreign companies selling digital services to Georgians have to register?
Yes, where they supply digital services to Georgian consumers. That obligation has applied since 1 October 2021 and runs through a dedicated Revenue Service portal for non-residents, on a quarterly cycle. Reporting falls due by the 20th of the month following the reporting period, with payment by the end of that month. Sales to Georgian businesses are handled by the customer under reverse charge instead.
What happens if I register late?
The Revenue Service can treat you as having been a VAT payer from the crossing date, assess the VAT that should have been charged on supplies since then, and add interest and penalties. Because you cannot usually go back and re-invoice customers for 18%, the assessment tends to come out of your own pocket. If you suspect you crossed the line months ago, get an advisor involved before the Revenue Service raises it.