Get your tax IDs in Georgia

An EIN, if you need one, takes minutes online. Georgia adds a sales and use tax number if you are a dealer, and employer accounts once you hire.

What’s different in Georgia

• The sales tax certificate does not renew. It stays in effect while the business exists with the same ownership and structure.
• The state rate is 4%. Local taxes stack on top, and the rate follows the place of delivery.
• E-Verify for a local business license counts more than 10 employees working at least 35 hours a week, as of January 1. A contractor paid $2,500 or more for services to a public employer can need it with fewer employees.
• New hires are reported within 10 days. No employer is exempt. That deadline comes from the Department of Labor’s employer handbook. Its file-and-pay page says the handbook is under revision.* Check the official source.

Do this

1. Get an EIN from the IRS if you need one. The IRS requires one if you have employees and for partnerships, corporations, nonprofits and most LLCs. It is free and, if approved, issued immediately online. Form the LLC or corporation first. Don’t pay a website to apply for you.
2. Register for sales and use tax if you are a dealer. Georgia requires a certificate whether the sales are online, out of state, wholesale, or exempt. Register on the Georgia Tax Center. The registration page does not list a state fee.* Check the official source at checkout. The registration does not renew.
3. Look up the rate for the delivery address. The state rate is 4%. The county rate, and a city rate inside Atlanta, depends on where the customer takes the goods. The Department of Revenue posts a rate chart that it updates each quarter.
4. Register for withholding when you have employees. Any business with employees, as Georgia defines them, registers for a withholding number on the Georgia Tax Center. That registration does not renew while wages are subject to Georgia withholding. Have each employee submit Form G-4.
5. Register with the Georgia Department of Labor after the first payroll. You are generally liable for unemployment tax at $1,500 of payroll in a quarter, or with one worker in 20 different weeks of a year. A new employer is assigned a rate of 2.70% until the department can calculate a rate from your own history. Tax is due only on the first $9,500 of each employee’s wages for the year. You still report the rest of the wages.
6. Use E-Verify when the license or the contract requires it. For a county or city business license, that is more than 10 employees working at least 35 hours a week, counted on January 1. The count is company-wide, and a 1099 does not count. Some cities and counties require it with fewer employees. A contractor paid $2,500 or more for services to a public employer also has to use it, even with fewer employees. A contractor with no employees does not get an E-Verify number. The Department of Audits and Accounts states the public-contract rule. The city or county collects an affidavit when it issues the license. New hires still complete Form I-9.
7. Report every new hire and rehire to the Georgia New Hire Reporting Program within 10 days of the hire date. The Department of Labor’s laws FAQ says no employer is exempt. The report covers people you expect to pay, including someone who works a single day.

What you get back

• EIN: a nine-digit federal tax ID, shown on screen when approved. Print the confirmation letter.
• Sales and use tax number: a certificate of registration from the Department of Revenue. It stays in effect with no renewal while ownership and structure stay the same.
• Withholding account: a payroll number, in effect while you have employees whose wages are subject to Georgia income tax.
• Unemployment account: an account with the Department of Labor if it finds you liable. Quarterly reports are due April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31.

Not selling as a dealer and not hiring yet? You may need nothing more for now.