Most services in Georgia are not taxable. The state’s 4% sales tax applies primarily to physical goods, and only a short list of specifically named services gets pulled in alongside them. If you sell professional, personal, or business services, your starting assumption is that you do not collect sales tax. A few categories are exceptions, mixed jobs that combine labor with parts have their own rule, and a 2024 change brought some digital products into the tax base.
The Default: Services Are Exempt Unless Named
Georgia taxes tangible personal property by default and leaves services alone unless a statute specifically names them. Attorneys, accountants, consultants, marketing agencies, landscapers, and most other service providers do not charge sales tax on their fees.1Department of Revenue. What is Subject to Sales and Use Tax?
This is the opposite of how some other states operate. A handful of states tax services broadly and publish a list of exemptions; Georgia works the other way around. Everything is exempt unless the legislature carved out a specific exception. If your service does not appear on the taxable list below, you are not required to collect.
Which Services Georgia Actually Taxes
The taxable service categories are narrow and well-defined. Each one is taxed at the same 4% state rate as physical goods, plus whatever local option taxes your county has adopted.2Justia. Georgia Code 48-8-30 – Imposition, Rate, and Collection of Tax
- Short-term accommodations: hotel rooms, motels, vacation rentals, and similar lodging for stays of 30 consecutive days or fewer. Once a guest stays longer than 30 consecutive days, the stay qualifies as an extended rental and sales tax no longer applies.3Justia. Georgia Code 48-13-50.3 – Additional Nightly Tax on Accommodations
- In-state transportation of passengers: taxi rides, limousines, chartered buses, and similar services operating within Georgia’s borders.
- Admissions and amusement: tickets to sporting events, concerts, theme parks, and similar entertainment, along with charges to participate in games and amusement activities.1Department of Revenue. What is Subject to Sales and Use Tax?
- Telecommunications: local and long-distance telephone calls and related data transmission services.
Combined state and local rates across Georgia counties generally run from about 7% to 9%, with a few special districts in Fulton County at slightly different rates. The Department of Revenue publishes updated rate charts each quarter.4Department of Revenue. Georgia Sales and Use Tax Rate Chart – Effective January 1, 2026 Through March 31, 2026
Digital Products and Software
Starting in 2024, Georgia began taxing “specified digital products” purchased by end users. The taxable category includes downloaded or streamed movies, television shows, music, digital books, and digital codes that grant permanent access to content. If the purchase gives the buyer something they keep, it is likely taxable.2Justia. Georgia Code 48-8-30 – Imposition, Rate, and Collection of Tax
Subscription-based streaming, where access ends when payment stops, sits in a gray area. The legislation generally targets products the buyer owns permanently, so a subscription providing only temporary access to a library may not be taxable.
Computer software has its own set of rules. Prewritten software sold on physical media such as a disc or USB drive is taxable as tangible personal property. Custom software written specifically for one client is treated as a professional service and is exempt. Software delivered electronically, including most cloud-based and SaaS products, is not considered tangible personal property and falls outside the sales tax.5Legal Information Institute. Georgia Comp. R. and Regs. R. 560-12-2-.111 – Related Services
When You Sell Labor Together With Parts
Many service businesses invoice both labor and parts on the same job. A mechanic replaces a transmission. An HVAC company installs a new unit. A plumber fixes a pipe. In each case, the customer pays for a physical product and the work to install or repair it. How you write the invoice decides whether the labor gets taxed.
Georgia does not tax separately stated charges for repair labor or installation labor. The key phrase is “separately stated.” If your invoice breaks out parts on one line and labor on another, only the parts are taxable. If you lump everything into a single price, the Department of Revenue can treat the entire amount as a sale of tangible property and tax all of it.6Department of Revenue. What is Subject to Sales and Use Tax? – Section: Are Itemized Charges for Repair Labor or Installation Labor Taxable?
This is where sloppy bookkeeping costs real money. A contractor who bills $8,000 for “kitchen renovation” with no breakout could owe sales tax on the full amount. The same contractor who bills $3,000 for materials and $5,000 for labor only owes tax on the $3,000. At a combined 8% rate, that is the difference between $640 and $240 in tax. Itemize everything.
Selling Services Into Georgia From Out of State
If you sell taxable services or goods into Georgia from another state, you may still have to collect Georgia sales tax. Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, states can require remote sellers to collect tax once they cross certain economic thresholds, even without a physical presence in the state.
Georgia’s economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in gross revenue from sales into the state, or 200 or more separate transactions with Georgia customers, during the current or previous calendar year. Once you cross either line, you become a “dealer” under Georgia law and must register, collect, and remit.7Department of Revenue. Out-of-State Sellers
Marketplace facilitators such as Amazon and Etsy generally handle tax collection for sales they facilitate. If you sell exclusively through those platforms, the platform typically takes care of remittance. If you also sell through your own website or take orders directly, you need to track your Georgia sales volume on your own.
If Your Service Is Taxable: Next Steps
Before you collect a dollar of tax from a customer, you need a Sales Tax Certificate of Registration from the Georgia Department of Revenue. Collecting without being registered creates legal problems, and selling a taxable service without collecting creates liability you will owe out of pocket later.
Registration happens online through the Georgia Tax Center at gtc.dor.ga.gov. You will need your Federal Employer Identification Number (or your Social Security Number if you are a sole proprietor), the NAICS code that matches your business activity, and basic information about your structure, address, and ownership. The Department references the process under Form CRF-002, though the actual filing is done entirely online, and the tax account number typically arrives by email within about 15 minutes.8Department of Revenue. Register a New Business in Georgia
Returns are filed through the Georgia Tax Center. Most businesses file monthly, with returns due by the 20th of the month following the reporting period. If you owe more than $500 on any return, Georgia requires you to file and pay electronically, and that requirement sticks even if later returns dip below the threshold.9Department of Revenue. File and Pay
One upside worth knowing about: Georgia pays a small commission for collecting sales tax on its behalf, but only on returns filed and paid on time. The rate is 3% on the first $3,000 of state and local tax collected and 0.5% on everything above that. Miss the deadline by one day and the compensation for that period is gone.10Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax Return ST-3 Instructions11Department of Revenue. Penalty and Interest Rates12Department of Revenue. ADMIN-2026-01 – Annual Notice of Interest Rate Adjustment