How to form an LLC in Georgia

Georgia Secretary of State charges $100 to file Articles of Organization online (or $110 by mail). The annual registration fee is $50, due between January 1 and April 1 each year. Realistic year-one cost: $100. Ongoing yearly cost: $50. Add $99–$300/year if you use a commercial registered agent.

Online filings through Georgia eCorp approve in 5–7 business days. Same-day expedited service is available for $100 extra ($200 total). Mail filings take 12–15 business days.

Georgia uses the term "annual registration" instead of annual report. It's due each year between January 1 and April 1, with a $50 filing fee. File online through eCorp. Late registrations incur a $25 penalty; LLCs that don't file for 60 days after the deadline are administratively dissolved.

No LLC franchise tax. Pass-through LLCs pay no state-level entity tax. Owners pay personal income tax (flat 5.39%, scheduled to drop) on their share of LLC profits.

Georgia offers a 20% transferable tax credit on qualified production expenditures, with an additional 10% if the production includes the Georgia logo. The credit applies to film, TV, commercials, music videos, and interactive entertainment. It's one of the most generous in North America and a major reason production LLCs form in Georgia.

Yes. Georgia has no residency requirement for LLC members or managers. You only need a Georgia-based registered agent. Out-of-state owners commonly use a commercial registered agent service.

Yes — particularly for businesses tied to Atlanta (fintech, film, logistics) or the Port of Savannah. The combination of $100 filing, $50/year registration, no franchise tax, and a falling flat income tax makes Georgia one of the more cost-efficient large-state options. The 7.4% sales tax average is moderate.

Georgia does not have a state-level general business license, but most cities (Atlanta, Savannah, Columbus, Augusta, Athens) require a local business license. Industry-specific state licenses may apply for contractors, real estate, food service, healthcare, and professional services.

A single-member Georgia LLC is taxed as a sole proprietorship by default, while a multi-member LLC is taxed as a partnership — both pass profits through to owners who pay federal income tax and Georgia's flat 5.49% state income tax on their share. Georgia does not impose a separate state-level LLC tax or franchise tax, but LLCs with employees must register with the Georgia Department of Revenue for withholding and pay state unemployment taxes through the Georgia Department of Labor. If your LLC sells taxable goods or services, you must collect Georgia sales tax (4% state rate plus local add-ons) and file returns with the Department of Revenue. LLCs that elect S-corp or C-corp taxation with the IRS follow those respective Georgia corporate tax rules instead.

Yes, Georgia places no residency requirement on LLC members or managers, so anyone — including foreign nationals and owners living in other states — can form a Georgia LLC by filing Articles of Organization with the Georgia Secretary of State. However, you must still appoint a registered agent who has a physical street address in Georgia, since a P.O. box is not accepted. If you are a non-resident forming a Georgia LLC primarily to do business in your home state, that home state will likely require you to foreign-qualify your Georgia LLC there, paying that state's foreign registration fee. Operating in Georgia itself requires no additional qualification beyond the initial $100 filing.

Georgia does not issue a single statewide general business license, but most cities and counties require a local business license — often called an Occupation Tax Certificate — before you begin operating. For example, businesses in Atlanta must obtain an Occupation Tax Certificate from the City of Atlanta's Office of Revenue, while unincorporated areas rely on county licensing offices. Certain professions (contractors, healthcare providers, cosmetologists, etc.) must also hold state-issued professional licenses through the Georgia Secretary of State's Professional Licensing Boards Division, separate from your LLC registration. Check with your specific city or county government early in the process, as fees and renewal deadlines vary widely across Georgia's 159 counties.

To voluntarily dissolve a Georgia LLC, you file Articles of Dissolution with the Georgia Secretary of State online through the Georgia Corporations Division portal; the filing fee is $10. Before or alongside dissolution, you should close out any open tax accounts with the Georgia Department of Revenue and settle all debts and obligations of the LLC. Georgia law requires you to notify known creditors in writing, giving them at least 90 days to submit claims before the LLC is fully wound up. Once dissolution is approved, the LLC's legal existence ends and it is removed from Georgia's active entity register.

Georgia law does not legally require an LLC to have a written operating agreement, but the Georgia Limited Liability Company Act (O.C.G.A. Title 14, Chapter 11) strongly defaults to its own rules whenever an agreement is absent, which may not match what members actually want. A written operating agreement lets you customize profit-sharing percentages, management structure, voting rights, and what happens if a member leaves or dies — none of which you can tailor without one. Banks, investors, and title companies often ask to see an operating agreement before opening accounts or approving transactions for your LLC. Even for a single-member LLC, having a signed operating agreement reinforces the separation between personal and business assets, which is crucial for protecting your liability shield in Georgia courts.

Georgia does not impose a franchise tax or a net worth tax on single-member or multi-member LLCs that are taxed as pass-through entities. Instead, LLC profits flow to the members, who pay Georgia's flat individual income tax rate of 5.49% (as of 2024) on their share of earnings — that rate is scheduled to phase down to 4.99% by 2029 under HB 1437. LLCs that elect corporate taxation with the IRS are subject to Georgia's 5.75% corporate income tax rate. Georgia also has a base state sales tax of 4%, with local jurisdictions adding up to 4% more, averaging roughly 7.4% statewide — relevant if your LLC sells taxable goods or services.

Georgia is one of the strongest states in the country for film and entertainment LLCs, largely due to its transferable tax credit program: productions that spend at least $500,000 in Georgia qualify for a 20% base income tax credit, plus an additional 10% if the production includes a qualified Georgia promotional logo. The Georgia Film Office, under the Department of Economic Development, actively supports productions from permitting through post-production. Studios including Tyler Perry Studios and major streaming productions from Netflix, Disney, and Amazon have established Georgia operations specifically to capture these credits. An entertainment LLC formed in Georgia can be positioned to both generate and transfer these credits, making state formation directly tied to production economics.

Both Georgia and Florida are major Southeast business states, but they differ in cost and tax structure. Georgia charges $100 to form an LLC and $50 per year for annual registration, while Florida charges $125 to form and $138.75 per year for its annual report — making Florida modestly more expensive to maintain over time. Florida has no state individual income tax, which benefits LLC members on pass-through income, whereas Georgia imposes a 5.49% flat rate. However, Georgia has no franchise tax on LLCs and offers specific industry incentives — particularly in film, logistics, and manufacturing — that Florida does not match at the same scale. Entrepreneurs whose customers or operations are concentrated in the Atlanta corridor or Southeast interior typically find Georgia registration more practical than a Florida LLC requiring foreign qualification.