Payroll in Georgia

Payroll services for Georgia businesses.

Visory provides payroll services for Georgia businesses with staff across the state. A dedicated Payroll Specialist runs each pay run remotely in your own payroll platform, withholding at the new 4.99% flat rate, preparing the report every new hire needs within 10 days, and the separation notice each leaver needs. Delphi AI takes the repetitive parts, overseen by the team. You approve each run before anyone is paid. One flat monthly fee.

  • A dedicated team you know by name
  • Georgia rules in every pay run and close
  • One flat monthly fee for the agreed scope
Atlanta’s skyline in golden-hour light, led by the spire of Bank of America Plaza.
Photo: Lance Asper, Unsplash License

Payroll in Georgia

What every Georgia pay run covers.

A dedicated team prepares each pay run, checks it, and sends it to you to approve before anyone is paid. Six things are right every time.

  • Withholding, every run Federal withholding, and state and local taxes where they apply, worked out in every run from each employee’s own forms.
  • Filed on schedule Quarterly and annual payroll tax filings prepared from the same runs and filed on schedule by your payroll platform, so nothing is rebuilt at the deadline.
  • Unemployment insurance Georgia contributions worked out on each employee’s wages, up to the state’s taxable wage base.
  • Leave that adds up Paid leave accrued in the file to your own leave policy, so balances are right when someone asks.
  • Paid on the right day Pay frequency and final pay set to the state’s rules, and every run approved by you before anyone is paid.
  • New hires, set up properly New employees reported to the state and set up before their first pay run.

Georgia rules

The Georgia rules every pay run works to.

Six rules set by Georgia, each with the law that sets it and what it does to your month. Your team works to them every pay run and every close.

The rate cut arrived mid-year.

Withholding ran at 5.19% until May 11, 2026, so both the payroll settings and the owner’s own tax estimate need checking against 4.99%, and the quarterly Form G-7 has to agree with every deposit made.

Set by Official Code of Georgia, Title 48, Chapter 7; House Bill 463 (2026)

Employers withhold Georgia income tax from residents’ wages, wherever they work, and from taxable nonresidents’ wages for work in Georgia. House Bill 463 cut the flat rate from 5.19% to 4.99% for 2026, and employers may withhold at 4.99% from May 11, 2026; bonuses are withheld at the rate in force when paid. Employers withholding over $200 a month remit by the 15th of the next month, or semi-weekly above $50,000 in the lookback period. Form G-7 is filed quarterly.

Official Code of Georgia, Title 48, Chapter 7; House Bill 463 (2026); flat rate for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026; withholding at 4.99% from May 11, 2026.

The cost lands early in the year.

Tax stops once an employee’s wages pass $9,500, so the year’s unemployment cost is concentrated in its first months, and a budget that spreads it evenly understates the first quarter.

Set by Official Code of Georgia, Title 34; 2012 House Bill 347 (wage base)

Employers pay the entire cost of unemployment insurance. Tax is due on the first $9,500 of each employee’s wages a year, the wage base since January 1, 2013, and new or newly covered employers are assigned a total tax rate of 2.70% until they qualify for an experience rating. Tax and wage reports and payment are due April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31, and quarterly charges of $5.00 or less may be deferred to January 31.

Official Code of Georgia, Title 34; 2012 House Bill 347 (wage base); $9,500 taxable wage base from January 1, 2013.

The federal floor is the working floor.

Georgia’s $5.15 rate matters only for work outside the Fair Labor Standards Act, so pay rates are checked against $7.25, and any tip credit taken is the federal one, up to $5.12.

Set by Official Code of Georgia, § 34-4-3; federal Fair Labor Standards Act

Georgia’s own minimum wage is $5.15 an hour and applies to employers of 6 or more employees, but it excludes employment covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act whenever the federal rate is higher, so employers subject to that Act pay the federal $7.25. Georgia’s law does not apply to tipped employees; under federal law their cash wage is at least $2.13 an hour, with a tip credit of up to $5.12.

Official Code of Georgia, § 34-4-3; federal Fair Labor Standards Act; federal $7.25 rate in force from July 24, 2009.

Services are mostly outside it, goods are not.

A professional firm’s fees are usually exempt, but any taxable goods it sells carry the local rate where the buyer receives them, so the books separate taxable sales from fees before each return.

Set by Official Code of Georgia, Title 48, Chapter 8

Georgia taxes retail sales of tangible personal property and certain services. Most services are exempt, but accommodations, in-state transportation of individuals, admissions, and charges for games and amusement activities are taxable, and a provider of nontaxable services owes tax on goods it sells. The state rate is 4%; with local taxes, most combined rates run from 6% to 9%, and 8.9% in Atlanta. Monthly, quarterly, and annual returns are due on the 20th of the month after the period.

Official Code of Georgia, Title 48, Chapter 8; combined rates in the rate chart effective October 1, 2026.

The clock starts at the hire date.

With only 10 days to report, a hire made mid-cycle can be due before the first pay run, so the report is filed when the employee is set up in payroll, not when they are first paid.

Set by Official Code of Georgia, § 19-11-9.2; federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

Georgia law and federal law require every Georgia employer to report all newly hired and rehired employees to the State New Hire Reporting System, and no employer is exempt. Reports are due within 10 days of the hire date and cover the employee’s name, address, Social Security number, date of birth, and first day of work, whether health insurance is available, and the employer’s name, address, and federal employer identification number.

Official Code of Georgia, § 19-11-9.2; federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

The leaver’s paperwork has a deadline.

The notice is due on the last day of work, so a departure is planned in payroll before that day, with final pay and the separation notice prepared together instead of after the employee has gone.

