Georgia taxes LLC profit at a flat 5.39% personal income tax after it passes through to the owners. The IRS treats a single-member LLC as a disregarded entity and a multi-member LLC as a partnership by default, with no entity-level federal tax. An S-corp election saves self-employment tax once net income clears the $40,000-$60,000 range. Non-resident owners of a foreign-owned single-member LLC file Form 5472 each year. This 2026 guide covers the federal default, the Georgia rate, the S-corp election, self-employment tax, non-resident filing, and BOI reporting.
A Georgia LLC pays no entity-level tax by default; profit passes through to the owners, who pay Georgia's flat 5.39% personal income tax on Georgia-source income plus federal tax. The IRS treats a single-member LLC as a disregarded entity and a multi-member LLC as a partnership. The owners report LLC profit on their own returns - Schedule C for a single-member LLC, or Schedule E from a K-1 for a multi-member LLC. An LLC can elect S-corporation or C-corporation treatment when that lowers total tax. Georgia's 5.39% rate applies to Georgia-source income regardless of the federal election.
Georgia applies a flat 5.39% personal income tax to pass-through LLC profit sourced to Georgia. The rate is the same for all income levels because Georgia moved to a single flat rate. The tax is owed by the members on their individual Georgia returns, not at the entity level, since a single-member LLC is disregarded and a multi-member LLC is a partnership by federal default. Georgia does not add a separate franchise tax on LLC income; the recurring state obligation beyond income tax is the $50 annual registration. The flat rate simplifies planning: a member owes the same 5.39% on Georgia-source profit regardless of how much the business earns. There is no bracket to cross and no entity-level layer to add, so the LLC's Georgia tax is a straight function of the Georgia-source income that passes through to the owners.
A single-member Georgia LLC is a disregarded entity, taxed on Schedule C of the owner's personal 1040. A multi-member Georgia LLC is a partnership that files Form 1065 and issues K-1s to the members. Neither pays federal entity-level tax. This pass-through structure is automatic at formation - no election is required to receive it. Profit flows to the owners and is taxed once at their individual rates. The default holds unless the LLC files IRS Form 2553 for S-corp treatment or Form 8832 for C-corp treatment.
An S-corp election becomes worthwhile once net business income clears the $40,000-$60,000 range, because it shields the non-salary portion of profit from 15.3% self-employment tax. The LLC files IRS Form 2553 to make the election. Under S-corp treatment the owner takes a reasonable salary subject to payroll tax, and the remaining profit passes through free of self-employment tax. Below the $40,000-$60,000 range, the payroll and compliance cost outweighs the saving. Anonymousllc.co flags the crossover point during intake so the election is made when the math supports it. The election is not permanent. An LLC that starts below the crossover can elect S-corp status later, once profit grows, by filing Form 2553 for the coming tax year. Making the election too early wastes money on payroll compliance the savings do not yet cover, so timing it to the income level is the point.
A default Georgia LLC owner pays 15.3% self-employment tax on net business income: 12.4% Social Security up to the $168,600 wage base plus 2.9% Medicare with no cap. This is on top of federal and Georgia income tax. The self-employment tax funds Social Security and Medicare that an employer would otherwise split with an employee. An S-corp election reduces the self-employment portion by splitting profit into salary and distribution, but it adds payroll filings and compliance. The trade-off is the reason the election pays off only above the $40,000-$60,000 income range.
Non-resident owners owe US tax based on Effectively Connected Income (ECI). A Georgia LLC with no US ECI files Form 5472 with a pro-forma 1120 as an information return but owes no US income tax; an LLC with US ECI is subject to US income tax. A foreign-owned single-member LLC files Form 5472 each year; a multi-member LLC files Form 1065 and issues K-1s. Whether Georgia's 5.39% tax applies depends on Georgia-source income and nexus. Anonymousllc.co partners with US tax preparers who handle non-resident filings, so the returns are prepared correctly. The distinction that drives the tax bill is ECI, not the state of formation. A non-resident selling digital products to US customers without a US office or dependent agent has a different ECI position than one with US staff or inventory. The tax preparer applies that test to the specific facts before any Georgia liability is calculated.
Form 5472 is an IRS information return required for any US disregarded entity with 25% or more foreign ownership. Most non-resident-owned single-member Georgia LLCs must file it annually alongside a pro-forma Form 1120. The form reports transactions between the LLC and its foreign owner or related parties. It carries a substantial penalty for late or missing filing, so it is filed even when the LLC owes no income tax. A US-resident-owned single-member LLC does not file Form 5472; the requirement is tied to foreign ownership.
Under the March 21, 2025 FinCEN interim final rule, domestic reporting companies are exempt from BOI reporting. A Georgia LLC formed in the US is a domestic reporting company and is currently exempt. Foreign reporting companies - LLCs formed outside the US - remain obligated to report beneficial ownership to FinCEN. Most Georgia LLCs are domestic and fall under the exemption. Anonymousllc.co files a BOI report for $150 per report when a company is in the reporting category and needs one submitted. Because the March 21, 2025 interim final rule narrowed the reporting population to foreign companies, a US-formed Georgia LLC files nothing under the current framework. A founder who formed abroad, or who is unsure of the entity's classification, has Anonymousllc.co confirm the category before any report is filed.
A non-resident owner needs an ITIN to file a personal US tax return, but the LLC itself uses an EIN for banking and its Form 5472 information filing. Anonymousllc.co obtains ITINs for $299. The EIN is obtained by fax without an SSN, so the LLC can bank and file information returns before any personal ITIN is issued. An ITIN becomes relevant when the owner has a personal US filing obligation, such as US-source income that flows through on a K-1. Anonymousllc.co handles both the EIN and the ITIN when a founder needs them.
Forming in a no-income-tax state such as Wyoming or New Mexico does not erase Georgia income tax when the owner lives in Georgia or the business earns Georgia-source income. State income tax follows residency and nexus, not the state of formation. A Georgia resident who forms a Wyoming anonymous LLC still reports the profit on a Georgia return at 5.39% if the income is Georgia-source. The Wyoming path delivers ownership privacy and a clean home-state filing, not a Georgia tax exemption. Anonymousllc.co explains the tax and privacy trade-offs side by side during intake. The savings from a no-income-tax state accrue to owners who genuinely reside outside Georgia and earn no Georgia-source income. For a Georgia-based founder, the Wyoming LLC is a privacy tool, and the Georgia return still reports the profit at 5.39%. Treating the two goals separately keeps expectations accurate.
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