Property Management Taxes In Georgia

Updated August 7, 2026

9 min read

This guide covers the taxes that actually apply to a property management company operating in Georgia, and to the rental income it handles on behalf of owners. Every figure below is tied to the statute, agency rule, or published guidance that sets it, so you can confirm a rate or deadline before acting on it.

Sales Tax On Rent: What Applies And What Does Not

Georgia sales tax reaches retail sales of tangible personal property plus a short enumerated list of services. Long-term residential rent is not on that list, so ordinary residential leases carry no sales tax. Accommodations are on the list, so short-term and vacation rentals are taxable and also attract a separate $5.00 per night state hotel-motel fee until the 31st day of continuous occupancy.

Georgia imposes tax on the retail sales price of tangible personal property and certain services. Most services are exempt, but Georgia does tax the sale of accommodations, in-state transportation of individuals, sales of admissions, and charges for participation in games and amusement activities. (O.C.G.A. §§ 48-8-2(31), 48-8-30(f)(1))
The state sales and use tax rate is 4 percent, and combined state plus local general rates run from 6 percent to 9 percent depending on jurisdiction, with Atlanta at 8.9 percent. (Georgia Sales and Use Tax Rate Chart effective July 1, 2026)
The state hotel-motel fee is $5.00 per night on each calendar night an accommodation is rented by an innkeeper or marketplace innkeeper, until the rental becomes an extended stay. An extended stay rental is the rental of a hotel room for 31 or more consecutive days to the same customer, and on the 31st day of uninterrupted continuous occupancy the fee is no longer collected. (State Hotel-Motel Fee Regulation, Ga. Comp. R. and Regs. 560-13-2)
If an owner lists a home for rent online with a marketplace innkeeper, the marketplace innkeeper must collect and remit the state hotel-motel fee on each night of the guest's stay, not the owner. (Georgia Department of Revenue, State Hotel-Motel FAQ)
Itemized charges made for repair labor or installation labor are not subject to sales tax. (O.C.G.A. §§ 48-8-2(34)(B)(iv), 48-8-3(23))
A contractor is any person who contracts to furnish tangible personal property and perform services in constructing, altering, repairing or improving real property, and service providers are in most instances end users liable for sales or use tax on all tangible personal property they use to provide their service. (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-63; Ga. Comp. R. and Regs. 560-12-2-.26)

Property Tax

Georgia property tax is a county-administered ad valorem tax. Value is set by the county board of tax assessors as of January 1, assessed value is 40 percent of fair market value, and the tax is that assessed value times locally adopted millage. The Department of Revenue supervises the system, approves digests and audits assessors, but does not set rates or override individual appraisals.

Assessed value is 40 percent of the fair market value, and the tax formula using the state's standard $2,000 homestead exemption is (assessed value less $2,000) times the millage rate. (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7)
All property is to be returned and assessed at fair market value every year, and counties must establish a value as of January 1 of each year. There is no state mandated revaluation schedule. (O.C.G.A. §§ 48-5-6, 48-5-2)
Property taxes are due on property owned on January 1 for the current tax year. Unless otherwise specifically stated in law, property taxes are due by December 20, some counties have an earlier deadline or require two installments, and taxpayers have 60 days from the date of billing to pay. (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-18 and related)
Nonresidents that have real or personal property located in Georgia are required to file a return for the property in the county where the property is located. Residents file real property returns in the county where the property is located and personal property returns in the county of legal residence unless the personal property is used with a business located elsewhere. (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-18)
If you owned property on January 1 you are responsible for the ad valorem tax for the entire year even if you sell on January 2, and Georgia law does not allow a refund for partial year ownership. (Georgia Department of Revenue, Property Tax FAQ)
The Department of Revenue may not override the board of assessors, board of equalization, hearing officer, arbitrator or Superior Court regarding individual appraisals and assessments. Its Local Government Services Division supervises ad valorem administration, approves digests annually, certifies tax officials, and audits each of the 159 county boards of assessors. (Georgia Department of Revenue, Local Government Services Division)
Homestead exemptions are for owner-occupied primary residences and are filed with the county tax commissioner or county tax assessor. They do not apply to investment or rental property. (Georgia Department of Revenue, Property Tax Homestead Exemptions)
Fulton County held its General Fund millage rate at 8.87 mills for 2025, the fourth consecutive year at that rate, down from 10.5 mills in 2015. School district and city levies are separate. (Fulton County Board of Commissioners, August 6, 2025)

