Tax8 min read
Zero Declaration in Georgia: Who Files, Deadline and Steps
A zero declaration in Georgia is due by the 15th even when a month had no income. Who files one, the steps on rs.ge and the penalty for a missed one.
Levan JojuaCEO and Lead Tax Adviser
In short
- A month with no income still needs a declaration, due by the 15th of the following month.
- An LLC pays 15% corporate tax only on distributed profit and still files every month, showing nothing owed when there is no distribution.
- A business that stopped trading owes a declaration every month until it is deregistered or liquidated, so two inactive years mean 24 missed declarations.
A zero declaration in Georgia is the monthly tax declaration filed for a month in which the business earned nothing. Entrepreneurs with Small Business Status, LLCs and VAT-registered businesses owe it by the 15th of the following month, and a skipped one is penalised the same way as any late filing. This post covers who has to file, the deadline, the filing steps on rs.ge, and the rules for LLCs, inactive businesses and seasonal businesses.
Who Has to File a Zero Declaration in Georgia
You still owe a declaration for a month in which you sent no invoices and were paid nothing. The obligation to file is separate from the amount of tax owed, so the Revenue Service expects a declaration showing zero and treats a missing one as a missed filing. The monthly cycle is set out in the Tax Code of Georgia, and it has no exception for a month without income. The declaration you file is the ordinary monthly declaration for your registration, with a zero figure.
| Business | Declaration due each month | In a month with no activity |
|---|---|---|
| Individual entrepreneur with Small Business Status | Income declaration reporting turnover | Filed with zero turnover and no tax |
| LLC, including Virtual Zone, International Company and Free Industrial Zone companies | Corporate tax declaration | Filed with no distribution and nothing owed |
| VAT-registered business of any legal form | VAT declaration, on top of the income or corporate one | Filed as well, by the same deadline |
A business with employees also files payroll and pension declarations on the same date. The forms differ, and the zero-filing rule applies to all of them.
Small Business Status taxes an entrepreneur at 1% of turnover up to ₾500,000 a year. A declaration filed every month, including months with no income, is one of the requirements of the status.
A person with no registered business has no monthly declaration to file. A Micro Business, with turnover under ₾30,000 a year and no employees, does not owe the full monthly declaration that Small Business Status requires. Its reporting is lighter, though it is not exempt from Revenue Service reporting altogether.
Zero Declaration Deadline
The zero declaration is due by the 15th of the month after the one being reported. A January with no income is declared by 15 February, and the date is not adjusted for weekends or holidays.
A full year produces twelve declarations, whatever the income was. Two months without income in a row, such as July and August, mean two zero declarations, due by 15 August and 15 September.
VAT, payroll and pension declarations share the same monthly deadline, so one date covers every monthly return the business owes.
How to File a Zero Declaration on rs.ge: Step by Step
Declarations are filed on rs.ge, the Revenue Service portal. The public pages carry some English, and the taxpayer cabinet, the declaration forms and the menus are overwhelmingly in Georgian.
- Log in with the username and password the Revenue Service sent by SMS after your tax registration.
- Open the declaration section for your tax type: income tax for an individual entrepreneur, corporate tax for an LLC, and the VAT and payroll sections where they apply.
- Select the month that had no income as the reporting period. A wrong reporting month is one of the most common filing errors.
- Enter zero as the turnover for the month. For an LLC, the declaration shows no distribution.
- File the declaration by the 15th. The portal works out the tax from the figures you entered, so a zero figure leaves nothing owed.
- Check that the declaration appears as filed in your account, and record the filing date in your own log.
The portal does not always produce a clean month-by-month history of what was filed, which is the reason for the log in step 6.
Filing and paying are separate actions. A declaration that shows nothing owed leaves no tax to pay for that month. When a month does produce tax, the payment is made from a Georgian bank account under treasury code 101001000, outside rs.ge.
The reverse VAT declaration is filed alongside the main one for the same month, and it is one of the obligations new filers miss most often.
Penalties for a Missed Zero Declaration
A skipped zero declaration is treated as a late declaration, and the penalty accrues the same way it would for a late declaration in a month with income. The reason for the gap makes no difference.
Penalties for late filing apply automatically once the 15th has passed, with no grace period. They keep accruing for as long as the position stays unresolved.
Missed zero declarations tend to surface in these situations:
- opening a business bank account, when the bank asks for a clean filing history
- converting from an individual entrepreneur to an LLC
- registering a new company
- closing the business
Skipped declarations do not, by themselves, revoke Small Business Status. The status is lost by exceeding the ₾500,000 turnover ceiling two years running.
Missed zero declarations are filed one by one, each as its own declaration for the reporting month it belongs to.
Zero Declarations for an LLC With No Distribution
A Georgian LLC pays 15% corporate tax only on profit it distributes, and profit kept in the company is not taxed. The corporate tax declaration is still due by the 15th of every month. In a month with no distribution it shows nothing owed.
A company that has never distributed profit can file declarations with no tax for years, and each of them is still required. An ordinary LLC files no annual profit return, so the monthly declaration is its only corporate tax filing.
