Marketing services fit the Georgian IE well — the work is remote, clients are usually companies abroad, and fees are invoiced monthly or per campaign. There is one wrinkle specific to this profession that is worth getting right from day one: ad spend.

Does this describe you?

You buy traffic on Meta, Google or TikTok, build funnels, run SMM or manage performance campaigns for brands and agencies outside Georgia. You are engaged as a contractor, invoicing a retainer, a fee per campaign, or a percentage of managed spend.

Why the 1% rate applies

An IE with Small Business Status pays 1% on turnover up to 500,000 GEL a year. Turnover is what your clients pay you — which is why the ad-spend question below matters so much for marketers specifically.

The B2B point that matters most

When your client is a foreign company rather than a private individual, B2B place-of-supply rules put the supply where your customer is — outside Georgia. Result:

• No Georgian VAT on those invoices.
• Those sales are excluded from the 100,000 GEL VAT-registration threshold.

Since agencies and brands are companies, most marketers are squarely in B2B territory. Invoice the company, not an individual.

Ad spend: the one thing marketers get wrong

Because the tax is on turnover, not profit, it matters enormously whether client ad budgets flow through your account. If a client sends you 50,000 GEL of which 45,000 is ad spend and 5,000 is your fee, and it all lands in your business account, your turnover is 50,000 — and 1% is charged on the whole amount, not on your margin.

The usual fix is to keep budgets separate: the client pays the ad platform directly from their own card or billing account, and you invoice only your fee. Where that is not possible, the treatment of pass-through spend should be structured deliberately rather than by accident. This single decision can be the difference between paying 1% on your fee and paying 1% on many times your fee.

What to watch

• Pass-through ad budgets inflating turnover — decide the structure before invoicing.
• Billing private individuals — coaching or courses sold to consumers is a different analysis and can count toward the VAT threshold.
• The 500,000 GEL ceiling — reached faster than expected if spend flows through you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is client ad spend counted as my turnover?

If it passes through your business account, it generally forms part of your turnover — and the 1% applies to the full amount, not just your fee. Most marketers therefore have the client pay the ad platform directly and invoice only their fee.

Do I charge VAT to a foreign agency?

No. Services to a foreign company are outside Georgian VAT under B2B place-of-supply rules, and those sales are excluded from the 100,000 GEL registration threshold.