To get a sales tax number in Georgia, register your business online through the Georgia Tax Center at gtc.dor.ga.gov. The Department of Revenue typically emails your Sales and Use Tax account number within 15 minutes of submission, and your official Certificate of Registration becomes available in your GTC account.1Department of Revenue. Register a New Business in Georgia There is no paper application and no fee to register.
Do You Need to Register
Georgia calls anyone required to collect sales tax a “dealer.” The definition is broad. If you sell tangible personal property at retail, lease or rent goods, or otherwise make taxable sales in the state, you qualify as a dealer under O.C.G.A. § 48-8-2 and must register before your first taxable transaction, even if most of your sales end up being wholesale, exempt, or shipped out of state.2Department of Revenue. Tax Registration The requirement applies per location, so three storefronts means three separate registrations.3Justia. Georgia Code 48-8-59 – Dealers Certificate of Registration, Application Process and Conditions, Renewal Fee Following Revocation or Suspension
You don’t need a Georgia storefront to owe registration. Remote sellers that exceed $100,000 in gross Georgia revenue or 200 separate transactions delivered into the state in the previous or current calendar year have to register and collect. The threshold counts all retail sales of tangible personal property shipped into Georgia, taxable or exempt.
One boundary worth naming: if you sell only through a marketplace facilitator such as Amazon or Etsy, the platform collects and remits Georgia tax on those sales once its aggregate Georgia sales pass $100,000. You do not need to separately register for facilitated sales if you have no other Georgia sales channel.
What to Gather Before You Start
The GTC application won’t let you save a half-finished registration and come back to it, so pull everything together first.4Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax Registration – FAQ
- Your business legal name exactly as filed with the Georgia Secretary of State, or the owner’s full legal name for a sole proprietorship.
- A physical address where sales occur and a mailing address for Department of Revenue correspondence.
- Your Federal Employer Identification Number, or your Social Security Number if you’re a sole proprietor. Corporate officers, partners, and LLC members also have to supply their individual Social Security Numbers so the state can enforce personal liability for unpaid trust fund taxes.
- The six-digit NAICS code that describes your primary business activity. The portal has a keyword search if you don’t know yours.
- The date you began or will begin taxable sales in Georgia. This sets your first filing period.
- A bank routing number and account number for electronic tax payments.
Registering Through the Georgia Tax Center
All registration happens online at gtc.dor.ga.gov. From the GTC homepage, click the link to register a new Georgia business.1Department of Revenue. Register a New Business in Georgia
The portal moves through a series of screens: business details, tax type selection (check the Sales and Use Tax box), officer information, and banking details for electronic payments. Each screen requires its fields filled in before the Next button becomes active. When you reach the NAICS screen, use the keyword search if the code isn’t obvious.
After the last screen, GTC shows a summary of everything you entered. Read it carefully. A typo in the FEIN or address can delay your registration or cause trouble later when you try to file. Once it’s correct, click Submit and confirm. The system generates an on-screen confirmation number; print the page or save it as a PDF so you have it if you need to follow up with the Department of Revenue.5Department of Revenue. How to Register a Sales and Use Tax Account
Receiving Your Certificate
You should get an email with your Sales and Use Tax account number within about 15 minutes of submitting. The formal Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Registration is available inside your GTC account. There is no annual renewal. The registration stays active as long as your business keeps operating without a change in ownership or structure.2Department of Revenue. Tax Registration
Georgia law requires the certificate to be displayed at each retail location, where customers and state inspectors can see it, and makes it illegal to operate as a seller without one.6Justia. Georgia Code 48-8-60 – Engaging in Business as Seller For an online-only business, keep the certificate accessible through GTC for any audit or compliance inquiry.
Using the Number to Buy Inventory Tax-Free
The immediate practical use of your new number is buying inventory for resale without paying sales tax at the register. You give your supplier a Georgia ST-5 Certificate of Exemption that includes your business name and address, your Sales and Use Tax registration number, and a description of what you’re buying. You sign it under penalty of perjury certifying the goods are for resale in the ordinary course of business, and the supplier keeps it on file. The tax gets collected downstream, when you sell the item at retail.
If you later pull inventory for personal use or another non-exempt purpose, you owe the tax yourself and have to report it on your next return. Misusing a resale certificate to avoid tax on personal purchases can bring penalties, back taxes, and interest.
What Happens After You Register
Registration is the starting line, not the finish. Once you have your number, you’re on the hook for regular returns and remittances through the same GTC account. Most new businesses are assigned monthly filing. If your average monthly tax liability stays under $200, you can request quarterly filing instead. Returns are due on the 20th of the month following the reporting period, and you have to file for every assigned period even if you made zero taxable sales that month. A missed zero return draws the same penalties as a missed return with tax due.
Georgia’s state rate is 4%, and you also collect local tax based on where the sale is delivered. Combined rates run from 6% to 9% across the state’s 159 counties, and the Department of Revenue publishes an updated rate chart each quarter.7Department of Revenue – Georgia.gov. Georgia Sales and Use Tax Rate Chart Effective January 1, 2026 Check it before each filing, since local rates shift more often than most owners expect.