Atlanta Sales Tax Guide for Businesses in 2025

No matter where you live or where your online business is based — if you have customers in Atlanta, you must follow city and local sales tax rules in addition to Georgia’s rules. That’s what this guide is for! This guide includes everything you need to know about digital tax laws in Atlanta, whether your customers live in Little Five Points or Decatur.

Atlanta Tax Jurisdiction Breakdown for 2025

• Georgia State Sales Tax: 4%
• Fulton County Sales Tax: 3%
• Atlanta City Sales Tax: 1.5%
• Atlanta Tsplost TI (Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax): 0.4%

What is the sales tax rate in Atlanta, Georgia?

The minimum combined 2025 sales tax rate for Atlanta, Georgia is 8.9%. This is the total of state, county and city sales tax rates. The Georgia sales tax rate is currently 4%. The Fulton County sales tax rate is 3%. The Atlanta sales tax rate is 1.5%. There is also an Atlanta Tsplost TI (Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) of 0.4%, bringing the total to 8.9%.

These rates go for standard taxable products. But other rates might apply to your business.

If you’re selling “vice” products like tobacco or alcohol, you might have an increased rate. Atlanta imposes additional taxes on marijuana.

If you’re selling essential items, such as medicine or clothing, or educational materials, you might have an exempt or reduced rate. More on that next!

What products are exempt from Atlanta sales tax rate?

• Software as a Service (SaaS) & some other digital goods (see next section!)
• Prescription drugs & medical devices
• Sales for resale
• Public & private school sales and fundraisers
• Packaging materials for shipment
• Interstate commerce vehicles & equipment
• Energy used in manufacturing
• High-tech equipment purchases
• Sales of tangible personal property and services to a government agency or a nonprofit organization

What digital products are taxed in Atlanta?

First, let’s confirm what you’re trying to sell in Atlanta. Are you selling digital products?

A digital product is any product that’s stored, delivered, and used in an electronic format. These are goods or services that the customer receives via email, by downloading them from the Internet, or through logging into a website.

You’re probably consuming and using digital products all day long, whether or not you realize it. Here are some common ones on the market today:

• E-books, images, movies, and videos, whether buying a copy from Shopify or using a service like Netflix. In tax language, these products are in a category usually called, “Audio, visual, or audio-visual products.”
• Downloadable and streaming music, whether buying an MP3 or using a service like SoundCloud or Spotify. Of course, these products also fall in the audio category.
• Cloud-based software and as-a-Service products, such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
• Websites, site hosting services, and internet service providers.
• Online ads and affiliate marketing. Income from these services can be considered taxable under digital tax policies.

Some US states can have more specific definitions or exceptions. In Atlanta, most digital goods are subject to sales tax, however it won’t be applied to:

• SaaS products
• Internet access services
• Prewritten computer software, but it must be delivered electronically.
• Digital subscriptions where users don’t gain permanent rights or downloadable access (e.g. renting digital books.)
• Goods for resale, but only if they are integrated into a new service/product and sold to an end user. ¹

¹ If a business buys digital products (like software or digital codes) tax-free because they plan to resell them — but then ends up using them for their own purposes instead — they must later pay sales tax on those items.

How does Atlanta sales tax compare to the rest of Georgia?

Atlanta’s combined sales tax rate of 8.9% is at the higher end compared to the rest of Georgia, where rates can vary from 4% to 9% in some cities and counties due to the addition of local district taxes. This reflects the city’s approach to addressing local issues and funding city services through the sales tax system.

Learn more about sales tax rules state-wide in this Business Guide to Sales Tax in Georgia.

What creates sales tax nexus in Atlanta?

Since Atlanta is located in Georgia, it follows the same state-level sales tax nexus rules. Forms of Georgia state sales tax nexus include:

• Economic nexus: When a business sells goods worth $100,000 in annual sales or if the company conducts 200 separate sales transactions within the state in the current or previous calendar year. More on that below!
• Physical location: This could be an office or a warehouse holding your inventory.
• Employee location: If you have an employee or any other type of representation based in a particular state or city, your business must register for sales tax there.
• Affiliate nexus: If you rely on in-state businesses to promote and refer your business, and you receive a substantial amount of income through these affiliates, then you have sales tax nexus.
• Trade Shows: You may be liable for collecting and remitting Georgia use tax on orders taken or sales made during Georgia conventions or trade shows, even if only in the state for trade show activity for one day.

Atlanta economic nexus as a remote seller

If your business is fully located outside of Georgia, then economic nexus is your main concern. Here’s how it works. The economic threshold amount refers to your total sales in the whole state, from sales into Georgia during the current or previous calendar year. This can be a calculation of sales in the last twelve months, or a prediction of sales in the next twelve months — any rolling year-long period, past or future.

Basically, if your annual sales in Georgia remain below $100,000 and you had fewer than 200 separate sales transactions, then you don’t need to worry about sales tax at all. Phew!

But once your sales do surpass $100,000 or 200 transactions, then you must register for sales tax and comply with all of the Georgia rules around tax rate and collection, invoices, and filing returns.

Who needs a seller’s permit in Atlanta?

Any business with sales tax nexus, according to the rules above, must apply for a seller’s permit in Georgia right away.

The seller’s permit comes with a sales tax registration number, which establishes you in the Georgia tax system as a legal business. This number tracks your business through the system: the taxes you pay, the tax credits you receive, plus the tax you charge from customers.

How to get a seller’s permit in Atlanta

So, it turns out you do need to register for tax in Atlanta. Don’t worry! Just follow these instructions on how to register for sales tax in Georgia and that will cover you across the state.

How to calculate Atlanta sales tax?

Once you’re registered for taxes, you’re expected to apply sales tax to every taxable sale to an Atlanta resident. That means 8.9% for most products.

If your customer is a fellow business, and they’ve provided a valid sales tax exemption certificate, then adding and collecting tax isn’t necessary.

How to collect sales tax in Atlanta

Tax-compliant receipts in Atlanta

In order to comply with tax laws, you should include the following information on your receipts or invoices to customers in Atlanta:

• Your business’ name and address
• Your business’ sales tax registration number
• Invoice date
• Invoice sequencing number
• Buyer’s name and address
• Buyer’s sales tax registration number, if they have one.
• sales tax (amount and rate) applied to each item
• Final amount after tax is added

The easiest solution for the sales tax receipt would be to use a sales tax software that automatically generates and sends all invoices (as soon as the sale is complete), and also stores them in the cloud for you.

Quaderno provides automatic tax invoicing for every transaction. The app sends tax-compliant receipts, invoices, and credit notes automatically, on the spot. You can also set up recurring invoicing. In fact, Quaderno helps automate many other parts of tax compliance, from adding the correct tax rate calculations to your sales to providing instant reports for filing returns. Give it a try for free.

How to file and pay sales tax in Atlanta

Charging and collecting tax is only the first half of staying compliant. The second half is filing returns and paying whatever you might owe to the government.

When you first register for sales tax in Georgia, you must file monthly returns for the first 6 months. After that, you may request to file less often, but you must get written approval.

Here are the possible filing frequencies for sales tax returns in Georgia:

• Quarterly: If your sales tax due has averaged under $200 per month
• Annually: If your sales tax due has averaged under $50 per month
• Custom filing schedule: You can also request a custom schedule (like bi-monthly or seasonal), but you need approval and must send your planned filing dates each year by November 1. Missing that deadline could mean you lose the privilege.

Georgia sales tax returns are due on the 20th day of month following the reporting period. If the 20th day falls on a weekend or holiday, the due date is the next business day. You can usually file and pay online! Check out more instructions on how to file sales tax in Georgia.