Understanding Georgia sales tax nexus means knowing whether your business must collect and remit sales tax in the state. For e-commerce sellers and remote businesses expanding into Georgia, nexus rules create compliance obligations that carry real penalties when ignored.
Georgia’s economic nexus threshold triggers at $100,000 in gross revenue or 200 separate transactions annually. Cross that line, and registration becomes mandatory. Physical presence like offices, employees, inventory creates nexus immediately, regardless of sales volume.
Hands Off Sales Tax (HOST) specializes in nexus analysis across all 50 states, helping businesses identify exactly where obligations exist and managing compliance so you focus on growth instead of decoding tax codes.
What Is Sales Tax Nexus?
Sales tax nexus is the connection between your business and a state that creates a legal obligation to collect and remit sales tax. Once nexus exists in Georgia, you must register for a sales tax permit, collect tax on taxable sales, and file returns according to the state’s schedule.
Two primary nexus types exist: physical and economic. Physical nexus stems from tangible presence such as a warehouse, office, your employees, or inventory in Georgia. Economic nexus triggers when your sales into Georgia exceed specific thresholds, even without any physical footprint.
The 2018 Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair fundamentally changed the game. Before Wayfair, only physical presence created nexus. Post-Wayfair, states gained authority to require collection based on economic activity alone. Georgia adopted economic nexus provisions effective January 1, 2019.
Georgia’s Economic Nexus Thresholds
Georgia established clear thresholds that apply to remote sellers. Your business has economic nexus if, in the current or previous calendar year, you meet either:
$100,000 in gross revenue from sales into Georgia, OR 200 or more separate transactions delivered into Georgia.
Both thresholds use calendar year measurement. Georgia uses destination-based sourcing, meaning you charge tax based on where the customer receives the goods, not where your business is located.
What counts toward the threshold? Georgia calculates gross revenue from all retail sales of tangible personal property delivered to Georgia locations. This includes:
- Both taxable AND exempt sales (yes, exempt sales count)
- Shipping charges when included in the sale price
- Sales through all your channels combined
What doesn’t count? Wholesale transactions where the buyer provides a valid resale certificate are excluded. Marketplace sales where the platform collects tax also don’t count toward your individual threshold.
The 200-transaction threshold catches businesses with lower average order values. Sell $50 items and complete 200 Georgia transactions? You’ve generated only $10,000 in revenue but still triggered nexus. Conversely, a single $100,000 B2B sale creates nexus regardless of transaction count.
Georgia requires remote sellers meeting thresholds to register within 30 days and begin collecting tax on all subsequent sales.
Physical Nexus Triggers in Georgia
Physical presence creates immediate nexus in Georgia, regardless of sales volume. Activities that establish physical nexus include:
Offices or facilities: Maintaining any physical locations like retail stores, warehouses, distribution centers, or office space. Even temporary or shared spaces trigger obligations.
Employees and representatives: Having employees, agents, contractors, or salespeople working in Georgia establishes nexus. This includes remote employees working from home in Georgia.
Inventory storage: Storing inventory in Georgia creates nexus, even when using third-party fulfillment. Amazon FBA sellers with inventory in Georgia warehouses have physical nexus. Check your Inventory Event Detail Report in Amazon Seller Central to track where your products are stored.
Affiliate relationships: Having a related business in Georgia that sells similar products under the same or similar business name, trademark, or service mark creates affiliate nexus. This extends beyond click-through referrals. If your affiliate uses your distribution center, warehouse, or shares facilities, you’ve established physical presence.
Trade shows and events: Attending trade shows creates nexus with important exceptions. You’re NOT required to register if: (1) trade shows are your only Georgia presence, (2) you attend 5 or fewer days in any 12-month period, and (3) you didn’t earn more than $100,000 net income from Georgia trade shows the prior year. However, you must still collect sales tax on all sales made at or resulting from the show using Form CD-32.
State agency contracts: Out-of-state vendors entering contracts exceeding $100,000 with Georgia state agencies must register for sales tax regardless of any other presence. This applies to contracts with the Department of Administrative Services or any state authority, board, or department. That has been effective since April 2005. County and municipal contracts don’t trigger this requirement.
