How to Choose an Accountant in Tbilisi: Checks to Make

The returns your accountant files, and when

An accountant’s core job in Tbilisi is filing your returns on time, so start with the returns your business owes. Georgia’s monthly tax returns all fall due by the 15th of the following month, under Article 153(5) of the Tax Code and the articles below.

Return	Who files it	Due	Rule
Small business return and the 1% tax	Individual entrepreneur with small business status	15th of the following month	Article 93(1.1)
Salary and withholding return	Any business that pays salaries	15th of the following month	Article 153(5)
Profit tax return	Company on the distributed profit model	15th of the following month	Article 153(10)
VAT return	VAT-registered business	15th of the following month	Article 168(1)
Annual income tax return	Individuals with income not taxed at source, and micro businesses	Before 1 April of the following year	Article 153(1), Georgian text and Article 93(1)
Financial statements, filed with SARAS	Every entity except non-commercial legal entities	1 October of the following year	Law on Accounting, Article 9(2)

A late tax return is fined 5% of the tax due on it if it is up to 2 months late, under the Georgian text of Article 274(1), and 10% after that under Article 274(2). Unpaid tax also runs up interest of 0.05% for each overdue day, under Article 272(4).

Check an accountant on the SARAS registers

SARAS, the Service for Accounting, Reporting and Auditing Supervision, is a state sub-agency of the Ministry of Finance, and the register it keeps is public under Article 12 of the Law on Accounting, Reporting and Auditing. Its website has three searches worth running before you sign:

• The auditors register, searchable by surname and city.
• The audit firms register, searchable by identification number and city, and split into statutory and non-statutory firms.
• The certified accountants registry, which lists professional organisations’ member certified accountants with their certificate number and primary workplace, and filters for those working individually or employed by an accounting firm.

Look up the person who will keep your books, not only the firm.

Certified accountant, auditor or ACCA member

A certified accountant is certified by a professional organisation of accountants and auditors under the standards SARAS sets, and must keep up continuing education, under Article 2(k). An auditor is a certified accountant who is a member of a professional organisation and entered in the State Registry of Auditors/Audit Firms, under Article 2(g). AGIC, an audit and accounting firm, was accredited by SARAS, the audit supervisor, in 2024.

SARAS lists two registered certification programmes, from the Georgian Federation of Professional Accountants and Auditors and from The Federation of Auditors Accountants and Financial Managers. The first publishes a register of its member certified accountants and auditors. For an ACCA-qualified accountant, ACCA offers a public directory of members.

Certified accountants, auditors and audit firms must follow the IESBA Code of Ethics, under Article 16(1). Auditors and audit firms must also insure their professional liability for at least GEL 100,000, under Article 17.

Finding an English-speaking accountant in Tbilisi

If you do not read Georgian, ask first which language your accountant answers in, and on which channel. Among the ten Tbilisi accounting firms ranked by what they suit best, several say which languages they work in. Tbilisi Expat - LLC Setup, Tax and Business Consulting runs monthly accounting for expat founders and small companies in English. Register in Georgia’s accountants are reachable by Telegram, WhatsApp, email or phone, in English or Russian. Georgiafy handles company setup and accounting for English- and Russian-speaking founders, and Jara Accounting gives consultations in Georgian, Russian and English.

Several firms also work without office visits. PB Services Georgia offers remote, cloud-based accounting, including tax and pension returns. BFA Accounting works remotely as well as in person. At Tbilisi Expat, documents go into a private online data room, with about 20 to 30 minutes of client time a month.

Questions to ask an accountant before you sign

Ask every accountant on your shortlist the same questions before you compare prices. Published plans start from EUR 25 a month for an individual entrepreneur at Register in Georgia and from GEL 180 a month plus VAT for up to 10 transactions at Tbilisi Expat, and what an accountant costs in Tbilisi depends on your transaction count, VAT status and staff.

• Which of my returns will you file each month, and how will I know each one went in by the 15th?
• If a return you file is late or wrong and I am fined, who pays?
• Will one named accountant handle my file?
• Is help during a tax audit included?
• Who files my financial statements with SARAS by 1 October?
• Who tracks my sales against the VAT threshold and, on the 1% regime, the GEL 500,000 limit?

The answers differ from firm to firm. Tbilisi Expat files monthly declarations to rs.ge before the 15th, with a confirmation sent to the client, and every package moves liability for filing errors onto the firm. Jara Accounting is professional liability insured for GEL 200,000, and covers fines from its own errors found in a tax audit. Register in Georgia gives each client a named personal accountant rather than a call centre, and its packages include help during tax audits and dealings with the tax authority. BDO Georgia’s ongoing accounting includes tax returns, bank transfers and SARAS report submission.

The last question on the list matters most for a growing business, because two limits are counted as you go. Registration for VAT, charged at 18% under Article 166, becomes mandatory once VAT-taxable sales pass GEL 100,000 in any 12 consecutive calendar months, with the application due within 2 business days under Article 165(1). On the 1% small business regime, the rate becomes 3% from the start of the month in which gross income for the calendar year passes GEL 500,000, under Article 90(2).

Switching from your current accountant

If your books are behind, the new firm’s first job is putting them right. I&D Tax Consulting restores and corrects past accounting records, BDO Georgia restores past accounting records and corrects tax returns, and BFA Accounting restores and corrects existing books. Tbilisi Expat says switching from another accountant usually takes one to two weeks.