How do you set up a company in Georgia.
To register a company in Georgia, you file formation documents with the Georgia Secretary of State, then register with the state as an employer when you start paying people. Teamed's Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) can form the company and keep it running, and Teamed's EOR can employ your first people while you wait. For companies deciding whether to form an entity in Georgia, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed flags when your structure should change, and you get 24/5 human support with a first response within 15 minutes and service terms adjusted to suit you within reason.
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At a glance
Georgia entity setup, at a glance
Georgia charges a formation fee of $110 to file with the Secretary of State. Once trading, your entity pays corporate income tax at 4.99% and a net worth tax based on its net worth, which is $0 for a corporation with a net worth of $100,000 or less. None of that touches your payroll obligations, which start the day you hire, not the day you file.
- Corporate income tax
- 4.99%
- Minimum franchise tax
- $0
- Franchise tax basis
- net worth
- Formation / registration fee
- $110
Formation
Forming your Georgia entity
You file formation documents with the Georgia Secretary of State, name a registered agent inside the state, and pay the formation fee of $110. That fee covers standard processing, and the Secretary of State also offers expedited processing for an added charge if you need the certificate faster.
Once the state approves your filing, you still need an EIN from the IRS, a Georgia tax registration, and typically a business bank account before you can run payroll. Each step depends on the one before it, so plan the sequence rather than trying to do it all at once.
Ongoing tax picture
What Georgia taxes your entity once it's running
Georgia levies corporate income tax at 4.99% on net income earned in the state. Alongside that sits a net worth tax, based on the corporation's net worth, which is $0 for a corporation with a net worth of $100,000 or less.
Neither of these is a payroll tax, they're entity-level obligations that arrive regardless of headcount. Your accountant will fold them into annual filings, but you should budget for them from year one, not treat them as a surprise once the entity is live.
Cost and timing
What setup actually costs and how long it takes
The one number the state publishes upfront is the $110 filing fee. Beyond that, your real costs are registered agent service, any legal help you bring in to draft governance documents, and the ongoing tax exposure described above.
Timelines vary with how complete your paperwork is and whether you use expedited processing, so we won't give you a single number here. If you need a defensible estimate for your specific situation, talk to a member of the team rather than guessing from a generic timeline.
Already have a company elsewhere
Registering an out-of-state or foreign company in Georgia
A company formed in another state or another country does not need a second company to hire in Georgia. It registers with the Georgia Secretary of State as a foreign company before it starts doing business there, a step usually called foreign qualification.
Georgia law sets the test for what counts as doing business in the state, and putting employees to work there on a regular basis will usually meet it. States give the filing different names, among them a certificate of authority and an application for registration.
In Georgia, the filing is an Application for Certificate of Authority. The Georgia Secretary of State charges a corporation $225 to file it, plus a small service charge, according to its published fees. It does not cover the cost of a registered agent, or of a certificate of good standing from your home state if one is needed. An LLC formed elsewhere files the same certificate, and the published fee is the same $225.
Foreign qualification does not make you an employer in the state. That is a separate registration with the state tax and unemployment insurance agencies, due by the state's own deadline, which usually falls at or soon after your first payroll there.
Your options
Who can set it up for you
You can register a company in Georgia yourself or pay someone to do it, and the right choice turns on whether the company will employ people there.
You can file the formation documents yourself with the Georgia Secretary of State. That suits a founder with no staff and the time to work through the forms.
A formation agent will handle the company formation quickly and cheaply. That suits a company that will have no employees.
A law firm or corporate-services firm suits complex group structures and tax planning, such as setting up a subsidiary inside a wider group, where the advice matters more than the filing.
For companies that will employ people in Georgia, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed gives you real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters, a designated person who has done this before and one system from your first EOR hire to your own entity. Teamed's Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) sets up and manages entities in 100+ countries, and moves your people across from its EOR when you're ready. Teamed already owns an entity in the United States.
If you are a solo founder with no staff, you do not need Teamed for this. The registry or a formation agent is the cheaper route.
Before you commit
Sometimes an employer of record is the better fit
For a small or still-changing team, or while you're testing whether Georgia is even the right market, an employer of record is a fair way to hire without carrying entity and tax obligations you don't yet need. Talk to a member of the team about your specific plan, or run the numbers yourself in the crossover calculator, it depends on your entity costs and how long you intend to stay.
Contractors, employer of record and your own entity all run on one platform at Teamed, so moving between them later does not mean changing provider or re-onboarding anybody. Real HR and legal experts handle the work rather than a ticket queue.
Talk to a member of the team and we will tell you plainly which one suits where you are. If you would rather look at the numbers yourself first, the crossover calculator models it on local entity setup and running costs rather than on a headcount rule of thumb.
Who carries it
Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, move your people across, and keep it running.
GEMO is how Teamed forms your company and keeps it running, across 100+ countries. You stay the employer. We do the work behind it.
In Georgia, GEMO covers incorporation, registrations, payroll-readiness and ongoing governance. You keep the corporate income tax and net worth tax obligations you'd have anyway, just without the setup risk of doing it solo the first time.
They set up our EU entity and moved hires across without missing a payroll.
Questions
Georgia entity setup, answered
How much does it cost to register a company in Georgia?
The Georgia Secretary of State charges $110 to file your formation documents. Expedited processing is available for an additional charge if you need faster turnaround, though the state doesn't publish that as part of the standard fee.
What taxes will my Georgia entity owe?
Your entity pays corporate income tax at 4.99% on Georgia-sourced net income. It also owes a net worth tax based on its net worth, though a corporation with a net worth of $100,000 or less owes nothing on that line and only files a return.
Do I need a registered agent in Georgia?
Yes, every entity formed in Georgia needs a registered agent physically located in the state to receive legal and tax notices. This is a standard requirement across US states, not something unique to Georgia.
How long does it take to set up an entity in Georgia?
The state doesn't publish a guaranteed processing time, and it depends on whether you use standard or expedited filing. Rather than quote a number we can't verify, talk to a member of the team about a realistic timeline for your situation.
Should I set up a Georgia entity or use an EOR first?
If you're hiring one or two people to test the market, an employer of record often gets you moving faster without the $110 filing step or the ongoing net worth tax exposure. Once your Georgia headcount and salary levels justify it, the crossover calculator or a conversation with the team can help you decide when to switch.
Where these figures come from
Sources
Figures on this page come from the Georgia Department of Revenue's corporate income and net worth tax guidance and the Georgia Secretary of State's filing fees and expedited processing schedule.
Looking for a job in Georgia yourself? Teamed does not hire people directly. Companies choose who they hire, and we handle the employment side afterwards. Here is why we cannot help with your search.
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