What do you need to know to hire in Georgia?
Georgia froze its private-sector minimum wage at GEL 20/month by Presidential Decree in 1999 and never updated it, so the real floor is the market. Income tax is a flat 20%, pension is 2% from each side, and paid leave runs 24 days. Each guide below takes one layer.
· Georgia guide
How does Teamed handle Georgian hiring for you?
Teamed becomes your legal employer of record in Georgia for from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency.
Payroll, contracts, and the full Georgian employment law stack run on one platform.
Real HR and legal experts manage every Georgian hire, from the first offer letter to the final settlement. An actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue, handles your Georgian team alongside EOR, contractor onboarding, and entity payroll on one platform. There is no setup fee and no exit fee. Employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice.
A Georgian contractor who converts to employment keeps their record, and that same employee can graduate from EOR to your own Georgian entity without re-onboarding. Run the Crossover Calculator to see the month the model flips. EOR is the right model for a first Georgian hire, until it isn't.
- Georgia's statutory minimum wage is GEL 20/month, set by Presidential Decree in 1999 and never raised. The number is symbolic. It sits far below any real salary, so the market sets pay, not the law. Most EOR guides quote it as if it were a live floor. It is not, and budgeting from it would be wrong.
- Georgia runs a single flat income tax of 20%, with no progressive bands. A junior hire and a senior hire pay the same rate on salary. The tax and payroll guide sets out how the flat rate and the funded pension combine on a payslip.
- The funded pension is the only meaningful employer contribution, at 2%. The employee matches it with 2%, and the State adds a co-contribution by income band. There is no broad social-security payroll tax on top. The cost breakdown guide gives the full picture.
Hiring in Georgia is cheap on paper. Income tax is a flat 20%. The only required employer contribution is the funded pension at 2%, matched by 2% from the employee.
Payroll runs at least once a month. Paid annual leave is 24 days. The standard working week is 40 hours. There is no employer-paid sick pay in the law, and no required 13th-month salary.
Teamed runs Georgian payroll, contracts, and compliance through a vetted partner-entity network in Georgia.
This page is the map. Each guide below is the detail.
Zero FX. No setup fees. 24-hour onboarding.* The price your finance team can forecast against without surprises. *Typical once terms are confirmed. Some jurisdictions take longer where local registration or work permits apply.
How much does it cost to hire an employee in Georgia in 2026?
A Georgian hire costs close to gross salary. There is no broad social-security payroll tax.
The only required employer add-on is the funded pension at 2% of salary.
Employer cost in Georgia is unusually light. The funded pension takes 2% from the employer and 2% from the employee, with a State co-contribution added by income band. Income tax is a flat 20% withheld from the employee, not an employer charge. There is no separate employer social-security levy on top of salary. Teamed's Georgia fee sits inside the total cost envelope, not outside it.
Teamed's Georgia price is a starting rate, with zero FX in any currency pairing. No setup fees. No exit fees. Salaries, taxes, and benefits passed through at cost on every invoice.
The full breakdown, with worked examples at current rates, is in the cost guide.
Do you need a Georgian entity to hire employees in Georgia?
No. An Employer of Record runs Georgian payroll and contracts from day one.
Your own Georgian entity becomes cheaper than EOR once headcount in the country grows, depending on salary.
Registering a Georgian company means incorporation at the National Agency of Public Registry, a tax registration with the Revenue Service for income tax withholding, and enrolment in the funded pension scheme. An Employer of Record is faster and cheaper at low headcount. Teamed runs Georgian payroll, contracts, and compliance from day one.
The crossover point depends on Georgian salary levels and your local accounting costs. The EOR vs entity guide runs those numbers for your specific case.
Most EOR providers will not tell you when you have crossed it. We do, and we help you move. You progress from contractor to EOR to your own Georgian entity on one platform under Teamed's Graduation Model, with tenure preserved.
What changed in Georgian employment law recently?
The 2020 Labour Code reform renumbered the rules and tightened termination procedure.
The funded pension scheme, live since 2019, made enrolment mandatory at 2% from each side.
The Organic Law of Georgia, the consolidated Labour Code of Georgia, was reformed in 2020. It renumbered most articles, so older guides still cite the pre-2020 numbers. Termination notice and severance now sit in Article 48, the trial period in Article 17, and paid leave in Article 31. The mandatory funded pension, introduced under the Law of Georgia on Funded Pension in 2019, requires 2% from the employer and 2% from the employee.
The flat income tax rate of 20% is current for 2026 and applies with no progressive bands. The hiring guide covers each current obligation in detail.
What benefits must you provide Georgian employees in 2026?
The statutory floor is 24 days of paid annual leave, on top of 40 hours as the standard week.
There is no employer-paid sick pay in the law. Sick time is unpaid unless the contract says otherwise.
Paid annual leave is 24 days of working days a year under the Labour Code of Georgia, article 31. Employees can also take up to 15 calendar days of unpaid leave. The standard working week is 40 hours.
