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Spotsylvania County, VA Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Contractors
$0.08 per $100 of gross receipts
Retailers
$0.10 per $100 of gross receipts
Financial/real estate/professional
$0.29 per $100 of gross receipts
Repair/personal/business services
$0.18 per $100 of gross receipts
Wholesalers
$0.025 per $100 of purchases
Application due
March 15 of license year
Late penalty
10% (Sec. 11.1-3(h))

Summary

Spotsylvania County sorts every licensed business into one of several BPOL tax classes under County Code Sec. 11.1-10, each carrying its own rate per $100 of gross receipts, from eight cents for contractors up to twenty-nine cents for financial, real estate and professional services, with flat or capped fees for carnivals, fortune tellers and peddlers.

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Spotsylvania County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

(a)Every person or business subject to licensure under this chapter, with annual gross receipts of two million dollars ($2,000,000.00) or more, except as may be otherwise provided in §§ 58.1-3712, 58.1-3712.1 and 58.1-3713 of the Code of Virginia, shall pay the license tax on the entire amount of gross receipts.1.For contractors and persons constructing for their own account for sale, eight cents ($0.08) per one hundred dollars ($100.00) of gross receipts;2.For retailers, ten cents ($0.10) per one hundred dollars ($100.00) of gross receipts;3.For financial, real estate and professional services, twenty-nine cents ($0.29) per one hundred dollars ($100.00) of gross receipts;4.For repair, personal and business services and all other businesses and occupations not specifically listed or exempted in this chapter or otherwise by law, eighteen cents ($0.18) per one hundred dollars ($100.00) of gross receipts;5.For wholesalers, two and one-half cents ($0.025) per one hundred dollars ($100.00) of purchases;6.For carnivals, circuses and speedways, one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each performance held in this county;

Full Breakdown

Any business or individual with two million dollars or more in annual gross receipts operating in Spotsylvania County must obtain a business, professional and occupational license under Sec. 1-3, and Sec. 1-10 sets the tax rate by classifying the business. Contractors and persons constructing for their own account for sale pay eight cents per one hundred dollars of gross receipts. Retailers pay ten cents per one hundred dollars. Financial, real estate and professional services pay the highest rate in the schedule, twenty-nine cents per one hundred dollars.

Repair, personal and business services, along with any occupation not specifically classified elsewhere in the chapter, pay eighteen cents per one hundred dollars. Wholesalers pay two and one-half cents per one hundred dollars, but the tax is measured against purchases rather than gross receipts. Several categories pay flat or capped fees instead of a percentage rate: carnivals, circuses and speedways owe one thousand dollars per performance held in the county; fortune tellers, clairvoyants and palm readers pay eighteen cents per hundred dollars of gross receipts but never more than one thousand dollars a year; land developers, defined in the section as anyone who subdivides and improves a parcel for resale, pay eighteen cents per hundred dollars; and itinerant merchants and peddlers pay ten cents per hundred dollars, capped at five hundred dollars annually, with exemptions for sellers of perishable farm products and participants in a limited number of nonprofit bazaars or craft shows each year.

Applications are due by March 15 of the license year, and the commissioner of revenue may grant a ninety-day filing extension for reasonable cause under Sec. 1-3(g).

Violations & Fines

Failing to file a required license application or making a false statement on one is a Class 3 misdemeanor if the tax owed is $1,000 or less, or a Class 1 misdemeanor if the tax exceeds $1,000, under Sec. 11.1-14. Late applications or late payments each draw a ten percent penalty under Sec. 11.1-3(h), and the assessing official may revoke a license under Sec. 11.1-12 for failing to comply with the chapter.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a Spotsylvania County business license cost?
It depends on your classification under Sec. 11.1-10: contractors pay eight cents per one hundred dollars of gross receipts, retailers pay ten cents, financial and professional service firms pay twenty-nine cents, and most other services pay eighteen cents, applied to businesses with two million dollars or more in annual gross receipts.
When is the business license application due?
Sec. 11.1-3(b) requires applications by March 15 of the current license year for businesses already licensed the prior year, or before beginning business for anyone new to the county; the assessing official may grant a ninety-day extension for reasonable cause.
What happens if I file my Spotsylvania County business license late?
Sec. 11.1-3(h) imposes a ten percent penalty on the tax for a late filing or late payment, and Sec. 11.1-14 makes willfully failing to file, or filing a false application, a misdemeanor, ranging up to a Class 1 misdemeanor if the tax owed exceeds $1,000.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Spotsylvania County

All Spotsylvania County rules

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