Frequently Asked Questions About
Starting a Georgia LLC

There are many different options when it comes to forming a business in Georgia. From a legal perspective, there are three main types of Georgia for-profit business entities: LLCs, S Corporations or C Corporations. At Incfile, we believe forming an LLC provides the right ratio of liability protection and streamlined administration for many entrepreneurs.

In order to start an LLC in the state of Georgia, there are some minimum requirements you must meet. These are a completed set of Articles of Organization, a completed Transmittal Information form, a business name and a fee you pay to the Georgia Secretary of State. We recommend taking some other steps before formally starting your LLC:

• Research your target market to make sure there’s a demand for the products and services you provide.
• Read industry guides to give you a starting point in your niche.
• Create a comprehensive business plan that defines the most important aspects of your Georgia business.
• Write an Operating Agreement that covers how you will run your LLC.

After you’ve created your Georgia LLC, you will also need to review your business license requirements, understand ongoing filing needs, set up a separate business bank account and get an accountant.

In Georgia, you register a business by completing and filing your Articles of Organization with the Georgia Secretary of State. You will need to gather important information about your business, fill out the form and send it to the Secretary of State along with your filing fee. This will officially create your LLC in Georgia.
In order to fully form your LLC in Georgia, you are also required by the state to complete and file a Transmittal Information Form with the GA Secretary of State. Fill out the form and submit it to the Secretary of State along with your Articles of Organization and filing fee.

You can file your Articles of Organization and Transmittal Information Form on the Secretary of State website or mail it in. Alternatively, Incfile can guide you through every step of the process by getting details from you and filing the form on your behalf — for free! There’s no additional charge for our basic LLC filing service, so all you need to do is pay the Georgia state filing fee.

At the time of writing the fee charged by the Georgia Secretary of State is $110 which includes a $10 paper filing fee. You can always check the latest Georgia filing fees here. In Georgia, you can also pay an additional fee for expedited filing through Incfile, which may help form your LLC faster. The amount of the expedited fee is dependent on how quickly you want your filing processed. Some LLC filing services do charge you extra to prepare and submit your filing documents, but at Incfile, we do this for free — so you only pay the state fee.

Once you’ve gathered all of your information together and filed your Articles of Organization (or had Incfile do it for you), it can take 7-10 business days for the Georgia Secretary of State to legally form your LLC. If you want to have your LLC formed faster, you can pay an expedited filing fee of $100, $200, or $1000, and have your LLC formed within 2 business days, same day, or 1 hour, respectively.

The name of your Georgia LLC needs to be unique, so you’ll need to check if another business is already using it. You can do that via the Georgia Secretary of State website, or by using our fast and simple Business Name Search tool.

There are a few ways to register your Georgia LLC name.

• If you’re starting a new business and your business name is unique in Georgia and meets state naming rules, you simply include it in your Articles of Organization.
• If you want to change the legal name of your business, file Articles of Amendment to Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State.
• If you just want to do business under a different name, you must register a fictitious name with the GA Clerk of Superior Court, or have Incfile do it on your behalf.

If you want to prevent people from using your business name across the U.S., you can file a trademark for the name. We can help.

In many other states, the legal formation documents that you file to create a corporation or LLC might be known as Articles of Incorporation. In Georgia, this document is called your Articles of Organization, and it performs the same functions as the Articles of Incorporation.

No, the State of Georgia does not allow the formation of a Series LLC at this time. A Series LLC is a special type of LLC where you create one “overall” business and then have individual, series LLCs within it, each counted as separate legal entities.

Yes, all legal business entities in Georgia, including LLCs, must have a Registered Agent at all times. When you use Incfile for your filing, we provide a free Georgia Registered Agent service for the first year.

If you want to change your Georgia Registered Agent you may do so by filing your Annual Registration with the Secretary of State. If you've already filed your Annual Registration, you'll need to file an Amended Annual Registration.

Here at Incfile, we provide a free Georgia Registered Agent service for the first year if you file through us. If you’ve been using a different Registered Agent and want to switch to us, we’ll file the Annual Registration form on your behalf.

If you need to know the Registered Agent of a specific Georgia business, you can perform a Georgia Registered Agent search within the state's business database.

As an LLC, any business profits you earn will be reported on your personal 1040 filing and reported and taxed as “pass-through” income. You will typically need to pay:

• Self-employment or payroll tax on all business profits
• Federal income tax on profits after you meet your tax-free allowance
• Sales tax for selling taxable products and services

Georgia charges a 4 percent state sales and use tax on all retail sales, leases and rentals of most goods. You may also need to pay sales tax if you provide a taxable service, or additional sales tax if you sell or provide certain products or services. You can find a full list of sales and use tax rates here. Some sales or services may be exempt from sales and use tax — you can find a list of exemptions here.

Any individual or entity meeting the definition of "dealer" in Georgia must register for a sales and use tax number and certificate of registration regardless of whether all sales will be online, out of state, wholesale, or exempt from tax. You can complete this process online.

The base rate for Georgia sales tax is 4 percent, and there may be additional sales tax depending on your region, county or city. Once you know your overall sales tax amount, calculate the value of all your taxable products and services. Then, multiply that by your sales tax rate to understand how much you will need to pay.

Once your LLC’s sales and use tax registration with Georgia Department of Revenue is complete and you've received a tax number, you will also receive instructions on how often you must file a sales tax return and pay sales taxes. Returns and payments may be due monthly, quarterly or annually.

Some businesses will need to pay a corporate franchise tax in Georgia, however it does not apply to LLCs unless your LLC is treated as a C Corporation for tax purposes.

If you're forming a business in Georgia you'll likely need some kind of business license in order to operate. The types of business licenses you need will vary depending on your type of business, industry, location and various other factors. We can research the types of business licenses you might need for you.