Hercules, CA Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Hercules Municipal Code Sec. 8-6.501
- Annual tax minimum
- $40 for receipts up to $1,000
- Truck fee
- $100 per truck per year
- Late penalty
- 25% per month, capped at 100%
- Contractor billing
- Quarterly, based on gross receipts
- Enforcing office
- Director of Finance
Summary
Hercules classifies businesses into four rate tracks under Municipal Code Sec. 8-6.501: public utilities taxed on gross receipts, listed activities like billiard halls and trucks taxed at flat per-unit fees, contractors taxed quarterly on gross receipts, and every other business taxed annually on a sliding gross-receipts scale starting at $40.
(c) All contractors and sub-contractors, including building, electrical, heating and ventilating, house moving, painting, plumbing, refrigeration, roofing, trucking and hauling, shall pay a quarterly business license tax based upon average monthly gross receipts at the following rates... (d) Every person doing business within the City of Hercules, except those businesses otherwise provided for in subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this Section shall pay an annual business license tax, based upon average monthly gross receipts at the following rates... Retail, Wholesale, Service, and Manufacturer—Based On Average Monthly Gross Receipts (Annual Fee) Zero to $1,000 $40.00
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 555, passed March 25, 2025).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 501 sets four business license tax tracks. Subsection (a) taxes public utilities on gross receipts under the schedule in subsection (d), unless a state or federal exemption or a City revenue franchise applies. Subsection (b) lists flat, additive per-activity fees: $20 per billiard or pool table per year, $100 per boxing or wrestling exhibition, $500 per week for carnivals, $100 per day for circuses, $200 per quarter per coin-operated amusement device, $200 per year for peddling or soliciting, $160 per year for professional persons, $100 per year per truck using City streets to deliver goods, $40 per year per vending machine, and $40 plus $10 per employee per year for branch service offices, among others.
Subsection (c) requires contractors and sub-contractors, covering trades such as building, electrical, plumbing, roofing, and trucking and hauling, to pay a quarterly tax based on average monthly gross receipts. 01-$10,000. The annual tax is due January 1 under Sec. 402(a); a business operating only part of the year has its tax prorated.
Violations & Fines
Doing business in Hercules without the license this Chapter requires, or paying late, is enforced through escalating penalties under Sec. 8-6.403: the Director of Finance adds 25% of the tax due for each month it remains unpaid after the due date, capped at 100% of the tax owed, on top of the underlying license tax itself. Sec. 8-6.404 also bars any refund of a license tax paid absent an error in the amount charged.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Hercules classify businesses for the license tax?
What is the penalty for a late Hercules business license tax payment?
Can I get a refund if I overpaid my Hercules business license tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hercules
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How other cities in Contra Costa County handle business tax classification.