Greensboro, NC Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)
Key Facts
- Taxed Businesses
- Beer/wine retailers, wholesalers, taxicabs only
- Beer/Wine License Term
- May 1 to April 30 annually
- Taxicab License Term
- July 1 to June 30 annually
- Late Penalty
- 5% per month, $5 min, 25% cap
- Nonprofit Exemption
- Proceeds must serve nonprofit purpose
- Effective Change
- Narrowed by Ord. 15-073, June 2015
Summary
Greensboro no longer classifies most businesses for a general privilege license tax. Article II of Chapter 13 limits the surviving license to three activities: retail or wholesale beer and wine dealers and taxicab operators located inside city limits (§13-31). Every other business needs no city business-tax license or classification to operate.
The privilege licenses issued under this article shall apply to persons engaged in the business of selling at retail within the corporate limits of the city malt beverages, including beer, as defined in G.S. § 105-113.68, engaged in the business of dealing in or selling at wholesale beer, lager beer, ale, porter, and other brewed or fermented beverages, unfortified wines or fortified wines, or engaged in the business of keeping or operating taxicabs for hire that is operating or carrying on the businesses which are physically located within the Greensboro city limits.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 132).
Full Breakdown
Greensboro's business tax classification system was gutted in 2015 when the North Carolina General Assembly repealed municipal privilege license taxes statewide; Ordinance 15-073 rewrote Chapter 13 to match. What survived is narrow and named in the article's own title: Privilege Licenses for Select Businesses: Beer, Wine, and Taxicabs, and Motor Vehicles Municipal Vehicle Tax. 68, wholesale dealers in beer, ale, porter or wine, and taxicab operators, each doing business inside Greensboro's corporate limits. No other business type is taxed or classified under this article. For the businesses that remain covered, §13-32 bars operating without first paying the fee and obtaining the license, and §13-36 requires a written application to the city manager identifying the exact business structure and location.
Licenses run on two separate calendar tracks: taxicab licenses are levied each July 1 and expire June 30 under §13-34 and §13-37, while beer and wine licenses are levied each May 1 and expire April 30. Section 13-49 exempts qualifying nonprofit, religious, educational, civic or charitable operations, provided all proceeds go to their nonprofit purpose and no individual is paid from the sales; those organizations still must obtain a license marked exempt. Every license is a personal privilege, non-assignable and non-transferable under §13-46, and must be prominently displayed at the business location or on the licensee's person under §13-45.
Violations & Fines
Operating a licensed business activity without first paying the tax and obtaining the license violates §13-32. Section 13-50 adds a 5 percent penalty for each month or part of a month the tax stays unpaid after its due date, with a $5 minimum and a 25 percent cap, and lets the city manager's designee assess up to three years of back taxes plus penalties once an unlicensed business is discovered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Greensboro require a general business license or tax classification for most businesses?
Do beer and wine sellers and taxicab companies pay the same license fee schedule?
What happens if a business never obtained the required privilege license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Greensboro
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Business Tax Classification in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle business tax classification.