Fayette County, GA Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax basis
- Employee count bracket schedule (§ 22-22)
- Range
- $75 (0-3 employees) to $1,500 cap (100+)
- Purpose
- Revenue only, not a licensing condition (§ 22-19(b))
- New-business discount
- Half tax if started after July 1 (§ 22-26)
- Max penalty
- $500 civil fine for delinquency (§ 22-46)
Summary
Fayette County levies an annual occupation tax on every business, trade, profession or occupation operating in the unincorporated county, with the amount set by a bracket schedule tied to the number of employees, from $75 for zero to three employees up to $10 per employee (capped at $1,500) for businesses with more than 100, under Code of Fayette County, Georgia Sec. 22-19 and Sec. 22-22. The tax is for revenue only, not a permit condition.
(a)For the year 2009 and succeeding years thereafter, each person engaged in any business, trade, profession, or occupation in the county, whether with a location in the county or in the case of an out-of-state business with no location in the state exerting substantial efforts within the state pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 48-13-7, shall pay an occupation tax for said business, trade, profession or occupation. The occupation tax shall be determined in accordance with the schedule set forth in this chapter. ... (a)There is hereby levied upon each person engaged in or carrying on business in the county an annual occupation tax based upon the number of employees using the schedule set forth below: Bracket No. Number of Employees Tax Amount 1 0—3 $75.00 2 4—6 150.00 3 7—10 250.00 4 11—15 375.00
Full Breakdown
§ 48-13-7. The section is explicit that the tax is for revenue purposes only, not a regulatory condition, so paying it is never a prerequisite to practicing a trade or profession, even though the county also frames it as an exercise of its police power over certain occupations and businesses. Sec. 22-22 sets out the actual classification schedule, an eight-bracket table keyed to the business's number of full-time-equivalent employees: bracket 1 covers zero to three employees at $75, bracket 2 covers four to six at $150, bracket 3 covers seven to ten at $250, rising through bracket 7's 51 to 100 employees at $1,000, to bracket 8 for more than 100 employees at $10 per employee up to a $1,500 cap.
Sec. 22-20 defines 'business' broadly to include anyone who owns income-generating personal or real property in the county or holds themselves out as engaged in an occupation, and it strips the charitable exemption from any nonprofit-labeled operation unless at least 50 percent of its gross receipts go to charitable purposes. New businesses that start after July 1 of the calendar year owe only half the scheduled tax for that first year under Sec. 22-26, though administrative and regulatory fees are never reduced. The director of finance administers the tax and issues the annual certificate.
Violations & Fines
Failing to obtain an occupation tax certificate and then transacting business, profession, trade or occupation after the tax becomes delinquent is punishable, on conviction, by a civil fine of up to $500 under Sec. 22-46, enforceable through the court's contempt power, on top of the separate delinquency penalties set out in O.C.G.A. § 48-13-21. Practitioners of professions and occupations who miss a payment deadline face the same $500 civil-fine ceiling for the delinquency itself rather than for continuing to work; State Bar members cannot be fined or jailed for a late payment, though the ten percent penalty still applies to them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Fayette County's occupation tax calculated?
Is the occupation tax a permit I need before opening?
Does a new business pay the full annual tax in its first year?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fayette County
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