Choose the company and tax model before you incorporate
Founders, foreign companies, SaaS businesses and distributed teams choosing or operating a Georgian company.
- foreign-owned LLC formation and documents
- director, legal address, remote signing and bank KYC
- ordinary tax and five special technology statuses
- profit, salary, dividend, VAT and R&D treatment
- accounting, payroll, work rights and residence
What the company or status is designed to do
A foreign founder can establish a Georgian LLC and use the ordinary distributed-profit system or, where the real activity and evidence qualify, apply for International Company, Virtual Zone, Innovative Startup, Innovative SME or R&D Service Provider status. Banking, payroll, VAT, foreign-worker permissions and residence remain separate workstreams.
A foreign founder can own and direct a Georgian LLC, but company registration does not guarantee a bank account and does not give the founder permission to work or reside in Georgia. We plan those steps separately and then coordinate the timetable.
A one-day registration is the start of the company—not the operating finish line
A Georgian LLC is the usual flexible form for a technology business: it can have one or more Georgian or foreign founders and no statutory minimum capital. The official one-working-day formation route does not remove document, address, bank, tax, accounting or employment work.
- Choose the legal form and ownership/director structure.
- Clear the Georgian and English company name and prepare the legal-address consent.
- Prepare founder/director identity, share, charter and establishment documents.
- Register with the Public Registry, activate tax administration, and establish accounting and reporting.
- Present a complete beneficial-owner, source-of-funds, product, client and expected-transaction file to the chosen bank.
A foreign-owned Georgian LLC is possible; residence and banking are separate
Georgia does not require a Georgian shareholder or director for an ordinary LLC. Formation can often be organised through properly prepared powers and foreign documents, but the exact signing, notarisation, apostille/legalisation and Georgian-translation route depends on where the founders are and how the documents are issued.
- Send founder and director passport copies, citizenship/residence details and the proposed ownership percentages.
- Confirm the company name, business activities, director powers and a compliant Georgian legal address.
- Decide whether founders will sign in Georgia, abroad before a competent authority or through an authorised representative.
- Expect a separate bank KYC process and possible interview or personal-presence request from the chosen bank.
- Assess work permission and residence independently for any foreign founder or director who will carry out work in Georgia.
Six company routes cover very different business models
The ordinary distributed-profit model is the baseline. International Company, Virtual Zone Person, Innovative Startup, Innovative SME and R&D Service Provider are separate status regimes with different entry tests and continuing evidence.
- Standard LLC: 15% profit tax generally when profit is distributed or treated as distributed; dividends paid to an individual are generally subject to 5% withholding, and ordinary employment income is generally taxed at 20%.
- International Company: 5% profit, 5% qualifying salary income, 0% dividend and a qualifying property exemption excluding land.
- Virtual Zone Person: qualifying exported IT profit may be exempt, while ordinary 20% salary income tax and 5% dividend withholding remain relevant; VAT follows the transaction and place-of-supply rules.
- Innovative Startup: staged salary and profit treatment over years 1–10.
- Innovative SME: a three-times R&D reduction mechanism on distribution, or an alternative 20% R&D grant capped at GEL 100,000 where the statutory route applies.
- R&D Service Provider: 5% qualifying profit and 5% qualifying salary income.
Turn the registry extract into a real Georgian operation
After formation, the company needs contracts, invoices, accounting, payroll, beneficial-owner information, tax filings and evidence that reflects the selected status. Foreign-client delivery is permitted, but customer location does not by itself determine profit tax or VAT.
- Register employees and operate payroll before salary payments.
- Document whether team members are employees or independent providers from the real relationship.
- Maintain activity and cost allocation where qualifying and non-qualifying revenue coexist.
- Use Public Registry, Revenue Service and My.gov.ge workflows with authorised access and a deadline calendar.
- Review work rights and residence separately for every foreign employee, manager or founder who will work in Georgia.
Model the activity before applying for a status
The best option is the one supported by the company’s actual product or service, where it is created, customer markets, group history, people, R&D method, payroll and distribution plan. A lower advertised rate is not a substitute for eligibility.
- Map each revenue stream and the people who deliver it.
- Separate software creation, routine implementation, consulting and research activity.
- Model retained profit, distributions, salary, dividends and VAT separately.
- Check status compatibility and the effect of restructuring before applying.
- Build the ongoing evidence register at the same time as the application file.
Compare every official IT company route
Filter the official routes by operating profile, then test activity, people, customers, substance, eligibility dates and compatibility before applying a headline rate.
