• Guide To Atlanta Small Business Tax Breaks
• Atlanta Small Business Association
• Guide To Atlanta Small Business Tax Attorney Near Me
• Guide To Atlanta Small Business Tax Software
• Guide To Atlanta Small Business Tax Credit
• Guide To Atlanta Small Business Taxes

We wrote this guide for online sellers who want to know if they even have to bother with sales tax in Georgia, and if so, how best to tackle the sales tax situation in the Peach State.

In this guide, we will go over the basics of LLC tax structures so that you can have an informed discussion with tax professionals. We will also cover federal taxes, state taxes, employer taxes, business expenses, accounting, and bookkeeping. A Guide to Small Business Contracting. Information for obtaining Small Business Health care Tax Credit; Return to Top. FY12-13 Loans by State.pdf (225.9 KBs). Mar 02, 2017 Sales tax is a tax you charge to customers when they purchase products or services from you. As a business owner or seller, you are responsible for calculating, collecting, reporting, and remitting sales tax to the appropriate state and local tax authorities. My Metro Atlanta Small Business Health Quiz (Part 1) Last week, when I wrote my message to our Metro Atlanta business clients, the biggest news was the second round of the PPP, and that expenses covered under the first round of it would be tax deductible.

After reading this, you’ll know:

• Do you or don’t you need to collect Georgia sales tax?
• Which customers do you collect from?
• How much do you collect?
• What do you do with all the sales tax you’ve collected?
• Way more than you probably ever wanted to know about Georgia sales tax!

Do you have sales tax nexus in Georgia?

“Sales tax nexus” is just a fancy way of saying “significant presence” in a state.

Georgia considers a seller to have sales tax nexus in the state if you have any of the following in the state:

• An office or place of business
• An employee present
• Goods in a warehouse
• Ownership of real or personal property
• Delivery of merchandise in Georgia (specifically in the seller’s vehicle/fleet, etc.)
• Independent contractors or other representatives in Georgia
• Economic nexus (i.e. your sales or transactions into the state mean you are subject to the state’s economic nexus rule)

You can click here to read exactly what the Georgia Department of Revenue (Georgia’s taxing authority) has to say about what constitutes sales tax nexus in Georgia.

Do you have sales tax nexus in Georgia if you sell on FBA?

If you sell on Amazon FBA, you may have sales tax nexus in Georgia. Storing physical products in a state can create sales tax nexus, and Georgia is home to multiple Amazon Fulfillment Centers.

To determine whether or not you have items stored in an FBA warehouse in Georgia, you can do one of two things:

1. Login to Amazon Seller Central and pull your Inventory Even Detail report
2. ]Sign up for a 30-day free trial of TaxJar](https://www.taxjar.com/) and find out from where your Amazon inventory ships with our Amazon badge feature

You may find that your inventory is stored in one or all of Georgia’s Amazon fulfillment centers in this list:

Read here for more about Amazon FBA and sales tax nexus. And here’s a list of all the Amazon Fulfillment Centers in the United States.

Do you have economic nexus in Georgia?

Effective January 1, 2020, Georgia considers vendors who make more than $100,000 in sales annually in the previous or current calendar year or more than 200 transactions in the state to have economic nexus. As a result, vendors are obligated to collect sales tax from buyers in the state. You can read Georgia’s economic nexus guidance for sellers here and you can read more about economic nexus in every state here.

Is what you’re selling even taxable?

You’ve probably read this far because you realized you have sales tax nexus in Georgia. Your next step is to determine if what you’re selling is even taxable.

Services in Georgia are generally not taxable. So if you’re a graphic designer or a plumber, you’re in luck and you don’t have to worry about sales tax.

Tangible products are taxable in Georgia , with a few exceptions. These exceptions include certain groceries, prescription medicine and medical devices, and machinery and chemicals used in research and development.

So if you sell toys, then charge sales tax to your Georgia customers.

But if you’re a graphic designer, don’t charge sales tax to your Georgia customers.

If you have sales tax nexus in Georgia and your products are taxable, your next step is to register for a sales tax permit.

