Any business that wants to operate in Georgia, regardless of whether they are selling tangible personal property, tangible items, other products, or services, must obtain a sales and use tax permit. This permit is also referred to as a Georgia resale certificate, wholesale license, sales permit, resale license, or seller’s permit.
What Is a Georgia Seller’s Permit?
A Georgia seller’s permit is required by the state for any type of business that is selling goods or services in the state. The permit is unique to each business and contains specific details like a tax identification number. The tax ID number is used to identify the business and the sales taxes collected and paid to the state.
A business must collect sales taxes on a wide range of products and services, such as restaurants, clothing stores, movie theaters, certain types of food products, taxi and limousine services, auto repairs, hotels, and so on.
Even if you conduct business strictly as an eCommerce operation that operates online, if you sell your products in Georgia, you need to collect and pay sales tax in Georgia. It does not matter whether your eCommerce business is located in Georgia or another state. You will need to obtain the seller’s permit to do business in Georgia.
For any business conducting transactions in the state, Georgia imposes taxes on the total sales prices of goods and services. Shipping costs are also taxed in most cases. Additionally, there can be different tax rates that require you to collect county taxes or have a different tax rate, as for hotels.
What Information Is Required on the Seller’s Permit Application?
The first thing you need to do is establish your business and obtain the necessary business licenses. You could operate as a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC (limited liability corporation), etc.
You will also need to have applied for and obtained a federal income tax ID number. This number is used to pay federal business taxes. You will also need it if you plan on hiring employees, as you must deduct federal income taxes from their earnings and pay those to the federal government.
Once you have these things in order, you are ready to apply for your GA seller’s permit. On your application you will need to include the following information:
- Entity Type – You must specify the type of business entity, such as sole proprietorship, etc.
- Business Name – You will supply the name of your business, as well as your DBA if applicable.
- Withholding Information – This is your Georgia withholding tax permit ID used for tax filing and to pay taxes on any compensation paid to the business’s employees.
- Driver Licence Number(s) – Every owner or officer of the business will need to supply their driver license number.
- Business Address – The physical address where your business is located or your mailing address for an eCommerce business.
- Business Phone Number – The phone number associated with your business.
- Federal Income Tax ID Number – Your application requires your federal ID number for certain entity types.
- Social Security Number – If you do not have a federal tax identification number or it is not required for your business entity, such as a sole proprietorship, then you will supply your social security number instead.
- Projected Monthly Sales – You need to provide an estimate of the pre-tax sales, not including shipping or handling costs on the application.
How Do I Submit My Application for a Georgia Seller’s Permit?
The easiest way to submit your application is with help from a qualified filing service. They can verify your application is accurate and there are no errors or omissions. As such, you can avoid delays and quickly have your GA seller’s permit issued—typically within days.
To get started, please feel free to submit your Georgia seller’s permit application at FastFilings today. You may also contact us through our website support for further assistance or any questions you may have.