Everything about Georgia's 1% regime depends on one prerequisite: being registered as an Individual Entrepreneur (IE, ინდივიდუალური მეწარმე). The registration itself is fast — usually same-day — but the order of the steps matters, and getting it wrong costs you a month of taxes at 20%.

What an Individual Entrepreneur is

An IE is not a company. It is a registered status attached to you personally: you and the business are the same legal person, which means no share capital, no separate corporate accounts, and unlimited personal liability for business debts. In exchange, the administrative burden is minimal.

Non-residents can register. You need a Georgian personal identification number, which you receive as part of the process if you do not already have one.

What to bring

  • Passport (or Georgian ID card if you have one).
  • A Georgian address for the business. A rental agreement is the usual proof; the address goes on the public register.
  • The registration fee, payable at the counter.
  • A translator, if you do not speak Georgian. The Public Service Hall has notarised translation services on site, and many desks handle English.

Step by step

  1. Go to a Public Service Hall (House of Justice, იუსტიციის სახლი). Branches exist in Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi and most regional centres. No appointment is needed for standard registration; take a ticket for entrepreneur registration.
  2. Declare your activity. You will be asked what the business does. Answer precisely — this description is what determines whether you are eligible for the 1% regime later. Vague or broad wording that touches an excluded activity can block the status.
  3. Pay the fee and collect the extract. Standard processing is same-day or next-day; expedited service costs more. You receive an extract from the entrepreneurs' register with your identification number.
  4. Register on rs.ge. Create your taxpayer account on the Revenue Service portal. This is where every future declaration is filed. Credentials are typically issued at the Public Service Hall or through the portal's registration flow.
  5. Apply for small business status. This is a separate application submitted through rs.ge — registering the IE does not grant it. Until it is approved you are on the standard 20% regime.
  6. Open a business bank account. Bank of Georgia, TBC and Credo all handle IE accounts. Keep business receipts in this account: it is your evidence of declared turnover, and both statement exports and audits depend on clean separation from personal spending.

The timing trap

Small business status applies from the start of the month after your application is approved. Income received before that is taxed at the standard rate. The sequence that avoids the problem:

  1. Register the IE.
  2. Apply for small business status immediately.
  3. Wait for the status to take effect at the start of the next month.
  4. Only then invoice clients and receive payment.

If a client has already paid you before the status took effect, that payment is not retroactively covered. Plan the first invoice around the status date, not the registration date.

After registration

From your first active month you owe a declaration every month, whether or not you earned anything — see filing on rs.ge and deadlines and penalties. Zero-income months still need a zero return.

Two thresholds to keep an eye on from day one:

Closing an IE

Deregistration is also done through the Public Service Hall and the Revenue Service. It is not automatic when you stop working: an IE that is left registered keeps accruing filing obligations, and unfiled zero returns accumulate penalties. If you stop trading, close the registration properly.

Next steps