How to Register for a Sales Tax Permit in Georgia

Sellers with sales tax nexus in Georgia must apply for a Georgia sales tax permit.

Don’t skip this step! Georgia considers it unlawful to collect sales tax in their name without a permit. Go here for more on how to register for a sales tax permit in Georgia.

How to Collect Sales Tax in Georgia

So you’ve determined that you have sales tax nexus in Georgia and what you’re selling is taxable. And you’re all set and registered for your Georgia sales tax permit(s).

The next step is to determine how much sales tax to collect.

For many states, the sales tax rate you collect depends on whether you are based in-state or out-of-state.

How to Collect Sales Tax in Georgia if You are Based in Georgia

Guide To Atlanta Small Business Tax Breaks

Georgia is a destination-based sales tax state. So if you live in Georgia, collect sales tax based on the sales tax rate at your buyer’s address.

Atlanta Small Business Association

Example: You live and work in Woodstock, Georgia 30188 where the tax rate is 6%, but you ship to your customer in Atlanta with a zip code of 30303. Their tax rate in the 30303 zip code is 8%, so you would charge your customer the 8% tax rate.

You can look up your local sales tax rate with TaxJar’s Sales Tax Calculator or by going to TaxJar.com/mobile on your mobile device.

How to Collect Sales Tax in Georgia if you are Not Based in Georgia

Georgia wants sellers who made a sale into Georgia from outside the state to also charge sales tax based on the destination of the buyer.

Example: You live in Chattanooga, Tennessee 37401 where the tax rate is 9.25%, but your customer lives in Rome, Georgia 30161 and their tax rate is 7%. You would charge the customer the 7% tax rate.

Remember, only sellers who have sales tax nexus in Georgia need to charge sales tax to buyers in Georgia.

What are the Amazon Sales Tax Settings for Georgia?

If you are an Amazon pro seller and use Amazon to collect sales tax, be sure you have your Georgia sales tax settings entered correctly. Find step-by-step instructions for setting up your Amazon sales tax settings here.

If you are a…	State tax	County tax	City tax	District tax	Custom Rate	Is shipping taxable?	Is gift wrapping taxable?
Seller living in Georgia	X	X	X	X	N/A	Yes	No
Selling living outside of Georgia	X	X	X	X	N/A	Yes	No

Should you collect sales tax on shipping charges in Georgia?

The Department of Revenue had this to say on shipping taxability, “Where taxable tangible personal property is sold at retail and the seller makes a delivery charge, the charge is taxable regardless of whether the charge is optional (i.e., not required to complete the underlying sale of the tangible personal property) or separately stated.”

Therefore, you should collect tax on shipping charges if you are shipping a taxable item. it doesn’t matter if it’s separately stated or optional.

Read a full explanation of sales tax on shipping in Georgia here.

When are Georgia Sales Tax Returns Due?

When you file and pay Georgia sales tax depends on two things: your assigned filing frequency and your state’s due dates.

How often will you file sales tax returns in Georgia?

States assign you a filing frequency when you register for your sales tax permit. In most states, how often you file sales tax is based on the amount of sales tax you collect from buyers in the state.

In Georgia, you will be required to file and remit sales tax either monthly, quarterly or annually.

Georgia sales tax returns are always due the 20th of the month following the reporting period. If the filing due date falls on a weekend or holiday, sales tax is generally due the next business day.

2020 Georgia Monthly Sales Tax Filing Due Dates

2020 Georgia Quarterly Sales Tax Filing Due Dates

2020 Georgia Annual Sales Tax Filing Due Dates

How to File Sales Tax in Georgia

When it comes time to file sales tax in Georgia you must do three things:

1. Calculate how much sales tax you owe
2. File a sales tax return
3. Make a payment

We’ll walk you through these steps.

How to Calculate How Much Sales Tax You Owe in Georgia

Calculating how much sales tax you should remit to the state of Georgia is easy with TaxJar’s Georgia state sales tax report.

