Charlottesville, VA Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)
Key Facts
- Exemption threshold
- $100,000 gross receipts or less
- Issuance fee (up to $50k)
- $35
- Issuance fee ($50k-$100k)
- $50
- Application deadline
- March 1 each license year
- Late penalty
- 10% of tax owed
- Interest on late tax
- 8% per annum
- Enforcing office
- Commissioner of the Revenue
Summary
Charlottesville taxes businesses under a graduated Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) scheme run by the Commissioner of the Revenue. City Code § 14-15 sets the baseline: any business with more than $100,000 in annual gross receipts owes a license tax layered onto a flat issuance fee, while businesses at or below that threshold pay no tax. Eight classes fix the rate by business type.
Except as otherwise provided herein, there shall be assessed and collected by the commissioner a license tax, at the rates and/or in the amounts specified herein following, with respect to each business for which a license is required by this chapter, except that no license tax shall be assessed and collected from any person whose gross receipts from a business subject to licensure are one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) or less. ... there shall be assessed and collected by the commissioner, with respect to each business for which a license is required, a thirty-five dollar ($35.00) issuance fee for businesses with gross receipts not exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00), or a fifty dollar ($50.00) issuance fee for businesses with gross receipts more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) but not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00)
Full Breakdown
The Charlottesville BPOL ordinance runs from City Code §§ 14-15 through 14-24 and assigns every for-profit activity in the city to one of eight rate classes set by the Commissioner of the Revenue. 36 per $100 depending on subclassification (§ 14-19); Classes V through VIII cover wholesale merchants, public utilities, alcoholic beverage licensees and miscellaneous businesses not subject to state ceilings (§§ 14-20 through 14-23). Under § 14-15(a), no license tax is assessed on any person whose gross receipts from a licensable business are $100,000 or less, but § 14-15(b) still layers on a flat issuance fee: $35 for gross receipts up to $50,000, and $50 for gross receipts between $50,000 and $100,000.
Every business must apply for its license before beginning operations, or by March 1 of each license year for an existing business under § 14-12(a). A licensee operating from more than one location needs a separate license for each definite place of business under § 14-10(a).
Violations & Fines
Missing the March 1 filing or payment deadline triggers a ten percent late-payment penalty plus eight percent annual interest on the unpaid balance under § 14-12(d)-(e). A taxpayer who refuses to produce books, records or sworn answers to the Commissioner of the Revenue's license inspector is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor under § 14-9(e), with each day of continued refusal charged as a separate offense. Filing a false license application is also a chapter violation under § 14-11(g).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Charlottesville business license if I earn less than $100,000 a year?
When is the Charlottesville business license tax due?
How does Charlottesville decide which tax rate applies to my business?
What happens if I refuse to show my business records to the city?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Charlottesville
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