Registration And Recordkeeping

Registration for a Georgia property management company is driven by what it actually does, not by how many doors it manages. Employees mean a withholding account. Taxable sales mean a sales and use tax number. Accommodations activity means sales tax plus the state hotel-motel fee. Recordkeeping obligations sit mostly in the sales tax exemption certificate rules and in the county property tax return process.

Anyone required to obtain a sales and use tax registration certificate registers through the Georgia Tax Center, and returns and payments can be filed there. (Georgia Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax)
The burden of proof that a sale is not subject to tax is on the seller unless the seller in good faith takes a valid, fully completed certificate of exemption from the purchaser. (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-38(a))
Most certificates of exemption and letters of authorization do not expire, with the exception of the Georgia Agricultural Tax Exemption certificate, which expires annually. (Georgia Department of Revenue, Nontaxable Sales)
All contractors are required to register for a sales and use account number using the Georgia Tax Center. A nonresident contractor without an established Georgia business location for at least one year before bidding must post a bond of 10 percent of any contract exceeding $10,000, which matters when a property manager engages out of state vendors on larger jobs. (O.C.G.A. §§ 48-13-30, 48-8-63)
A 10 percent penalty applies to assets that have not been previously returned if the tangible personal property tax return is not filed by the county due date, which is the recordkeeping consequence property managers should flag for owners with business personal property in rental units. (Form PT-50P, Tangible Personal Property Tax Return, instruction 2)
A marketplace innkeeper is a person who facilitates rentals of accommodations and whose facilitated plus own Georgia taxable retail sales equal or exceed $100,000 in the previous or current calendar year, which is the test that determines who collects on short-term rental bookings. (Georgia Department of Revenue, State Hotel-Motel FAQ)

Recent Changes Worth Tracking

The Georgia income tax rate has been reduced to a flat 4.99 percent and the standard deduction increased to $15,000 or $30,000 for 2026. (Georgia Department of Revenue, 2026 Income Tax Changes)
Residents of the state who paid taxes in 2024 and 2025 are eligible for a one-time tax credit of up to $500. (Georgia Department of Revenue, Tax Credits Updates)
A new Georgia Employer Childcare Expense Credit (Credit 162) gives employers who pay childcare expenses for employees a credit of $500 per child, $1,000 for the first year. (Georgia Department of Revenue, Tax Credits Updates)
House Bill 581 was passed March 28, 2024 and signed April 18, 2024, creating a statewide floating homestead exemption that applies unless a county, consolidated government, municipality or school district elects to opt out. It applies to homesteads, not to investment or rental property. (House Bill 581 (2024))
No Inflation Index Rate was provided for the 2025 digest year, and the first year an Inflation Index Rate is published under House Bill 581 is the 2026 digest year. (House Bill 581 implementation guidance)
Local sales tax rates change quarterly, so any combined rate quoted in evergreen content should be sourced to the current General Rate Chart rather than stated as a fixed figure. (Georgia Department of Revenue, General Rate Charts by quarter)

Tax is one half of Georgia compliance. See our guide to Georgia property management laws and regulations for licensing, trust account, and disclosure rules.

This page is one half of the picture. See our guide to how Georgia taxes rental and management income for the rest.

Keeping This Straight

Tax rates and thresholds move more often than most operators expect, and the figures circulating in older articles go stale quickly. Check any rate against its citation before you quote it to an owner, and re-check them at the start of each tax year.

This guide is a starting point for professional managers, not tax or legal advice. For a specific filing, work with a CPA familiar with Georgia rental property, and confirm current figures with the Georgia Department of Revenue or the IRS.