All you do is connect the channels through which you sell - including Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Square and more - and we’ll calculate exactly how much sales tax you collected. All the information you need to file your Georgia sales tax return will be waiting for you in TaxJar. All you have to do is login!

How to File and Pay Sales Tax in Georgia

You have three options for filing and paying your Georgia sales tax:

• File online File online at the Georgia Department of Revenue. You can remit your payment through their online system.
• File by mail You can use Form ST-3, and file and pay through the mail.

Other Facts You Should Know about Georgia Sales Tax Filing

There are a few more things you should know about sales tax in Georgia:

Penalties:

• Late Filing Penalty: 5% of the tax due or $5, whichever is greater, for each tax type on the delinquent return for each month or fraction that the return is delinquent up to 25% or $25, whichever is greater.
• Late Payment Penalty: Interest: 1% per month or fractional part on any unpaid tax from the due date until paid in full.

Note: Sales tax returns in Georgia are considered timely filed if postmarked by the 20th of the month following the close of the reporting period. All returns filed after that date are subject to penalty.

Discounts:

Many states understand that collecting sales tax is a difficult burden on merchants, and will provide a discount to help alleviate some of this burden. In Georgia, entities paying sales tax on time can claim a discount of 3% of the first $3,000 dollars of tax due and then 0.5% of the excess amount.

Georgia Sales Tax Holidays

Georgia currently has no sales tax holidays scheduled for 2020.

Check here for more information about 2020 sales tax holidays including how to handle sales tax holidays as an online seller.

And that’s it. You’ve mastered Georgia sales tax filing! Now that sales tax is out of the way, you can get back to what you do best - running your business.

Georgia Sales Tax Resources

For more about Georgia sales tax, check out the Georgia section of the TaxJar blog.

SALES TAX RATE:

4.00%

MAXIMUM LOCAL & COUNTY RATES:

5.00%

Read this Guide

This guide simplifies compliance with Georgia's sales tax code by breaking down the process into four easy steps:

Use a Professional Sales Tax Service:

One such reliable service:

TaxJar helps entrepreneurs with ecommerce sites calculate sales tax at checkout ($17/month)

WHICH GOODS AND SERVICES ARE TAXABLE?

Determining whether or not the products or services your company sells are taxable in Georgia is the first step in sales tax compliance.

Traditional Goods or Services

Goods that are subject to sales tax in Georgia include physical property, like furniture, home appliances, and motor vehicles.

Groceries, prescription medicine, and gasoline are all are tax-exempt.

Some services in Georgia are subject to sales tax. For a detailed list of taxable services visit the Georgia Department of Revenue.

Digital Goods or Services

A digital good or service is anything electronically delivered, such as an album downloaded from iTunes or a film purchased from Amazon.

Georgia State does not require businesses to collect sales tax on the sale of digital goods or services.

However, Georgia has one exception to this policy. Businesses must collect sales tax on pre-written computer software that is sold online.

HOW TO REGISTER FOR GEORGIA SALES TAX

If you determined that you need to charge sales tax on some or all of the goods and services your business sells, your next step is to register for a seller's permit. This allows your business to collect sales tax on behalf of your local and state governments.

In order to register, you will need the following information:

• Business history including previous state IDs
• Entity type
• Basic info including business name, address, etc.
• Additional business ownership & relationships
• Business activity info
• Withholding information

Georgia requires that any seller with a sales tax permit file a sales tax return on your due date even if you don’t have any sales tax to report or pay.

Register for a Seller's Permit online through the Georgia Tax Center

GET A SELLER'S PERMIT

Fee: None

Expiration: None

Save Money with a Resale Certificate

With a resale certificate, also known as a reseller's permit, your business does not have to pay sales tax when purchasing goods for resale.

Download the Resale Certificate through the Georgia Department of Revenue website

Download Resale Certificate

Instruction: Present the certificate to the seller at the time of purchase.

COLLECTING SALES TAX

After getting your seller's permit and launching your business, you will need to determine how much sales tax you need to charge different customers. To avoid fines and the risk of costly audits, it's important for business owners to collect the correct rate of sales tax.

