Airbnb in Georgia: The Rules, the Tax, and What It Actually Returns

Yes, you can let a Georgian apartment on Airbnb, and the rules are among the lightest in the region. There is no national licence to buy and no cap on nights. What there is instead is a tax question that changes shape once your turnover crosses a threshold, and an arithmetic question that most owners answer with the gross number instead of the net one.

Is short-term letting legal in Georgia?

Yes. Letting your own apartment to visitors is a normal activity for an owner, including a foreign owner, and it is what a large part of the Batumi market was built for. Two practical limits are worth knowing:

• The building. Some newer developments restrict or ban short lets in their house rules. Check before you buy, not after.
• The neighbours. Not a legal limit, but a real one. A stairwell that dislikes wheeled suitcases at 3am can make a flat miserable to own.

Considering a specific building for short lets? A Kavlian-vetted agent will check the house rules and tell you what the block is actually like — free of charge.

What tax do you pay?

For an individual letting residential property, rental income is commonly taxed at a flat 5%. That is the headline most investors know. Two things sit behind it:

What tax do you pay?

Situation	What usually applies
Individual, residential letting	Flat 5% on rental income
Turnover above the VAT registration threshold	VAT registration becomes obligatory; short-letting is a supply of services
Letting through a company	Corporate rules, not the 5% individual rate
Several flats run as a business	May be treated as business activity rather than passive rent

The VAT threshold is the one that catches people. A single flat at Batumi seafront rates will not usually reach it; three flats might. Because turnover is measured over a rolling twelve months, you can cross it mid-year without noticing. Ask an accountant before the second flat, not after the third.

Does Airbnb beat a long-term tenant?

Sometimes, and less often than the headline nightly rate suggests. Work it through on a real example rather than a brochure:

• Occupancy is not 100%. Batumi is strongly seasonal — a strong summer can sit next to a very quiet February.
• Costs come off the top. Cleaning between guests, laundry, consumables, platform fees, and the management company if you are not there.
• Wear is faster. A flat turned over fifty times a year ages differently from one lived in by a family.
• Your time is real. If you are abroad, someone is being paid to do this — commonly 15–25% of gross.

Against that, a long-term tenant in Tbilisi pays less per night and nothing per night when the flat is empty, because it is not empty. In April 2026 Tbilisi long lets averaged about $10.0 per square metre per month across the city — a 60 m² flat at that rate is roughly $600 a month, every month, with one set of keys and one cleaning.

The honest rule of thumb: short lets tend to win in Batumi in season and in central Tbilisi with a genuinely good flat; long lets tend to win everywhere else, and always win on effort.

Want the numbers for a specific flat rather than a rule of thumb? A Kavlian advisor will run both scenarios with you at no cost.

What do you need to actually start?

1. Ownership registered in your name at the Public Registry.
2. A Georgian bank account to be paid into.
3. Tax registration and a way to declare the income — an accountant, usually.
4. Someone on the ground: a management company, or a person with keys you trust.

Quick answers

Is Airbnb legal in Georgia? Yes, with no national licence required and no cap on nights.

How much tax on short-let income? Commonly a flat 5% for an individual letting residential property; VAT registration becomes obligatory above the turnover threshold.

Is Batumi better than Tbilisi for short lets? Higher in season, emptier out of it. Tbilisi is steadier year-round.

What eats the return? Empty nights, cleaning, and management fees of roughly 15–25% of gross.

Deciding between the two

The right answer depends on the flat, the district and how much of the work you want to do. Kavlian matches you with a vetted local agency who manages both kinds of let and will tell you which one this particular property is suited to.

Talk to a vetted specialist — free →

Tax treatment depends on your circumstances and rules change. Confirm with a qualified Georgian accountant before you rely on any of this.