Georgia Tax ID (EIN) Number & Business Registration

Looking to register a Tax ID Number and/or start a business in Georgia? You can do both online, simply follow the steps below. Entrepreneurship is a dream for millions of Americans. You can follow your own vision, set your own hours, and open the doors to practically unlimited income potential— but before you get too carried away visualizing your new venture, you need to ground yourself with the realities of business ownership. There are several steps you’ll need to take before you start a business in Georgia.

Steps to Obtain a Georgia Tax ID & Business Registration:

1. Business Formation in Georgia
2. Obtain your Federal Tax ID (EIN) Number
3. Georgia State Tax ID Number
4. Georgia Local Licenses and Permits

Business Formation in Georgia

One of the earliest and most important decisions you’ll have to make for your business is how to formally structure it.

These are your most relevant options:

• Sole proprietorships. Sole proprietorships are the easiest business structure to create, and the most intuitive for new entrepreneurs. In a sole proprietorship, you’ll pay taxes as an individual on any money you make in the business, and you won’t have to file much paperwork on an ongoing basis. The biggest downside is the lack of liability protection; you’ll personally take on any debts you make while running the business, and may be held liable for legal issues, on a personal level.
• Partnerships. Partnerships are highly similar to sole proprietorships. The only significant difference is that they involve two or more people, instead of only one.
• Limited liability companies (LLCs). LLCs provide more formal structure to a business; they’re treated as distinct legal entities, responsible for tracking their income and expenses independently. You’ll withdraw funds from the LLC as profits or as salary, and will be responsible for paying taxes as an individual on those funds (though in some cases, your LLC may be taxed as a corporation). In Georgia specifically, your LLC will be responsible for an annual fee of $50, and you’ll need to file an annual report. LLCs are also advantageous because they provide their owners with some degree of liability protection.
• Corporations. Corporations are more complicated than LLCs, but are treated as separate legal entities in much the same way. They’re subject to far more rules and regulations, mostly because they have the power to issue public shares of the company. Corporations are required to pay taxes on eligible corporate income at both the federal and state level. In Georgia, you’ll pay a corporate tax rate of 6 percent on any income earned in the state. You’ll also have to pay taxes as an individual on any money you get from the corporation, as profit or as compensation for your work. The tradeoff is that corporations offer the most liability protection of any business type, and they’re ideal for long-term scaling.

These are the most popular types of business structures to choose from, though you won’t find a “right” or “wrong” choice among them. Instead, you’ll need to weigh the pros and cons of each structure carefully, and choose the option that best suits your needs.

Obtain your Federal Tax ID (EIN) Number

After deciding on a business type, your next order of business will be getting a federal tax ID number, or employer identification number (EIN). As the second name implies, you’ll definitely need this number if you plan on hiring employees. You’ll also need it to start a business bank account, or build credit on behalf of your business. This is a signature number for your business, not unlike your personal social security number (SSN), and once you have it, your business will be registered with the federal government.

If you want to make the process easier and more convenient for yourself, make use of our federal tax ID number obtainment services. All we need are a few pieces of information, and we can get your business registered in the span of a day (or less).

Georgia State Tax ID Number

As you might suspect, your business will also need to register with the state of Georgia (in many cases). Your Georgia state tax ID number will be used to register your business for sales taxes as well as excise taxes, which apply to certain types of regulated products, such as alcohol, tobacco and firearms. You’ll need a federal tax ID number before you can register for your Georgia state tax ID.

Georgia Local Licenses and Permits

There’s no one-size-fits-all business license for businesses operating in Georgia, but you may be responsible for obtaining a license, permit, or other type of registration before doing business in the state. Businesses in industries like healthcare, construction, and transportation are frequently required to have some type of license, but you can consult Georgia’s website on business licenses to get more details. Do be aware that many cities within Georgia have their own rules and regulations for which businesses need permits, so check in with your local Chamber of Commerce before you get started.

There are a few hoops to jump through before you can start your business properly, but with the right help, it can be a breeze.

Still not convinced Georgia is right for you? Georgia is one of the most entrepreneurially friendly states in the United States, thanks to support from public policies and diverse demographics to help small businesses thrive. Georgia is home to the world’s busiest airport, one of the fastest growing ports in the country, and big cities like Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, and Athens.

Georgia’s economic growth is slightly slower than the country’s average overall growth rate, but unemployment is down, and there are plenty of opportunities for new entrepreneurs to enter the game. There are more than 1 million small businesses in Georgia, representing 99.6 percent of all businesses in the state, and those businesses employ more than 1.6 million people, or 43.7 percent of Georgia’s working population.

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