- Profit / turnover
- 1% qualifying turnover; 3% from the threshold-crossing month
- Salary / payroll
- Not a salary or dividend regime for the owner
- Dividends / VAT
- No company dividend; VAT registration and place of supply are separate
- Work / residence
- IE registration does not grant a work right or residence
- Entry evidence
- Permitted activity, prohibited-activity review, effective date, contracts and monthly records
- Continuing compliance
- Monthly returns, turnover tracking and continuing permitted activity
- Often considered by
- Independent professional carrying out a permitted individual business activity
- Profit / turnover
- 15% profit tax generally on distributed or deemed-distributed profit
- Salary / payroll
- 20% ordinary salary income tax; funded-pension rules where applicable
- Dividends / VAT
- Generally 5% dividend withholding to an individual; ordinary VAT rules
- Work / residence
- Ownership or directorship does not create personal work or residence rights
- Entry evidence
- Corporate records, accounting, contracts, beneficial ownership and tax filings
- Continuing compliance
- Accounting, annual reporting, payroll, VAT and corporate maintenance
- Often considered by
- Flexible operating company without a special-status dependency
- Profit / turnover
- 5% profit tax; qualifying property other than land may be exempt
- Salary / payroll
- 5% employment income tax; the rate does not change with employee citizenship
- Dividends / VAT
- 0% dividend tax; VAT remains transaction-specific
- Work / residence
- Separate work/right-to-reside analysis for every foreign manager and employee
- Entry evidence
- Two years of permitted activity through an accepted route, plus qualified people, core functions and costs in Georgia
- Continuing compliance
- Maintain permitted activity and substance; report material changes
- Often considered by
- Established IT business or international group with a real Georgian operation
- Profit / turnover
- 0% profit tax on supported qualifying exported IT profit
- Salary / payroll
- 20% ordinary salary income tax
- Dividends / VAT
- Generally 5% dividend tax; VAT depends on the supply and place-of-supply rules
- Work / residence
- Status itself gives no personal work or residence right
- Entry evidence
- IT created in Georgia, IP/product, foreign supply, customers and documented cost allocation
- Continuing compliance
- Separate qualifying export income and costs from local or non-qualifying activity
- Often considered by
- Software exporter able to prove Georgian creation and separate non-qualifying activity
- Profit / turnover
- Years 1–3: no special profit rate; years 4–6: 5%; years 7–10: 10%
- Salary / payroll
- Qualifying salary: 0% in years 1–3 (GEL 10,000 monthly cap per employee), 5% in years 4–6, 10% in years 7–10
- Dividends / VAT
- Dividend and VAT positions remain separate
- Work / residence
- No automatic work or residence rights for founders or staff
- Entry evidence
- Innovation plus GEL 100,000 qualifying investment or GEL 150,000 GITA grant in the two-year window
- Continuing compliance
- One-year status, annual renewal and GEL 5m/GEL 15m later-phase investment tests
- Often considered by
- Funded, genuinely innovative early-stage company prepared for annual confirmation
- Profit / turnover
- On distribution, the profit-tax base may be reduced by three times qualifying prior-year R&D expense
- Salary / payroll
- No general preferential salary rate
- Dividends / VAT
- No automatic dividend or VAT exemption; alternative reinvestment grant may apply
- Work / residence
- No automatic work or residence rights
- Entry evidence
- Prior-year R&D at least 5% of revenue and GEL 100,000, plus an accepted R&D evidence route
- Continuing compliance
- Annual confirmation to GITA by 30 April
- Often considered by
- R&D-intensive SME able to separate research from routine delivery
- Profit / turnover
- 5% profit tax within the approved framework
- Salary / payroll
- 5% tax on qualifying employee salary
- Dividends / VAT
- Dividend and VAT positions remain separate
- Work / residence
- No automatic work or residence rights for foreign staff
- Entry evidence
- Main activity code 72.1, at least 80% prior-year qualifying revenue, audit and assurance report
- Continuing compliance
- Indefinite status with annual filing to GITA by 30 April
- Often considered by
- Established company whose revenue is predominantly qualifying R&D services
What to send us first
Start with the proposed ownership, activities and operating model. You do not need to draft the Georgian charter, incorporation decision or tax-status application yourself; our team prepares those documents within the agreed scope.