When calculating sales tax, you'll need to consider the following kinds of sales:

• Store Sales
• Shipping In-State
• Out-of-State Sales

Recommended: Use our Sales Tax Calculator to look up the sales tax rate for any Zip Code in the US.

Store Sales

For traditional business owners selling goods or services on-site, calculating sales tax is easy: all sales are taxed at the rate based on the location of the store.

Here's an example of what this scenario looks like:

Mary owns and manages a bookstore in Augusta, Georgia. Since books are taxable in the state of Georgia, Mary charges her customers a flat-rate sales tax of 8.000% on all sales. This includes Georgia’s sales tax rate of 4.000%, Richmond County’s sales tax rate of 3.000%, and Mary’s local district tax rate of 1.000%.

In-state Sales

The state of Georgia follows what is known as a destination-based sales tax policy. This means that long-distance sales within Georgia are taxed according to the address of the buyer. This policy applies to state, county, and city sales taxes.

Consider the following example:

Steve runs his own business selling electronics on eBay out of his home in Atlanta, Georgia. A customer living in Savannah finds Steve’s eBay page and purchases a $350 pair of headphones. When calculating the sales tax for this purchase, Steve applies the 4.000% tax rate for Georgia State, plus 3.000% for Chatham County. At a total sales tax rate of 7.0%, the total cost is $374.50 ($24.50 sales tax).

Out-of-state Sales

Georgia businesses only need to pay sales tax on out-of-state sales if they have nexus in other states. Nexus means that the business has a physical presence in another state.

Common types of nexus include:

• A physical location, such as an office, store, or warehouse
• An employee who works remotely or who is a traveling sales representative
• A marketing affiliate
• Drop-shipping from a third party seller.
• A temporary physical location, including festival and fair booths.

FILE YOUR SALES TAX RETURN

Now that you’ve registered for your Georgia seller's permit and know how to charge the right amount of sales tax to all of your customers, you are all set to file your sales tax return. Just be sure to keep up with all filing deadlines to avoid penalties and fines.

How to File

Georgia requires businesses to file sales tax returns and submit sales tax payments online.

Guide To Atlanta Small Business Tax Attorney Near Me

File the Georgia Sales Tax Return

You will do this with the Georgia tax center.

FILE ONLINE

How Often Should You File?

How often you need to file depends upon the total amount of sales tax your business collects.

• Annual filing: If your business collects less than $50.00 in sales tax per month then your business should file returns on an annual basis.
• Quarterly filing: If your business collects between $50.00 and $200.00 in sales tax per month then your business should file returns on a quarterly basis.
• Monthly filing: If your business collects more than $200.00 in sales tax per month then your business should file returns on a monthly basis.

Note: Georgia requires you to file a sales tax return even if you have no sales tax to report.

Guide To Atlanta Small Business Tax Software

Filing Deadlines

All Georgia sales tax return deadlines fall on the 20th day of the month, unless it is a weekend or federal holiday, in which case the deadline is moved back to the next business day.

Annual filing: January 22, 2020

Quarterly filing:

• Q1 (Jan. - Mar.): April 19
• Q2 (April - June): July 19
• Q3 (July - Sept.): October 19
• Q4 (Oct. - Dec.): January 22

Monthly filing: The 19th day of the following month, or the next business day, e.g. April 19 for the month of March, or May 22 for the month of April.

Penalties for Late Filing

Georgia charges a $5.00 fine or 5.00% of the sales tax due (whichever is greater) for late filing, plus 1.000% interest on the total amount owed. This penalty compounds each month, up to a maximum of $25.00 or 25.000% of the amount owed.

Guide To Atlanta Small Business Tax Credit

Georgia Helpful Resources

Guide To Atlanta Small Business Taxes

Georgia Department of Revenue Business Taxpayers Helpline:
877-423-6711

Next Steps

Look up sales tax rates using our Sales Tax Calculator.

Check out our guide, Accounting for Small Businesses, or jump to accounting software reviews.

Sign up at our Business Center to access useful tools for your business.