Tax on rent: which rate applies to you
Georgia taxes rent from a home far more lightly than most countries, but only when three conditions are met and the owner is registered. Outside those conditions, the general rate applies. The table sorts the usual situations of a foreign owner.
| Situation | Rate | How the tax is paid |
|---|---|---|
| Home let to a private person to live in, owner registered, no deductions | 5% of the rent | The owner declares and pays |
| Home let to a company for its staff to live in, owner registered | 5% | The company withholds it from the rent |
| Home let to a company, owner not in the register | 20% withheld, as reported | The company withholds it |
| The owner wants to deduct costs | The general 20% rules | To be set out by an accountant |
| Office, shop or other non-residential space | Outside the 5% rule | To be set out by an accountant |
| Nightly stays for visitors | Optional fixed tax, GEL 10 per m² monthly, available until 1 January 2028; otherwise not settled | See the section on short stays |
The conditions for the 5% rate
Article 81(2) of the Tax Code sets the 5% rate for income a natural person receives "as a result of renting out the residential space to an organisation, legal or a natural person for residential purposes", where the person "makes no deductions from this income". Read closely, that sentence contains four tests:
- A natural person. The owner is an individual, not a company.
- Residential space. A flat or a house, not an office or a shop.
- For residential purposes. The tenant lives there; the tenant may be a person or an organisation housing its staff.
- No deductions. The 5% is charged on the whole rent; repairs, furniture, management and agents' fees are not subtracted.
Article 81(5) adds a fifth, practical condition: the Minister of Finance keeps a register of people who rent out residential space and sets the procedure for the privilege, so the owner has to be in that register.
The landlord register
According to the Revenue Service's situation manual No 1518 of 7 June 2023, as reported by Espero.ge, owners who rent out real estate must register in the landlord register, which is done remotely in the taxpayer's personal cabinet on the Revenue Service portal. The deadline falls before 1 April of the year after the one in which the rent was received, so an owner who starts letting in 2026 registers before 1 April 2027, that is by 31 March. Missing the deadline is reported to carry a GEL 100 penalty, and, where the tenant is a company, an unregistered owner is reported to have 20% withheld instead of 5%. Registering early costs nothing and removes both risks.
Declaring and paying, step by step
Get access to the Revenue Service portal
You need a taxpayer account to see your obligations and file. A foreign owner may first have to be registered as a taxpayer.
Register as a landlord
In your personal cabinet, enter the property and the letting.
Keep a monthly record
Rent received, the date, the currency and the lari equivalent, with the tenancy contract.
File the annual return
Individuals file their income return for the previous year before 1 April.
Pay the tax
Pay the amount the return shows through the portal and keep the confirmation.
To be added by the team: how a foreign owner without Georgian tax residence obtains access to the Revenue Service portal, and the payment date for the tax on rent declared in the annual return, confirmed by our accountant with the official source.
When the tenant is a company
When an enterprise, an organisation or an entrepreneur pays rent to a non-resident individual, the Tax Code makes it withhold the tax at source, at the rate in Article 81 (Article 134(1)(d1)). You receive the rent net of tax, and the company pays the tax to the budget. Ask the tenant for a written statement of the amounts withheld each year, and check that the rate is 5%: if it is 20%, the usual reason is that you are not yet in the landlord register. Rent already taxed at source in this way is the part a non-resident owner generally does not have to declare again; the declaration duty falls on rent that was not taxed at source.
Worked examples
A 55 m² flat in Tbilisi let at the city average of $10.1 per square metre a month (Galt & Taggart, February 2026) brings in about $556 a month, or $6,666 a year. At 2.624 lari per dollar (the official NBG rate for 5 August 2026), that is about GEL 17,492.
| Situation | Rate | Tax a year |
|---|---|---|
| Registered owner, home let to live in | 5% | about GEL 875 |
| The same rent taxed at the general rate | 20% | about GEL 3,498 |
The difference, about GEL 2,600 a year on one ordinary flat, is the reason the register and the conditions matter. A similar flat of 45 m² in Batumi's New Boulevard area, at that zone's $12.3 per square metre, earns about $6,642 a year and would owe roughly GEL 871 at 5%.
