Brunswick County, NC Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)

The county's tax administrator issues these licenses only after full payment; Code § 1-5-66 makes it unlawful to commence or continue an alcohol-related business until the tax is paid, and no license is prorated for a partial year. Applicants file with the tax administrator on county forms disclosing the business name, entity type, business address, whether the business already holds state or municipal licensure, and any other information the administrator needs to calculate the tax (§ 1-5-69). S. 72, or for an applicant's refusal to supply information or misrepresentation of facts (§ 1-5-70(a)).

Before revocation, the licensee gets ten days' written notice and a right to request a hearing before the tax administrator, who sits as hearing officer; if no hearing is requested within the ten days, the license is revoked automatically (§ 1-5-70(c)). A licensee who discontinues the business or has a license revoked gets no refund, and the license cannot be transferred between owners or between locations (§ 1-5-67). Any change to the information on file must be reported within ten days, with the old license surrendered and a new one issued on payment of any added tax, or a five-dollar reissue fee if no added tax is due (§ 1-5-74).

Duplicate licenses for one lost or destroyed cost five dollars (§ 1-5-75). None of this reaches businesses inside Leland, Southport, Oak Island, Shallotte, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach, Calabash or Boiling Spring Lakes, each of which taxes and licenses ABC-permitted businesses under its own municipal code.