Georgia sales tax on invoices (2026 guide)

Georgia's state sales and use tax rate is 4%. Local governments add their own sales taxes, usually in 1% increments, so the combined rate depends on the county (and sometimes the city) where the sale takes place. In Muscogee County, for example, the general rate is 8% — the 4% state rate plus four local taxes of 1% each.

For most freelancers and service businesses there's good news: Georgia's sales tax is mainly a tax on goods, not services.

Georgia sales tax rates

Part of the rate	Rate
State sales and use tax	4%
Local sales taxes	typically 1% each, stacked by county/city

The Department of Revenue publishes a sales and use tax rate chart every quarter listing the combined rate for each jurisdiction. Rates can change at the start of a quarter, so check the chart when you set up a new customer and each time a new chart comes out.

Is what you sell taxable in Georgia?

Georgia's sales and use tax generally applies to tangible personal property — physical goods. In practice:

• Physical products you sell are generally taxable unless a specific exemption applies.
• Services are generally not subject to Georgia sales tax.
• If you provide a non-taxable service and also sell goods, you must collect tax on the goods.
• Service providers are usually treated as the end users of the supplies and equipment they use to provide the service, so they pay sales or use tax when they buy those items.

So a Georgia consultant, designer or developer usually doesn't charge sales tax on their fees — but if they also sell prints, merchandise or hardware, those lines are taxable.

Registering for Georgia sales tax

If you sell taxable goods in Georgia, register with the Georgia Department of Revenue before you start collecting. The Department's online services let you register, file returns and pay the tax you collect on the schedule it assigns.

What a Georgia invoice should show

• your business name and address,
• the customer's name and address,
• a unique invoice number and invoice date,
• a description and price for each item or service — goods and services on separate lines,
• sales tax as a separate line on the taxable goods, and
• the total due.

In Invoice Native, tick Tax on the lines for goods and leave service lines untaxed.

Exempt sales and Form ST-5

A business buying goods to resell gives you Form ST-5, Certificate of Exemption. Georgia's rule is strict: all sales are taxable until shown otherwise, and the burden of proof is on the seller — unless the seller takes a valid exemption certificate from the buyer in good faith.

That means:

1. get a completed ST-5 (or the right exemption certificate) before the sale,
2. keep it with your records, and
3. note the exemption on the invoice.

Georgia has other exemption certificates for specific situations, such as manufacturers (ST-5M). See how to invoice a tax-exempt customer.

A worked example

Say you're an IT consultant in Columbus (Muscogee County), where the general rate is 8%. You invoice a local business for:

• $1,500 of network planning advice — a service, not taxable, and
• $500 for a router you sell them — tangible goods, taxable.

The tax is charged on the router only: $500 × 8% = $40.00, for an invoice total of $2,040.00. If a service is part of producing or delivering the goods you sell, check the Department of Revenue's guidance — some of those charges can be part of the taxable price.

Selling to customers in other states

If you ship goods or deliver taxable services to customers in another state, that state's rules may apply instead of Georgia's. Since the Supreme Court's 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, states can require out-of-state sellers to register and collect their sales tax once sales into the state pass a threshold the state sets. If you sell across state lines regularly, check the thresholds and registration rules of each state you sell into — and use that state's rate on those invoices.

Common mistakes on Georgia invoices

• Charging tax on services that Georgia doesn't tax.
• Forgetting to tax goods when a service business also sells products.
• Using an old rate chart — rates can change each quarter.
• Skipping the ST-5 — without a valid certificate, the seller carries the burden of proving a sale was exempt.
• Not separating goods and services on the invoice.

Quick checklist for Georgia invoices

• ✅ Registered with the Georgia Department of Revenue if you sell taxable goods
• ✅ Combined rate from the latest quarterly rate chart
• ✅ Services usually untaxed; goods taxed on separate lines
• ✅ Sales tax shown as a separate line
• ✅ ST-5 certificates on file for exempt sales