Short stays: the open question
Letting a flat by the night to visitors is not obviously "renting out residential space for residential purposes". For this activity the Tax Code offers an optional fixed income tax: an individual who lets residential space they own for short stays can apply to the tax authority and pay GEL 10 per square metre of the let area a month, under conditions that include turnover of up to GEL 100,000 (Article 309(24)-(26)). The regime started on 1 January 2023 and was due to end on 1 January 2026; Law No 1061 extended it until 1 January 2028. Which rate applies to nightly letting outside the regime is one of the points our accountant is confirming, so do not assume the 5% rate for short stays.
One rule is clear for owners of hotel and aparthotel units. When the tourist enterprise that runs the hotel lets the owner stay in the unit free of charge for up to 60 days in a calendar year, the owner's benefit from those stays is exempt from income tax (Article 82(1)(z6)).
To be added by the team: the income tax treatment of short-stay (nightly) letting by individuals outside the fixed regime, and whether small business status can be used for rental income, confirmed by our accountant with the official source.
Rent and property tax
Income tax on rent and property tax are separate taxes, but they are linked. Rent counts in your family income, and family income decides whether your flat is exempt from property tax or taxed at 0.8% to 1%. A flat that is exempt while empty can become taxable once it is let. How the two fit together is explained in our guide to property tax for individuals.
Your home country
Paying 5% in Georgia does not settle what you owe at home. Many countries tax their residents on worldwide income and then give credit for foreign tax under a double taxation treaty. Georgia's Ministry of Finance lists 58 treaties in force. They cover, among others, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, Israel and Turkey, and Gulf states such as Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; neither the United States nor Russia appears on the ministry's list. Keep the Georgian return, the payment confirmations and any withholding statements, because your home tax adviser will ask for them.
The records a landlord should keep
- The tenancy contract. It shows the property, the tenant, the rent and that the flat is let to live in.
- A record of every payment. Bank statements or receipts, with the date and the lari equivalent.
- Withholding statements. From any company tenant, showing the tax it paid for you.
- Your landlord registration. A screenshot or confirmation from the personal cabinet.
- Returns and payment confirmations. For each year, together.
Keep them for as long as the tax office can look back at a year, and longer if your home country asks for proof of Georgian tax. Rent paid in cash is the hardest to prove; ask tenants to pay by bank transfer to an account in your name.
Risks and exceptions
- Not registering. The 5% rate depends on it.
- Assuming 5% for nightly lets. That treatment is not settled.
- Deducting costs and still paying 5%. The 5% rate allows no deductions.
- Forgetting the home country. Georgian tax is often only half of the picture.
Frequently asked questions
What is the tax on rental income in Georgia?
5% of the rent for an individual letting a home for people to live in, with no deductions and registration as a landlord; the general rate is 20%.
Do foreigners pay the same rate?
The 5% rule applies to natural persons without a citizenship condition. A company tenant withholds the tax when it pays a non-resident.
Do I need to register as a landlord?
Yes. According to the Revenue Service's guidance as reported, registration in the landlord register is due before 1 April of the following year, with a penalty for being late.
When do I file?
Individuals file the annual income return for the previous year before 1 April.
Is Airbnb income taxed at 5%?
Not necessarily. Owners can opt for the fixed tax per square metre, extended to 1 January 2028; outside it, the treatment is being confirmed by our accountant.
Can I deduct repairs and management fees?
Not under the 5% rate, which applies only when no deductions are made.
How to find and keep a tenant is covered in renting out an apartment as a non-resident.
Sources
- Tax Code of Georgia (Articles 81, 82 and 134), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Renting an apartment in Georgia? Mandatory landlord registration and taxes, Espero.ge (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Georgia: individual tax administration, PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (accessed 12 October 2026)
- Georgia: individual income determination, PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (accessed 12 October 2026)
- Double taxation treaties, Ministry of Finance of Georgia (accessed 12 October 2026)
- G&T: Tbilisi residential market has a strong start, Georgia Today, 31 March 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
- Batumi Residential Real Estate, 2Q26 overview, Galt & Taggart, 14 August 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
Change log
- - Explainer published from the Tax Code, the Revenue Service's landlord-register guidance as reported, PwC and the Ministry of Finance; being reviewed by the partner accountant.