Physical nexus exists from day one. If you open a Georgia office on Monday, you have nexus Monday and must register immediately.
Click-Through and Affiliate Nexus
Georgia enforces click-through nexus provisions targeting businesses using in-state affiliates to drive sales. Your business has click-through nexus if:
Georgia residents or businesses refer customers to you through links or agreements, AND those referrals generate more than $50,000 in sales during the previous 12 months.
This applies to affiliate marketing programs, referral partnerships, or influencer arrangements where Georgia-based parties earn commissions. The $50,000 threshold is cumulative across all Georgia affiliates.
Marketplace facilitator laws affect this calculation. If you sell exclusively through platforms like Amazon that collect tax on your behalf, affiliate arrangements through those platforms don’t create additional obligations. However, direct sales via your website triggered by Georgia affiliates still require compliance.
Marketplace Facilitator Responsibilities
Georgia’s marketplace facilitator law shifts collection responsibility to platforms for third-party seller transactions. Effective April 1, 2020, marketplace facilitators must collect and remit sales tax on all sales they facilitate.
For sellers, this means: if you sell exclusively through marketplaces that collect Georgia sales tax, you generally don’t need to register separately for those platform sales. The facilitator handles it. However, you remain responsible for sales through other channels like your website, direct sales, or platforms that don’t collect Georgia tax.
Track where your sales occur and which entity collects tax. Selling on Amazon (marketplace collects) and through your Shopify store (you collect)? You need Georgia registration for Shopify sales if you meet nexus thresholds through that channel alone.
When You Must Register and Start Collecting
Georgia requires registration within 30 days after establishing nexus. For economic nexus, this means 30 days after crossing the threshold. For physical nexus, registration is required immediately upon establishing presence.
Once registered, collection begins immediately. Every taxable sale to a Georgia customer must include applicable state and local sales tax. Georgia uses destination-based sourcing. You charge the combined rate for where your customer receives the goods, not where your business is located.
Georgia’s state rate is 4%, with local jurisdictions adding up to 5%, creating combined rates typically ranging from 6-9% depending on delivery location. Most businesses pay between 7-8%.
Filing frequency depends on your tax liability. Georgia assigns filing schedules based on collection amounts:
- Monthly filing: Most common, required for higher-volume sellers
- Quarterly filing: $1,200-$30,000 in annual tax liability
- Annual filing: Under $1,200 in annual tax liability
New registrants typically start with monthly filing. Dealers with more than $60,000 in prior year state tax liability must also remit prepaid estimated tax (50% of average monthly liability).
How HOST Simplifies Georgia Nexus Compliance
Determining nexus accurately requires tracking sales across all states, monitoring threshold changes, and understanding which activities trigger obligations. For businesses selling across multiple channels and states, this complexity multiplies exponentially.
Comprehensive Nexus Analysis: HOST analyzes your complete sales footprint to determine exactly where you’ve triggered nexus. In Georgia and all other states. We examine economic thresholds, physical presence activities, and affiliate relationships to provide a clear compliance roadmap.
Georgia Sales Tax Registration: We handle the entire Georgia registration process, completing applications, managing state communications, and securing your sales tax permit without the paperwork burden falling on you.
Ongoing Filing Management: HOST files your Georgia sales tax returns on the required schedule (monthly, quarterly, or annually) ensuring deadlines never slip and returns accurately reflect your collections.
Multi-State Compliance: Most businesses with Georgia nexus also have obligations in multiple other states. We manage compliance across all jurisdictions, providing a single point of contact for your entire sales tax operation. Georgia is a full member of the Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) program, which simplifies multi-state compliance.
Notice and Audit Support: If Georgia sends notices or initiates an audit, HOST acts as your advocate, interpreting communications, organizing documentation, and working toward resolution. We offer comprehensive audit defense services and notice management.
Software Integration & Review: We optimize your TaxJar, Avalara, or other automation platforms to ensure Georgia’s destination-based rates calculate correctly for each customer location. Our free software review catches configuration errors before they become audit problems.
