Opening a company in Georgia: locals, foreigners, freelancers and digital nomads

At a glance: LLC (shps) with no minimum capital, registered at the Public Service Hall in one business day for GEL 100 (about 32 euros), 15 percent corporate tax only when profit is distributed, 18 percent VAT above GEL 100,000, 1 percent turnover tax for small individual entrepreneurs up to GEL 500,000, no digital nomad visa but 365 days visa-free for most Western passports. Legal forms. Individual entrepreneur (IE): registration at the National Agency of Public Registry for GEL 20 to 50, no capital, unlimited liability, the vehicle for freelancers. LLC (shezghuduli pasukhismgeblobis sazogadoeba, shps): one or more members, no statutory minimum capital, free state model charter. Joint stock company (ss): no minimum capital unless regulated. Registration. National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR) through any Public Service Hall or Justice House, or online at my.gov.ge with a Georgian ID; extract the next business day for GEL 100 or the same day for GEL 200. Documents: founders' decision and charter (the model charter is accepted), passports; signatures before the registrar or notarised, foreign corporate documents apostilled and translated, a founder abroad signs by apostilled power of attorney. Total excluding capital: about 35 euros yourself, 400 to 1,200 euros with help. Taxes 2026. Corporate income tax 15 percent on distributed profits and deemed distributions only (Estonian model; 20 for banks), so retained earnings are untaxed. Dividends 5 percent withholding for individuals and foreign companies, none between Georgian companies. VAT 18 percent with mandatory registration above GEL 100,000 taxable turnover in any 12 months (about 32,000 euros). Personal income tax a flat 20 percent on Georgian-source income only, 5 percent on dividends, interest and residential rent; foreign-source income of residents is exempt. Freelancers and the self-employed. Register as an individual entrepreneur at the Public Service Hall in a day, then ask the Revenue Service for small business status: 1 percent of turnover up to GEL 500,000 a year (about 160,000 euros), 3 percent on the excess, monthly declarations, no expense accounting; consulting, legal, medical, architecture, audit and gambling are excluded and pay 20 percent on profit. Micro business status: turnover up to GEL 30,000 without employees, 0 percent. Pension contributions of 4 percent are voluntary for the self-employed and there is no mandatory health insurance, so the minimum monthly social cost is nil. Foreigners. 100 percent foreign ownership, no local director, partner or resident agent, and the director may live abroad; the only material restriction is agricultural land. Residence permits: a work or entrepreneurial permit through your own company requires annual turnover of at least GEL 50,000 per foreign employee, one year renewable; the investment permit needs about USD 300,000 invested in business or property (about 255,000 euros) and leads to permanent residence after five years. Banks (TBC, Bank of Georgia) open company accounts only with the director present and have tightened compliance since 2022: expect source-of-funds questionnaires, one to four weeks and refusals for some nationalities. Branch of a foreign company. A branch registers with NAPR like an LLC (GEL 100, next day) on the parent's apostilled extract, charter, decision and the appointment of a branch head of any nationality; no capital. It is a permanent establishment taxed under the same 15 percent distributed-profit model on profit attributed and repatriated to the parent, with no extra remittance tax, and registers for VAT above GEL 100,000. Digital nomads. No digital nomad visa. Citizens of about 95 countries, including the EU, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia, may stay 365 days visa-free and work remotely for foreign clients, re-entering for a new year. After 183 days in any 12 months you are tax resident but, as residents are taxed on Georgian-source income only, foreign employment income stays untaxed; services physically performed in Georgia are Georgian-source, which is why nomads register as individual entrepreneurs with 1 percent small business status. Changed recently. Companies had to align charters with the 2021 Law on Entrepreneurs by 1 April 2025; residence permit rules tightened with higher state duties and new refusal grounds (2025); banks' compliance checks on foreign-owned accounts stiffened (2023 to 2025); no corporate tax changes in the past year, VAT and small business thresholds unchanged (2026). Figures checked October 2026 from the National Agency of Public Registry, the Revenue Service, the Public Service Development Agency and PwC and Georgian law-firm pages; thresholds and fees change yearly. Confirm with a licensed adviser in Georgia before you file.