VAT in Georgia: Registration, 18% Tax and Foreign Clients

A practical VAT guide for independent contractors and small businesses in Georgia: the rolling registration threshold, overseas B2B and B2C clients, monthly returns and foreign service purchases.

Start with the transaction, not the bank transfer

This guide concerns Georgia, the country. Individual Entrepreneur (IE) registration, Small Business Status (SBS), VAT and personal tax residence are separate tests. Article 92 requires an SBS entrepreneur to register for VAT when the VAT rules require it. Do not apply a combined 19% rate to every receipt.
VAT concerns independent economic activity (Article 158). Employment salary and invoiced business services need different analysis; being a remote worker does not settle that distinction. This guide covers ordinary small-business transactions. Fixed establishments, excisable goods and reorganisations can trigger different registration rules.

The rolling GEL 100,000 threshold

Under Article 165(1–2), the general registration obligation starts when VAT-taxable supplies exceed GEL 100,000 over any consecutive 12 calendar months. Apply to Revenue Service within two business days of exceeding the threshold. Exactly GEL 100,000 is not an excess under this test.
VAT liability begins with the transaction that crosses the threshold, including that transaction in full. It does not start with the next invoice, and it is not limited to the portion above GEL 100,000.
Example: GEL 98,000 of correctly classified supplies followed by another ordinary taxable supply of GEL 5,000 crosses the threshold. Check VAT treatment of the whole new supply and whether the agreed price includes VAT. The example assumes no other registration trigger.

Build a supplies ledger

Track the supply date, contract, invoice, customer status, service or goods, place of supply, value in GEL and reason for inclusion or exclusion. This is neither profit after expenses nor the sum of all bank credits. A transfer between your own accounts is not itself another supply.
Use a moving 12-month window; 1 January does not reset it. Article 163 has timing rules for advances and regular or continuous services, so the date cash reaches your account is not always the correct tax date. Review exchange conversion, refunds and mixed contracts against the documents.
Article 165(7) generally excludes exempt supplies but brings specified transactions back into the threshold: exports of goods, Article 172(1–2) transactions, and certain financial or immovable-property transactions where they are the main activity. Exempt does not always mean excluded. Fixed-taxpayer activities have a separate rule in Article 165(7¹).

Foreign business clients: confirm the place of supply

For a taxable business customer, the general Article 162¹(3)(a) rule points to where the customer is established, or the fixed establishment receiving the service. The same article has exceptions. Keep evidence of the customer’s status, establishment and actual service recipient; an overseas payment address is insufficient.
Conditional example: an independent contractor in Tbilisi provides an ordinary service to a foreign business for its establishment outside Georgia. If the recipient’s status, relevant establishment and absence of a special rule are confirmed, the place of supply may be outside Georgia. Read together, Articles 159 and 162¹ then place that service outside Georgian VAT territory for the general Article 165(1) test. This is an application of those provisions, not a blanket exemption for foreign clients.
A service outside Georgian VAT territory may still produce Georgian-source income for income tax or SBS. VAT place of supply and income source under Article 104 are different legal tests.

Private customers and special services

For a non-taxable private customer, the general rule points to the supplier’s establishment (Article 162¹(3)(b)). However, Article 162¹(14) instead uses the customer’s location for listed services, including electronic, advertising, consultancy and certain other services. Do not extend one B2B conclusion to every B2C invoice.
Check the special rules for immovable property, event admission, transport and other services, and any applicable actual-use rules under Article 162¹(15). Calling work IT, online or consulting does not determine its legal classification. A platform may also change who your contractual customer is.

Exports of goods are a different route

Article 172(4)(e) provides exemption with deduction rights for qualifying exports or re-exports of goods. Confirm the customs procedure; a foreign buyer alone does not establish an export. Exports of goods are included in the registration threshold by Article 165(7)(b).
For services, start with Article 162¹. An out-of-territory supply is not the same legal category as an exempt supply with deduction rights. Avoid describing every overseas invoice as a zero-rated export.

The 18% rate and your contract price

Article 166 sets the VAT rate at 18%. On an ordinary taxable price of GEL 1,000 excluding VAT, VAT is GEL 180 and the total is GEL 1,180. If GEL 1,180 is the VAT-inclusive total, the VAT portion is GEL 180, not another 18% added on top. Review pricing clauses before crossing the threshold.
The amount payable depends on output VAT and eligible input deductions. Articles 174–177 govern deduction rights, evidence and proportionate deduction; a bank statement or business expense alone does not establish entitlement. Exemption with and without deduction rights have different consequences.

Voluntary registration and cancellation

Article 165(6) allows voluntary registration from the application date, without postponing an already-triggered compulsory deadline. Consider customers, contract prices, deduction evidence and monthly administration before choosing it.
Lower turnover does not cancel an existing VAT registration automatically. Article 165¹ governs cancellation and its conditions. Do not stop filing just because work has paused.

Monthly return and payment

The accounting period is a calendar month (Article 167). A registered VAT payer files the return and pays by the 15th of the following month (Article 168(1)). The SBS return does not replace it, and a month without sales does not by itself remove registration or the monthly filing requirement.
Retain invoices, supply evidence, deduction calculations, submission receipts and payment confirmations. Article 3(6) governs a deadline falling on a non-working day. Imports and reverse-charge cases have their own procedures under Article 168.

Foreign purchases and reverse charge

Review purchases as well as sales. Article 161 covers, among other cases, services supplied in Georgia by a foreign taxable supplier to a qualifying tax agent. For this rule, a person established in Georgia can be an agent, including an entrepreneur; non-entrepreneur individuals and Free Industrial Zone enterprises are excluded, and fixed establishments are separately addressed.
An IE buying advertising, cloud services or contractor services abroad should establish the service’s place of supply, each party’s status, involvement of a Georgian fixed establishment and any exemption. These examples are review triggers, not automatic tax assessments.
Low turnover and no VAT registration do not rule out reverse charge: Article 165²(2)(b) requires an agent to pay without a registration obligation. Under Article 168(4), a non-registered agent pays assessed VAT by the next month’s 15th; confirm the report and filing procedure with RS. Do not assume an input deduction. A private consumer subscription is not automatically an IE business purchase.

Before your next invoice

Separate employment from independent services, then classify each contract and customer. Keep evidence supporting the VAT place of supply and a rolling supplies ledger.
Check the contract price and registration timing before crossing the threshold. Add a separate VAT filing calendar and review overseas purchases for reverse charge.
For mixed services, platforms, establishments or disputed classifications, ask RS or a tax adviser to review the contracts and calculation. No Georgian VAT does not mean no income tax, SBS or obligations in another country.

Verification and scope

Reviewed on 3 September 2026 against the current consolidated Tax Code on Matsne (publication 245, dated 25 June 2026) and the RS VAT information route. Article references are provided so you can check the applicable version for the transaction date. Individual classifications and procedural details still need case-specific confirmation.

VAT in Georgia: the GEL 100,000 Threshold, Foreign Clients and Reverse Charge

Start with the transaction, not the bank transfer

The rolling GEL 100,000 threshold

Build a supplies ledger

Foreign business clients: confirm the place of supply

Private customers and special services

Exports of goods are a different route

The 18% rate and your contract price

Voluntary registration and cancellation

Monthly return and payment

Foreign purchases and reverse charge

Before your next invoice

Verification and scope

Official verification

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