We’ve focused exclusively on sales tax for over 25 years. Our parent company TaxMatrix has served North America’s largest companies, and we bring that expertise to e-commerce businesses of all sizes.
Common Georgia Nexus Mistakes to Avoid
Monitoring only current year sales: Georgia’s thresholds apply to current OR previous calendar year sales. Exceeded thresholds last year? You must collect this year, even if current sales are lower.
Ignoring transaction counts: Focusing solely on revenue overlooks the 200-transaction threshold. Small average order values can trigger nexus at relatively low revenue levels.
Assuming marketplace sales eliminate all obligations: While platforms collect for facilitated sales, you remain responsible for direct sales through your website if those independently meet nexus thresholds.
Delaying registration: The 30-day registration window after establishing nexus is mandatory. Waiting months or years accumulates penalties and creates situations requiring professional navigation.
Miscalculating thresholds: Including wholesale transactions with valid resale certificates overstates your obligation. However, exempt sales (like certain groceries) DO count toward your threshold. Example: A grocery seller with $120,000 total sales but only $30,000 taxable still has nexus because exempt sales count. Forgetting to include shipping charges in your calculation also understates the threshold.
Mixing up destination-based rates: Georgia uses destination-based sourcing. Applying a flat state rate or your own location’s rate instead of the customer’s delivery location rate creates under-collection issues and audit exposure.
Strategic Considerations for Georgia Sales
Georgia represents the eighth-largest state economy, with significant e-commerce consumer bases in Atlanta and surrounding metro areas. For businesses targeting Georgia customers, understanding compliance obligations is essential for sustainable growth.
Proper compliance eliminates audit risk. Georgia actively pursues non-compliant remote sellers through data matching, nexus questionnaires, and customer use tax notices. Failing to register carries penalties. Georgia assesses $25 for each month of delinquency, up to $200, plus interest on unpaid taxes. If the state discovers unreported sales through an audit, you face back taxes, penalties, and interest potentially spanning years.
Sales tax automation platforms like TaxJar and Avalara calculate tax at checkout, but only if properly configured. Common errors include treating exempt items as taxable, applying tax to wholesale transactions, and double-taxing due to system overlaps.
HOST offers a free sales tax software review to identify configuration errors before they impact your bottom line.
Next Steps: Get Your Georgia Compliance on Track
Understanding Georgia sales tax nexus requirements is the foundation. Implementing proper compliance through registration, collection, filing, and ongoing monitoring ensures you meet obligations without diverting focus from business operations.
Whether you just discovered you’ve had Georgia nexus for months, you’re proactively monitoring thresholds as sales grow, or you need comprehensive multi-state management, professional support ensures accuracy and peace of mind.
At Hands Off Sales Tax, we manage the complexity so you can concentrate on growth. Contact HOST today to discuss your Georgia nexus situation and discover how we simplify compliance across all states.
Want to learn more? Get our “10 Sales Tax Mistakes E-Commerce Sellers Make” e-book.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I exceed Georgia thresholds mid-year?
You must register within 30 days of crossing either threshold. Collection begins immediately after registration. Georgia monitors threshold compliance quarterly, so delays trigger penalties.
Do I need to charge sales tax on shipping charges?
In Georgia, shipping charges included in the sale price are taxable when the items shipped are taxable. Separately stated shipping for nontaxable items remains exempt.
Can I use a voluntary disclosure agreement for past Georgia sales?
Yes. If you discover prior nexus, Georgia’s voluntary disclosure program can limit lookback periods and potentially reduce or eliminate penalties. HOST manages voluntary disclosure agreements to resolve past liabilities efficiently.
Does having a remote employee in Georgia create nexus?
Yes. An employee working from home in Georgia establishes physical presence nexus, requiring immediate registration regardless of sales volume.
How do I track Georgia sales across multiple channels?
Sales tax software integrates with e-commerce platforms, marketplaces, and accounting systems to aggregate sales by state automatically. HOST offers free software review services to ensure your tracking accurately captures all Georgia transactions and calculates obligations correctly.
