Sales Tax in Georgia: A Complete Guide for Ecommerce Sellers

Georgia is an SST member state with a $100,000 or 200 transaction threshold and a 4% state rate with county and special purpose local additions. Georgia’s local tax structure is distinctive, counties levy a standard 1% Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) plus may levy additional special purpose taxes for specific funded projects, creating combined rates that vary significantly by county. Atlanta and the surrounding metro area has significant Amazon fulfillment center presence, making FBA nexus a common issue for Georgia-registered sellers.

Quick reference

Economic nexus

Georgia’s OR threshold: $100,000 in retail sales OR 200 or more retail transactions into Georgia in the current or prior calendar year. Either condition alone triggers registration.

Georgia enacted its economic nexus law effective January 1, 2019.

Physical nexus

Physical presence in Georgia creates nexus without any threshold:

• Warehouse, office, or storage facility in Georgia
• Amazon FBA inventory in Georgia fulfillment centers (Amazon has significant fulfillment center presence in the Atlanta metro area)
• Employees, agents, or independent contractors in Georgia
• Sales representatives in Georgia

FBA sellers with inventory in Georgia are one of the most common groups to discover unexpected Georgia nexus during compliance reviews.

Registration

Georgia is an SST member state. Register through a Certified Service Provider for simultaneous registration in Georgia and all other SST states at no charge.

Sellers can also register directly with the Georgia Department of Revenue through the Georgia Tax Center (gtc.dor.ga.gov). Registration is free.

Tax rates

State rate: 4%

Local Option Sales Tax (LOST): Most Georgia counties levy a 1% LOST, bringing the base combined rate to 5% in those counties.

Special purpose local option taxes: Georgia counties can levy additional sales taxes for specific purposes:

• SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax): For capital projects
• TSPLOST (Transportation SPLOST): For transportation infrastructure
• ELOST (Education LOST): For education funding
• MARTA (in certain Atlanta-area counties): For transit

These additional taxes stack: a county with LOST + SPLOST + TSPLOST can have total local additions of 3%–4%, for combined rates of 7%–8%.

Atlanta metro combined rates:

• Fulton County (Atlanta): 8.9% combined
• DeKalb County: 8% combined
• Gwinnett County: 6% combined (fewer local additions)
• Cobb County: 6% combined

Georgia provides a rate lookup tool through the Georgia Department of Revenue website.

What’s taxable

Generally taxable: Electronics, clothing, furniture, sporting goods, toys, most tangible personal property.

Generally exempt:

• Prescription medications
• Groceries (unprepared food): Exempt at the state level: the 4% state tax does not apply to food and food ingredients. However, local LOST and special purpose taxes may still apply to food (many counties tax food locally even though the state does not)
• Agricultural products and equipment
• Prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses

Notable Georgia rules:

• Food state exemption with local tax: Georgia exempts food from the 4% state rate, but county and local taxes typically still apply. A grocery purchase in most Georgia counties is subject to local LOST (1%) but not the 4% state rate, resulting in a lower but nonzero rate on groceries
• Clothing: Taxable in Georgia, no clothing exemption
• Digital products: Georgia taxes digital products including downloaded software and digital music
• SaaS: Georgia taxes SaaS as a taxable service in most circumstances

Shipping taxability

Georgia taxes delivery charges when the shipped goods are taxable. When shipped goods are exempt, the delivery charge is also exempt.

Marketplace facilitator rules

Georgia enacted marketplace facilitator legislation effective April 1, 2020. Qualifying marketplace facilitators collect and remit Georgia sales tax on marketplace-facilitated sales.

Remote sellers whose only Georgia sales are through marketplace facilitators and who have no Georgia physical nexus may not need to separately register. Sellers with Georgia physical nexus, including Amazon FBA inventory in Georgia fulfillment centers, must register regardless.

State-specific notes

Amazon FBA presence in Georgia: Amazon operates significant fulfillment center capacity in the Atlanta metro area (Fulfillment centers in McDonough, Braselton, Newnan, and other locations). FBA sellers with inventory in these centers have Georgia physical nexus from the date inventory was first placed there, regardless of their sales volume into Georgia. This is one of the most common sources of unexpected Georgia nexus for ecommerce sellers.

Food taxed at local but not state level: Georgia’s exemption for food applies only to the state’s 4% rate. Sellers of food products to Georgia customers should confirm their calculation engine applies the local rates (LOST, SPLOST, etc.) while exempting the state portion.

Variable local rates: Georgia’s combination of LOST, SPLOST, TSPLOST, ELOST, and transit taxes creates significant rate variation by county. Combined rates ranging from 6% to 9% within the metro Atlanta area require address-level rate calculation for accuracy.

SST membership: Georgia’s SST membership allows registration through a CSP, simplifying multi-state enrollment for sellers with SST-state nexus.