A month with no dividend can still carry corporate tax. The Tax Code taxes several other transactions as distributions, at the same 15%:
- an expense with no business purpose, or one with no document behind it
- goods, services or funds transferred free of charge
- a loan from the company to a natural person or to a non-resident
If one of these happened during the month, the declaration reports it and tax is due.
The accounts are required in a month with no distribution as well, because an LLC keeps full accounts from incorporation. A VAT-registered company files its VAT declaration for the month alongside the corporate one.
Zero Declarations for an Inactive Business
A business that has stopped invoicing still owes a declaration every month. The monthly obligation runs until an individual entrepreneur is formally deregistered or an LLC is liquidated. A business that stopped trading two years ago and was never closed is 24 months of declarations behind.
We file missed months at ₾270 per month of arrears, so 24 missed months cost ₾6,480 in fees, excluding 18% VAT. Penalties are paid separately to the Revenue Service.
How to Close a Business and End Monthly Filing
The monthly obligation ends when the business is closed, and the process depends on the legal form.
| Legal form | How it is closed | Time | Tax step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual entrepreneur | Termination application at the National Agency of Public Registry, filed through a Public Service Hall | About a week | Small Business Status is cancelled separately through rs.ge |
| LLC | Liquidation: a registered decision, a published creditor notice and a strike-off application | Four months targeted by law | The registry waits for the Revenue Service to confirm there is no outstanding tax position |
LLC liquidation is governed by the Law of Georgia on Entrepreneurs, which targets completion no later than four months after the liquidation is registered.
File the outstanding declarations before you start the closure, including the one for the month the business stopped. Termination does not excuse a declaration that was already due.
Zero Declarations for Seasonal Businesses
The obligation does not pause for a slow season, time abroad or a gap between contracts. A business that earns income only from May to September still files twelve declarations a year, and seven of them are zero declarations.
Two habits keep the months without income from being missed:
- Follow the same routine every month, with or without income: open your rs.ge account, file the declaration and check that it shows as filed.
- File a few days before the 15th, which leaves time for portal problems.
A taxpayer account can be set up so that an authorised person, such as an accountant, files on your behalf. That arrangement covers the months you spend outside Georgia.
Book a Free Monthly Filing Consultation
A free 30-minute consultation. We go through your rs.ge account with you, count any months that were never filed and price the monthly filing on the call.
Zero Declarations: FAQ
Do I have to file a tax declaration in Georgia if I had no income?
Yes. An individual entrepreneur with Small Business Status, an LLC and a VAT-registered business each owe a declaration every month, and a month with no income is not an exception. The declaration is due by the 15th of the following month and reports a zero figure.
What is a zero declaration in Georgia?
A zero declaration is the ordinary monthly declaration, filed for a month with no income or, for an LLC, no distribution. It reports a zero figure and no tax, and it is submitted on rs.ge in the same declaration section as any other month.
When is a zero declaration due in Georgia?
A zero declaration is due by the 15th of the month following the one being reported. A March with no income is declared by 15 April. The date does not move for weekends or holidays.
What is the penalty for not filing a zero declaration in Georgia?
A skipped zero declaration is penalised the same way as a late declaration for a month with income. The penalty applies automatically once the 15th has passed, with no grace period. It keeps accruing for as long as the position stays unresolved, and skipped declarations do not by themselves revoke Small Business Status.
Does an LLC with no income have to file a tax declaration every month?
Yes. Every LLC files a corporate tax declaration by the 15th of each month, and a month with no distribution still needs one, showing nothing owed. Corporate tax is 15% and applies only when profit is distributed, so the declaration often carries no tax.
Do I have to keep filing if my business in Georgia is inactive?
Yes, until it is formally closed. The monthly obligation runs until an individual entrepreneur is deregistered or an LLC is liquidated, whether or not the business is trading. A business that stopped two years ago without being closed has 24 months of declarations outstanding.
Does a Micro Business have to file zero declarations?
Not the full monthly declaration. A Micro Business, with turnover under ₾30,000 a year and no employees, has a lighter filing obligation than the monthly declaration Small Business Status requires, though it is not completely free of Revenue Service reporting. A natural person with no registered business has no monthly declaration to file.
Do I pay anything when I file a zero declaration?
No. A zero declaration shows nothing owed, so there is no tax to pay for that month. Services bought from outside Georgia in that month, such as software or hosting, still carry 18% reverse VAT, which is declared and paid even without a VAT registration. A ₾500 foreign invoice adds ₾90 of reverse VAT to a month with no income.
How do I file zero declarations I missed in past months?
Each missed month is filed separately on rs.ge, as its own declaration for the reporting month it belongs to. We file missed months at ₾270 per month of arrears, excluding VAT, so six missed months cost ₾1,620. Penalties for those months are paid separately to the Revenue Service.
Can an accountant file zero declarations for me?
Yes. A taxpayer account on rs.ge can be set up so that an authorised person files on your behalf. Our monthly filing starts at ₾180 a month plus VAT on the Lite package for up to 10 transactions, and months with no income are filed as part of it.