Send us first
- Founder, shareholder and director passport details
- Proposed ownership percentages, company name and director powers
- Plain-language product, service and customer description
- Expected turnover, countries, currencies, team and payroll
- Existing foreign group, IP, contracts, R&D or funding information
- Whether any founder, employee or family member will relocate
We prepare or coordinate
- Compare an ordinary LLC and realistic special-status options
- Prepare the charter, formation decision, powers and legal-address documents
- Coordinate registry and Revenue Service activation
- Prepare bank KYC, employment, accounting and payroll workstreams
- Assess foreign-founder and employee work/residence routes
Obtained or confirmed later
- Apostille/legalisation and Georgian translation where the signing route requires it
- Public Registry and tax confirmations
- Bank-specific clarification, interview or source-of-funds documents
- Audit, assurance or status evidence only if the selected route requires it
- Monthly accounting, payroll, VAT and status-retention records
How the work usually proceeds
The exact order depends on the service and your documents. We confirm the steps and responsibilities before professional work begins.
- 01
model the activity and transaction flow
- 02
compare ordinary and special-status treatment
- 03
register the entity and tax accounts
- 04
prepare the status application and supporting file where applicable
- 05
maintain activity, substance, allocation and reporting evidence
How this may look in a real case
A SaaS founder compares an ordinary LLC, Virtual Zone and International Company before choosing the structure that fits where the product is created, the team, revenue streams and distribution plan.
What can slow the process down
We check these points at the beginning and flag gaps before filing, so you can correct them while there is still time.
- The company is registered before ownership, director powers and the real business activity are settled.
- A bank account is treated as automatic, so the beneficial-owner, source-of-funds and transaction file is prepared too late.
- A special tax status is chosen from its headline rate before the activity, history, team and evidence are tested.
- Foreign founders or employees begin work without a separate right-to-work and residence review.
- Accounting, payroll and VAT start after the first invoice or payment instead of from the company’s first transactions.
A clear recommendation and a managed Georgian process
We compare an ordinary LLC and realistic technology-status routes, prepare the formation documents and coordinate the tax, bank, employment and founder-relocation work needed to make the company usable.
ITResidency.ge is operated by ASSIO LEX & ASSOCIATES LLC, the Georgian legal and business-services provider for the engagement.
- Structure, ownership and status comparison
- Formation, legal address and registry filing
- Bank KYC, accounting, payroll and tax activation
- Foreign-founder and employee work/residence planning
- Status application and ongoing compliance where selected
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner own 100% of a Georgian IT company?
Yes. An ordinary Georgian LLC can be wholly foreign-owned and can have a foreign director. A Georgian shareholder or director is not generally required. The founders still need a compliant legal address, formation documents and a separate banking, tax, work-right and residence plan.
Can I establish the Georgian company without travelling to Georgia?
Often, formation can be organised through properly prepared powers of attorney and foreign documents. The notarisation, apostille or legalisation and Georgian-translation route depends on the country and signing method. A bank may separately request an interview or personal presence.
What information is needed to form an IT company in Georgia?
Start with the proposed company name, activities, shareholder percentages, director and signing powers, passports, contact details and Georgian legal address. We prepare the agreed charter, establishment and registry documents rather than asking the founder to draft them.
How is an ordinary Georgian LLC taxed?
An ordinary company generally pays 15% profit tax when profit is distributed or treated as distributed. Dividends paid to an individual are generally subject to 5% withholding, and ordinary employment income is generally taxed at 20%. VAT, funded pension and cross-border questions require separate analysis.
Which Georgian IT company tax status is best?
There is no single best status. International Company, Virtual Zone Person, Innovative Startup, Innovative SME and R&D Service Provider each use different activity, history, substance, funding or R&D evidence. We compare the realistic special-status route with an ordinary LLC before recommending an application.
Can a newly incorporated company obtain International Company Status?
Only if it can use one of the qualifying two-year history routes and will carry out the permitted activity with real Georgian substance. A new standalone company without its own history, a qualifying represented non-resident or a qualifying majority partner cannot satisfy the test merely by being incorporated.
Does company registration guarantee a Georgian bank account?
No. Banks make independent KYC and commercial decisions. Prepare the ownership and beneficial-owner records, source of funds, product and client explanation, contracts, expected countries, currencies and transaction volumes. The bank may request additional evidence or an interview.
Does owning or directing a Georgian company give me residence rights?
No. Share ownership, director authority, the right to work and a residence permit are separate. A foreign founder who will work in Georgia needs an individual work-right and residence assessment.
Can the Georgian company hire foreign IT employees?
Yes, but each employee’s role and right-to-work position must be checked. The employer may need a vacancy process, annual foreign-worker coordination, turnover evidence and a specific right-to-work application before the D1 visa or residence step.
Can ITResidency.ge form the company and organise its operating setup?
Yes. The scope can include structure review, formation, legal address coordination, tax activation, bank KYC preparation, employment documents, payroll and accounting handover, special-status assessment and founder or team immigration planning.