Georgia has no employer-paid sick pay in the law. Time off for illness is treated as a suspension of the labour relationship and is unpaid unless the contract or other legislation provides for it. The Labour Code mandates no 13th-month or 14th-month salary either, so any annual bonus is set by the employment agreement. Maternity, childbirth, and childcare leave run for an extended period under article 37, with part of it paid. The benefits guide covers each entitlement in full.
Read the full Georgia benefits guide
What are payroll taxes in Georgia in 2026?
Income tax is a flat 20%, withheld from the employee at source.
The funded pension takes 2% from the employer and 2% from the employee.
Georgia withholds personal income tax at a flat 20% on a worker's taxable income, with no progressive bands, under the Tax Code of Georgia, Article 81(1). The mandatory funded pension adds 2% from the employer and 2% from the employee, with a State co-contribution by income band. Remuneration must be paid at least once a month, and late payment carries a daily penalty under the Labour Code.
There is no broad employer social-security payroll tax beyond the funded pension. Teamed payroll handles the income-tax withholding, the pension deductions, and the Revenue Service remittances. The tax and payroll guide sets out every rate and threshold.
How do you terminate an employee in Georgia?
Give 30 days written notice and pay at least 1 month of severance.
Give only 3 days notice and the severance rises to 2 months.
Georgia gives the employer two notice routes under the Labour Code of Georgia, Article 48. The standard route is 30 days written notice with severance of at least 1 month remuneration. The short route is 3 days written notice, which raises severance to at least 2 months remuneration. The trial period can run no longer than 6 months, once only, in writing.
If a court finds the dismissal invalid, it can order reinstatement, an equal job, or compensation that the court sets, with no fixed cap. There is no broad qualifying-service period before that protection applies. The termination guide runs the full process.
What should you know before hiring in Georgia?
Two things catch US buyers out. The first is that the GEL 20/month minimum wage is symbolic, frozen since 1999, so the market sets real pay.
The second is that the short 3 days notice route doubles severance to 2 months.
The statutory minimum wage is not a planning number. Georgia set its private-sector minimum at GEL 20/month by Presidential Decree in 1999 and never raised it. It sits far below any real salary, so it tells you nothing about what to budget. Pay the market rate for the role, not the legal floor.
Cutting notice costs you more, not less. Under the Labour Code of Georgia, Article 48, dropping from 30 days notice to 3 days raises the severance you owe from 1 month to 2 months. A court can also reinstate an employee or set its own compensation if it voids the dismissal. The hiring guide and the termination guide both cover safe process in detail.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire an employee in Georgia?
Plan on close to gross salary. The only required employer add-on is the funded pension at 2% of salary, matched by 2% from the employee. Income tax is a flat 20% withheld from the worker, not an employer charge, and there is no broad employer social-security levy. Teamed's Georgia fee is one flat number per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency pairing.
Can a US company hire in Georgia without an entity?
Yes. An Employer of Record like Teamed runs Georgian payroll, contracts, and compliance through a vetted partner-entity network in Georgia. You direct the work. Teamed becomes the legal employer of record. Registering your own Georgian company requires incorporation, a Revenue Service tax registration, and enrolment in the funded pension scheme, plus ongoing filings.
What is the minimum wage in Georgia?
The private-sector minimum wage is GEL 20/month, set by Presidential Decree in 1999 and never updated. It is symbolic and sits far below any real salary. The market sets actual pay, so budget the going rate for the role rather than the legal floor.
What is the income tax rate in Georgia?
Georgia applies a flat 20% personal income tax on a worker's taxable income, with no progressive bands, under the Tax Code of Georgia, Article 81(1). A junior and a senior hire pay the same rate. The mandatory funded pension adds 2% from the employer and 2% from the employee on top.
What is the statutory notice period in Georgia?
The employer can give 30 days written notice with severance of at least 1 month remuneration, or 3 days written notice with severance of at least 2 months remuneration. Both routes sit in the Labour Code of Georgia, Article 48. Cutting the notice raises the severance you owe.
How much annual leave do Georgian employees get?
Paid annual leave is 24 days of working days a year under the Labour Code of Georgia, article 31. Employees can take a further 15 calendar days of unpaid leave. The standard working week is 40 hours. There is no employer-paid sick pay in the law, so sick time is unpaid unless the contract provides for it.
Georgia reads as a low-cost place to hire, and on payroll cost it is. A flat 20 percent income tax, a 2 percent pension from each side, and no broad employer social-security levy. The traps sit elsewhere. The minimum wage has been frozen since 1999 and tells you nothing useful. And the cheaper-looking 3-day notice route actually doubles the severance you owe. These are not hard rules once you know them. They are consistently costly when you do not.
Georgia froze its minimum wage at GEL 20/month in 1999, taxes salary at a flat 20%, and asks for 2% into a funded pension.
The cheap headline hides where the cost actually lands, on notice and severance.
Read the right Georgia guide before that first hire, not after the first claim.