Set by Georgia Department of Labor, Form DOL-800 (Separation Notice)

Employers must complete Form DOL-800, Separation Notice, for each worker who leaves, whatever the reason for the separation. The notice is completed, signed by the employer or an authorized agent, dated, and delivered to the employee on their last day of work, and it may be delivered electronically. The Department of Labor publishes the official form, including an interactive fillable version.

Georgia Department of Labor, Form DOL-800 (Separation Notice).

Rules last checked October 9, 2026 against the sources at the foot of this page. General information only. It does not take your circumstances into account.

Local rules

Where the rules change across Georgia.

Your team applies the local rules as well as the Georgia ones. These are the places where a local tax, a wage rate, or a leave law differs from the rest of the state.

The gold dome of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta rising above green trees under a blue sky.
Photo: Mick Haupt, Unsplash License

Metro Atlanta

Combined sales tax rates change from one address to the next across metro Atlanta, from 6% in Cobb and Gwinnett to 9% in part of College Park.

  • Across most of the City of Atlanta, the combined rate is 8.9% in both Fulton and DeKalb counties, against 7.75% in Fulton County outside Atlanta, Hapeville, College Park, and East Point.
  • Hapeville, College Park, and East Point charge 8.75% on the Fulton side, the Clayton County part of College Park charges 9%, and DeKalb County outside Atlanta charges 8%.
  • Cobb and Gwinnett counties charge 6% combined, the lowest county rates on the chart effective October 1, 2026, which includes the 4% state rate.

How it works from anywhere

Can a team outside Georgia run a Georgia business?

Yes. Visory’s US leadership team is in New York, and its teams work with businesses across the United States remotely, inside your own accounting file, so nothing about the work depends on where your office is.

Your own file

Your books stay in your own QuickBooks or Xero file. Your team works inside it, so you see the same numbers they do, whenever you look.

A team you know by name

A dedicated team runs the work, led by a Business Performance Partner. You meet them by video call, and you always know who to ask.

Georgia rules, built in

Visory runs the finance function for growing businesses across the United States, with its US leadership team in New York. Your books stay in your own QuickBooks or Xero file, and your team works inside it with you. Every pay run and every close is checked against the rules on this page.

Business hours, and the platform after them

Your team works 9am to 5pm Eastern Time on business days, all year round, and the Visory platform is open to you around the clock for documents, approvals, and your numbers.

What customers say

In a customer’s words.

“I have enough people to manage, so it's nice having a partner that ensures nothing is missed when it comes to the very important process of remunerating our people.”

Rachelle Harper Co-founder and COO, BrandBossHQ

Common questions

Questions Georgia businesses ask.

Straight answers about payroll for a Georgia business, from a team that works remotely.

What does a Visory pay run for a Georgia business include?

Your Payroll Specialist runs each pay run, with Delphi AI preparing and checking it in the background, and you approve it before anyone is paid. The Payroll Specialist handles new hires, leave, changes, and terminations, applies Georgia withholding and unemployment insurance, and posts the run to your books, so wages, deductions, and leave balances agree every month.

What hours does my payroll team work?

Your payroll team works 9am to 5pm Eastern Time on business days, all year round. Outside those hours, the Visory platform is your 24/7 access point, so your payroll information is there whenever you need it.

When did Georgia withholding change to 4.99%?

Employers could begin withholding at the new 4.99% flat rate from May 11, 2026, when House Bill 463 took effect, and had to keep using 5.19% before that date. The new rate applies to the whole 2026 tax year, and bonuses are withheld at the rate in force when they are paid. This is general information; the Georgia Department of Revenue sets the rules.

How often do I pay Georgia withholding tax?

Employers withholding more than $200 a month pay by the 15th of the following month, and those that withheld more than $50,000 in the 12 months ending the previous June 30 pay semi-weekly by electronic funds transfer. Smaller employers pay quarterly, or annually at $800 or less a year. Your Payroll Specialist prepares the quarterly Form G-7, due by the last day of the month after each quarter, from the same pay runs. This is general information; the Georgia Department of Revenue sets the rules.

What is the Georgia unemployment insurance wage base?

Employers pay tax on the first $9,500 of each employee’s wages a year, and employees pay nothing. New or newly covered employers are assigned a total rate of 2.70% until they qualify for an experience rating. Your Payroll Specialist prepares the quarterly tax and wage report from the same pay runs, due by April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31.

What do I have to do when I hire someone in Georgia?

Report the new or rehired employee to the Georgia New Hire Reporting Program within 10 days of the hire date, with their name, address, Social Security number, date of birth, first day of work, and whether health insurance is available. No employer is exempt. Your Payroll Specialist prepares the report when the employee is set up, before the first pay run.

What do I give an employee who leaves in Georgia?

A completed Form DOL-800, Separation Notice, for every worker who leaves, whatever the reason. It is signed by the employer or an authorized agent, dated, and delivered on the employee’s last day of work, and electronic delivery is acceptable. Your Payroll Specialist prepares it with the final pay run. This is general information; the Georgia Department of Labor sets the rules.

What is the minimum wage in Georgia?

Employers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act pay at least the federal $7.25 an hour. Georgia’s own $5.15 rate applies to employers of 6 or more employees only where the federal law does not, and it does not apply to tipped employees, whose federal cash wage is at least $2.13. This is general information; the US Department of Labor publishes the rates.

Do I withhold Georgia tax from employees who live in another state?

Yes, if they are taxable nonresidents: people who regularly work in Georgia and attribute more than 5% of their wages, or more than $5,000, to Georgia. Georgia tax is withheld from residents’ wages wherever they work, unless they work in another state that requires its own withholding. Your Payroll Specialist records each employee’s home and work state before the first run.

More questions, longer answers. Every question has its own link. See all common questions

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Sources (13) · rules last checked October 9, 2026

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