The Core Criterion of Tax Residency
Article 34 of the Georgian Tax Code determines who is treated as a resident and who as a non-resident individual for tax purposes. Individuals are citizens of Georgia, citizens of foreign states and stateless persons. An individual is considered a resident of Georgia for the entire current tax year if he or she has actually stayed on the territory of Georgia for 183 days or more in any continuous 12-month calendar period ending in that tax year. The same status attaches to an individual who, during the tax year, stayed in a foreign country in the state service of Georgia. Residency is thus a tax-law concept and must not be confused with citizenship: a Georgian citizen may lose resident status, while a foreign citizen may acquire it.
A person who is not a resident under this article is regarded as a non-resident. The status is determined separately for each tax period, and the days that were counted towards residency in the previous period are not taken into account again when residency is determined for the following period. This makes careful multi-year planning of days spent in the country an essential part of managing one's tax position.
How Days of Presence Are Counted
The law contains a detailed counting regime. The time of actual presence includes the time the person stayed in Georgia and also the time spent outside Georgia specifically for medical treatment, a holiday, a business trip or studies. A day of presence is any day on which the person was in Georgia, irrespective of the duration of the stay, which means that even short visits are added to the cumulative count and can decide the outcome of the whole year.
At the same time, the law defines periods that are not counted as actual presence. These are the times when the person stayed in Georgia as a person holding diplomatic or consular status or as a family member of such a person, as an employee of an international organisation operating under an international treaty of Georgia, or as a person in the state service of a foreign country in Georgia or a family member of such a person, except for a citizen of Georgia. Time spent moving in transit from one foreign country to another through the territory of Georgia, and time spent in Georgia for medical treatment or a holiday, are likewise excluded from the count.
Special Routes to Being Granted Residency
Beyond the day-based criterion, the law recognises other routes to residency. Georgian residency may be granted to an individual with significant assets — a notion defined by the Law of Georgia on the Securities Market — under the rules and conditions established by the Minister of Finance. Furthermore, where the residency of an individual is not established in any country, that person, upon applying to the tax authority, is treated as a resident of Georgia if he or she is a citizen of Georgia. A citizen of a foreign state may also be granted Georgian residency in the case and by the procedure determined by the Minister of Finance, which opens additional planning opportunities for internationally mobile persons.
International Treaties and Tax Relief
International agreements for the avoidance of double taxation play a decisive role for non-residents: the procedure for using the tax benefits they confer and for the refund of tax paid in Georgia is determined, in line with the corresponding article of the Tax Code, by an order of the Minister of Finance. Managing residency correctly therefore determines which country acquires the right to tax particular income, which reliefs apply and how a refund of Georgian tax can be obtained — questions that are best resolved before the tax year closes, not after it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days are needed to become a Georgian tax resident?
Actual presence in Georgia for 183 days or more in any continuous 12-month calendar period ending in the current tax year makes a person a resident for the whole year.
Is time spent abroad on a business trip counted?
Yes. Time spent outside Georgia specifically for medical treatment, a holiday, a business trip or studies counts as time of actual presence.
When is a day not counted as presence in Georgia?
When the person stayed in Georgia with diplomatic or consular status, as an employee of an international organisation, in transit between foreign countries, or for medical treatment or a holiday.
Can residency be obtained without counting days?
Yes. Residency may be granted to an individual with significant assets and, in defined cases, to a foreign citizen under the procedure of the Minister of Finance; a citizen whose residency is not established in any country may be counted as a Georgian resident upon application.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team helps you plan Georgian tax residency: organising the counting of days, assessing the consequences of a change of status, preparing an application for the granting of residency and making use of double taxation treaties. Contact us: we will review your schedule, analyse your sources of income and evaluate the tax consequences of your chosen structure.