How to Start an LLC in Georgia: Steps, Annual Registration, Tax

How do I start an LLC in Georgia, and what does it cost?

File articles of organization with the Georgia Secretary of State's Corporations Division. The state charges $110 (a filing fee plus a service charge) whether you file online or on paper, according to the Secretary of State's fee schedule. Georgia.gov's LLC page still lists a lower online fee; the Secretary of State's schedule is the current one.

The steps:

1. Pick a name that is available; reserving it first is optional.
2. Choose a registered agent with a Georgia street address.
3. File the articles in the Secretary of State's online filing system, or on paper by mail or in person (Georgia.gov).
4. Get an EIN, register for any Georgia tax accounts the business needs, and ask your city or county whether it requires a local business license.
5. File the annual registration between January 1 and April 1 every year, starting the year after you form.

Processing estimates and expedite fees are from the Secretary of State's formation guide and expedite page. Fees are non-refundable.

The filing itself is simple. Professional judgment matters when the LLC will have two or more members, when an S corporation or entity-level tax election is on the table (both have deadlines, and the entity-level election cannot be undone once its due date passes), or when a member lives outside Georgia.

Gather before you file:

• The LLC name, or a name reservation number
• Each organizer's name and address, and your email address
• The principal office mailing address
• The registered agent's name and Georgia street address
• For your tax planning: each member's name, address and ownership share, and an estimate of first-year profit

Can I form a Georgia LLC for free?

No. The $110 state fee applies to every filing method, and the Secretary of State does not refund it. What is optional:

• Expedited processing
• Reserving the name before filing; you can file with the name alone (Georgia.gov)
• A paid registered agent service: the agent can be a person or a business, as long as it has a Georgia street address
• Paying anyone to prepare the articles: the online filing generates them from your answers

For every state's formation and annual costs side by side, see LLC cost by state.

What goes in Georgia articles of organization, and who is the registered agent?

Georgia articles name the LLC, its principal office mailing address, its registered agent and agent address, and each organizer, plus any optional provisions (Secretary of State). The registered agent receives legal papers for the LLC and must be at a physical Georgia street address where an individual can be found in person (Georgia.gov). For agent choices and changes, see registered agents.

The operating agreement is not filed with the state; see how to form an LLC for it and the other first steps. For the federal tax ID, see an EIN for a single-member LLC.

When is the first Georgia LLC annual registration due, and what does it cost?

A Georgia LLC files its first annual registration between January 1 and April 1 of the year after the calendar year it was formed, then in the same window every year. The fee is $60, online or on paper (Secretary of State).

The trap: the deadline is not the formation anniversary. An LLC formed in December owes its first registration by the next April 1, only months later. An LLC may also file for up to 3 years at once. Online annual registrations are processed at once; a mailed form must be postmarked by April 1 (Georgia.gov). The annual registration also updates the principal office and registered agent on record.

What happens if I miss the Georgia annual registration?

A registration filed after April 1 adds a $25 late penalty. An LLC that does not file at all is subject to administrative dissolution by the Secretary of State (Secretary of State).

For the reinstatement steps and the tax filings to catch up, see reinstating your company.

Which Georgia tax return does an LLC file?

The return depends on how the LLC is taxed federally, because Georgia classifies an LLC the same way (IT-711 booklet). An LLC taxed as a partnership is not subject to Georgia's net worth tax (Georgia DOR FAQ).

Form 700 is an information return when no entity-level election is made: the members pay the tax on their own returns (Georgia DOR). A Georgia resident member reports a full share; a member living elsewhere reports only the Georgia share (IT-711 booklet). Georgia has no K-1 of its own; members work from the federal Schedule K-1. Form 700 is due on the 15th day of the third month after the year ends, March 15 for a calendar year; a federal extension on Form 7004, filed by the original due date and attached to the Georgia return, gives 6 more months (due dates).

An LLC that elects corporate tax treatment files Georgia corporate returns (Georgia DOR); see an LLC taxed as a C corporation.

Can a Georgia LLC pay tax at the entity level?

Yes, if the LLC is taxed as a partnership or S corporation. It elects on Form 700 (or 600S) by the return's due date or extended due date, and the election becomes irrevocable once that date passes (Georgia DOR FAQ). The LLC then pays Georgia tax at 4.99% and must make estimated payments like a corporation; members subtract that income on their own Georgia returns and get no credit for the Georgia tax paid on it. A single-member LLC that is disregarded cannot elect. For whether it pays off and how other states compare, see entity-level tax by state.

Which Georgia tax accounts might the LLC need next?

Each account is opened in the Georgia Tax Center, and the state asks for the LLC's EIN first (Georgia.gov).

• Sales and use tax: a business located in Georgia that sells taxable goods or services to Georgia customers must register, unless all its sales go through a marketplace (Georgia DOR). The test of $100,000 in sales to Georgia customers, or more than 200 separate sales, in the last calendar year applies only to sellers outside Georgia. See when you must collect sales tax.
• Withholding: an LLC that pays employees registers for a Georgia withholding number (Georgia DOR); unemployment tax is registered with the Georgia Department of Labor, not the Department of Revenue. See setting up payroll.

Example

These scenarios are illustrative and in US dollars.

Atlanta photographer, one member

• May, year 1: she forms her LLC online and pays the $110 state fee.
• Year 1 return: the LLC files no Georgia return of its own. She reports $45,000 profit on her federal Schedule C and her Georgia Form 500.
• January 1 to April 1, year 2: she files the first annual registration for $60, then repeats it every year.

Savannah LLC with two members

Two Georgia residents own a calendar-year LLC equally; it earns $80,000. It files federal Form 1065 and Georgia Form 700 by March 15 as an information return, and each member reports a $40,000 share on their own Georgia return. Had it made the entity-level election instead, the LLC would pay Georgia tax at 4.99% on the $80,000 through estimated payments.

Same LLC misses April 1

The LLC files its annual registration in May and pays the $60 fee plus the $25 late penalty. Had it never filed, the Secretary of State could dissolve it, and the reinstatement fee would be $260.

Different for you?

• Two or more members, including spouses who own it together: the LLC generally files a partnership return each year; see how partnerships are taxed, spouse and family LLCs and business formation help.
• You want S corporation treatment: the LLC files Form 2553, with every member's consent, no later than 2 months and 15 days after the tax year it is to take effect begins (IRS); see an S corporation from day one and business formation help.
• You are weighing the entity-level election: it is irrevocable after the due date; see the entity-level tax election and business formation help.
• A member lives outside Georgia: an LLC taxed as a partnership must generally withhold 4% of that member's Georgia-source share unless the share is under $1,000, an exemption applies, or the LLC files a composite return (IT-711 booklet). An LLC taxed as an S corporation keeps Georgia S status only if each such member signs Form 600S-CA (Georgia DOR). Get business formation help.
• An owner lives outside the US: see a US LLC for nonresidents, step by step and cross-border tax help.
• You have not set up books or a business bank account yet: the first Georgia return is built from them; see setting up books for a new LLC, a business bank account and bookkeeping help.
• The LLC will work in other states: see registering in another state.
• Federal beneficial ownership reporting: see who still files a BOI report.
• What to file in the first months: see after you form your company.